‘I will crush you,’ ‘impure’ are not insults, ‘rascal’ is an insult: why Rubinyan did not interrupt Pashinyan

The President of the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan, today clarified why he did not interrupt Nikol Pashinyan, who violated the code of ethics announced by Rubinyan, saying from the podium, ‘I will crush you.’ Rubinyan insisted that Pashinyan did not insult anyone with that statement.

‘He did not direct any insults towards anyone, unlike opposition figures who have made several offensive remarks, even officially cursing, as the person speaking on behalf of the ‘Strong Armenia’ faction has officially cursed us and our servants from the podium,’ Rubinyan noted.

When asked if it was not directed when Pashinyan called the Catholicos ‘impure,’ while for example Edgar Ghazaryan's statement was much more abstract, Rubinyan continued to assert that Pashinyan’s words were in context. ‘What was insulting about that? It was not an insult, it was an assessment of a person who has vowed before God not to engage in immorality and has been involved in filthiness. Meanwhile, the term ‘rascal’ is not an assessment, it is an insult,’ he emphasized.