YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was interviewed by the French Le Monde newspaper during his recent visit to France.

In the interview, the PM emphasized that since he took office there are no longer any privileged persons or privileges in Armenia, and that they are fighting an unprecedented fight against corruption and the underground economy [black market].

Below is a part from the interview:

What have you been able to change in Armenia after four month since taking office?

The press is freer than ever now. For the first time in the history of the third republic there are no longer the privileged or privileges. We are fighting an unprecedented fight against corruption and underground economy. Economic monopolies no longer exist. Election of a mayor will take place September 23rd in the Armenian capital, which will become the freest in history. Unlike other revolutions, at least the ones I am aware of, in our case the revolution was not followed by economic decline. On the contrary, the indicators are positive, the capital is returning to the country, real estate prices are growing, bank deposits are growing. We succeeded in creating a direct democratic popular governance system.

You were elected by parliament under public pressure, but MPs who were elected during the tenure of Serzh Sargsyan continue comprising majority there. Is this acceptable?

When the parliament was electing me Prime Minister, I could only rely on four votes, one of which was mine. This parliament is a black stain in our political reality, but we must see the situation in its balance. 20 days after I was elected, the parliament voted in favor of the government program which included the need to hold early elections. 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan