RA Prime Minister: Inflation in Armenia is 2.6%.

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, referring to the statistics, continues to assure that inflation in Armenia is 2.6%.

"I want to remind you that in Georgia inflation is 6.8%, and in Azerbaijan - 7.5%," the prime minister said.  He noted that gasoline in Armenia went up by 20 drams - up to 430 drams, at the same time in Georgia, which receives the same gasoline in transit its cost is higher. In addition, according to the prime minister, gasoline has an alternative in the form of liquefied gas, which has risen in price by 25 drams - up to 220 drams. As a result of government intervention, the cost of liquefied gas returned to the cost of 2015. At the same time, in Georgia the cost of transit gas is 260-310 drams. The market of Armenia currently sells diesel fuel, which was imported before the application of new excise tax rates.

The statement of the prime minister has caused bewilderment of oppositional members of parliament. So, the deputy from the Elk faction Edmond Marukyan pointed out that the excise tax on liquefied gas increased from 8 thousand drams to 25 thousand drams, which caused discontent among the drivers of fixed-route taxis. It is not clear in this connection the Prime Minister's proposal on the alternative of gasoline. "In that case, offer another alternative - go on foot, in the cold in apartments, suggest instead of gas to use warm clothes, and if the population is hungry, then drink water," said Marukyan.

The head of the Elk faction Nikol Pashinyan recalled the proposal of the representative of the faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, Hakob Hakobyan, to use potatoes, which are socially unsecured by the population. Now, Pashinyan continued, the National Statistical Service published new data, according to which prices for potatoes sharply jumped. "The question arises that now the poor must eat," the deputy asked. He suggested four options for answering this question: greenery, which, according to statistics, fell in price by 48.5%, garlic, which according to the same statistics fell by 22.2%, green onions by 18.8% and pepper, 12.1%.

"The question is not rhetorical, when you say about inflation of 2.6% in the case when oil has risen in price by 41%, pork - by 38%, potatoes - by 28%. Against this background, it is unclear how the result turned out to be a figure of 2,6% .It is obvious that in this case we are talking about manipulations," Pashinyan said.