ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has responded to criticism over the increase in external debt, stating that a significant portion of the borrowed funds was used to purchase urgently needed weapons for the Armenian Armed Forces. He made this statement in parliament on November 13.
"And they also criticize us, saying, 'Why has the external debt grown to $8 billion? Don't you know what we have done with these funds?' Well, we bought weapons. We bought weapons on credit because we needed them urgently and all at once," Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister added that he was ready to show the acquired weapons and compare them with the weapons the army had in previous years.
"Don't believe me? You have every right." "I say, 'Let's go and show them. We'll even put price tags on them: what they cost and how much. Let's go, these are the weapons of our army, let's show you, let's show you the weapons of the army from your time, let's put them side by side,'" Pashinyan emphasized.
The head of the Armenian cabinet also mentioned that part of the debt was used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. "Don't you know there was a coronavirus? We took out a loan so the country could overcome the coronavirus during a war," he concluded.
