He apologized the speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Alen Simonyan because spit on a citizenin an event that continues to spark heated debates in Armenian media, with political figures calling for his resignation as Speaker of the House.

“I’m sorry, I lost my temper because of an insult directed at me”wrote yesterday Thursday the 43-year-old president of the Parliament in a post on Facebook.

Among many who called Simonian to resign it was the former president of the country, Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

The incident occurred earlier in the week when a citizen on the street allegedly called Simonyan a traitor. The Speaker of the House ordered his bodyguards to grab the man on foot, and Simonyan then spat in his face, the man later claimed.

Simonian himself did not deny his action, but his first account of the incident was: “Remember that your insolence will not go unanswered, an insult aimed at legitimate government authorities will receive a legal response.”

After the incident became known in the press, the president of the National Assembly and a leading member of the ruling Political Contract party is under intense political pressure.

The Armenian government of President Nikol Pashinyan is seen as weakened after the country lost the war with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in 2020. That war plunged Armenia into deep crisis.

Many Armenians see a ceasefire agreement signed by Pashinyan, which saw Armenia cede large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a betrayal.