Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is today presenting to the National Assembly the report on the implementation of the Government’s programme for 2021.
In his speech, referring to the 44-day war and its consequences, the head of the executive stated that the number of war victims as of today is 3,825.
According to him, the bodies of most of them were discovered or identified and buried in 2021.
“The state flags continuously and endlessly waving in the cemeteries are the main symbol, and so is the question that does not leave us and does not let go of our throats — why did this happen? I myself must give the answer to this question, and I am now preparing to do so. I have from the very beginning accepted my guilt and responsibility for both the war and the defeat, but I have not accepted and will not accept the accusations that the opposition has been addressing to me since 9 November 2020, accusing me of ‘surrendering lands, and thereby also of treason’,” declared the head of the Government.
In the Prime Minister’s view, he should be accused of “not surrendering the lands.”
Referring to the speculations that “the Republic of Armenia has washed its hands of Artsakh,” Prime Minister Pashinyan noted: “From November 2020 to the end of 2021, the Government has implemented programmes in Artsakh worth 136 billion drams, and in the 2020 budget we have provided financing of 144 billion drams. After all this, there are people whose tongues can turn to say that ‘Armenia has washed its hands of Artsakh.’ Armenia has never before provided as much support to Artsakh as it does now,” insisted the Prime Minister.
An unprecedented volume of capital expenditure was implemented in the reporting year — 100 percent of the amount planned at the beginning of the year. According to Pashinyan, such an indicator has never existed in the history of Armenia. The absolute figure for capital expenditure in 2021 was likewise unprecedented in the history of the Third Republic — 217.8 billion drams, with the 2021 capital figure exceeding the same indicator for 2019 by approximately 24.7 billion drams and for 2018 by 65.8 billion drams. The 92.3 percent implementation of the adjusted capital expenditure programme for 2021 is the highest indicator of the last 4 years.
“As a result, in December 2021 the number of jobs stood at 659,471, which is an absolute record for the entire history of the preceding period of Armenia. Compared to the same month of 2020, the growth in jobs was 6.1 percent, compared to the same month of 2019 — 4.9 percent, and compared to the same month of 2018 — 12.1 percent. The average and gross salary have increased significantly,” presented the Prime Minister.
