I had a chance to speak to MP Samvel Aleksanyan, who now owns Yerevan’s Pak Shouka (Indoor Market) on Mashtots Avenue. He also owns the Yerevan City chain of supermarkets.

Aleksanyan told me that he had nothing to do with the recent collapse of the building’s roof.

Is it true that an additional 4 stories will be built atop the present market?

Who told you that?

I read it in the press.

Every day you’ll come across 1,000 different things in the papers. Not one storey will be built atop the market.

Can you publicly state that the building won’t be touched?

Yes. We won’t harm the building itself.

How will you rebuild the section of collapsed roof?

We will rebuild it the way it was

So what will the building itself be used for after the renovation?

The market will be used as a market.

You mean a Yerevan City market?

If the people really demand it, a part of the building will house a Yerevan City market.