Prime Minister of Armenia Apologizes for Inappropriate Remarks Towards Clergy

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly apologized for using offensive and indecent expressions directed at the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The apology followed a decision by the Corruption Prevention Commission, which ruled that certain phrases used by the politician violated the code of conduct for public officials. This was reported by the outlet Blagovest.

In a statement published on social media, Pashinyan said that the commission identified violations in two episodes of his public address. “Although I do not fully agree with some of the assessments, I apologize,” he wrote, emphasizing that his apology referred only to the phrases officially deemed inappropriate.

Earlier, the commission launched an inquiry after the Prime Minister posted a message criticizing the clergy. His remarks were subjected to linguistic examination, which determined that the word “dompel,” used in the post, has a double meaning: “to hit” and “to engage in sexual intercourse.”

Experts concluded that Pashinyan employed the latter meaning, giving his post an explicitly indecent and offensive connotation, which became the basis for the official warning issued by the supervisory body.

Previously, we reported that twenty-two hierarchs heading the overseas dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church issued a joint statement expressing concern over the arrests of Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Adjapakhyan.