Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, responding to whether the Sev Berd fortress should be returned to the community amid claims of illegal privatization, said the truth must be acknowledged: former mayor Samvel Balasanyan restored the ruined fortress.

“I do not accept or respect Samvel Balasanyan, but he rebuilt Sev Berd,” Ghukasyan told Auroranews.am .

He added that Balasanyan purchased the building from a private owner. “We must be fair. He restored the fortress, which was in ruins. It’s true he privatized the green spaces around it, but the building itself he bought from a private individual—I know that for a fact. I don’t respect him for personal reasons, but credit where it’s due: no such structure has been built anywhere else in the country. The buildings in the green areas are another issue,” he said.

Khachatur Balasanyan responded via Facebook, stating that it takes blindness not to recognize the magnificent structure Samvel Balasanyan developed from a former dump site.

“As for whether or not to respect Samvel Balasanyan—let me be clear: we do not need Vardan Ghukasyan’s respect. In Gyumri, Shirak, and across Armenia, people know the respect Samvel commands. We don’t even bother to publicly comment on whether we respect Ghukasyan; we prefer to rise above the political fray,” he wrote.

On Sev Berd: “Yes, one must be blind not to see the grandeur Samvel built on a former dump. Let’s note an important fact: on the issue of the surrounding areas of Sev Berd, Vardan Ghukasyan, the Civil Contract Party, and the Prosecutor General’s Office appear to share the same opinion. I hope—and firmly believe—that this is merely a coincidence,” Khachatur Balasanyan concluded.