'I'm a passionate orator': Pashinyan defends fiery rhetoric during election campaign

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday brushed aside criticism from opposition media outlets that he lost his composure during election campaign speeches, saying his impassioned delivery reflects his natural style.

“During the campaign, opposition media outlets wrote that Pashinyan lost self-control, got upset. That’s who I am. I’m a passionate orator,” Pashinyan told a press briefing.

He emphasized that his energetic delivery is consistent with how he has always communicated. “If I speak about a subject that matters to me, I will speak passionately and vigorously. Go back 1, 5, 10 or 15 years – I spoke the same way. I always speak like this. I speak sharply,” he said.

Pashinyan added that his rhetoric is not a performance but an expression of deeply felt convictions. 

"These are vital issues that resonate deeply with me. They are not part of a political show, but part of the life I live That’s who I am, that’s how I speak,” he said.