“There was no political or other attack against me,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I have to personally refute the false information circulating about me.”
“As for the spread of the ‘information,’ I think the most surprising thing is who is quoting whom. I don’t even care why,” Ashot Pashinian added in what looked like a jibe at government loyalists who alleged the assault.
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian was the first to do that on Monday. Simonian said the “attack on the Armenian prime minister’s son” was part of “a series of provocations” organized by Armenian opposition groups.
One of those “provocations,” he said, was Sunday’s incident in downtown Yerevan during which Simonian allegedly spat at an opposition activist who branded him a traitor.
The embattled speaker refused to comment on Ashot Pashinian’s strong denial of his claim which was echoed by another senior pro-government lawmaker.
Unlike his mother and two of his sisters, the 22-year-old Pashinian Jr. has kept a low profile and not made political statements in recent years. Nor has he been seen accompanying his father on official or working trips abroad.