Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan today noted that his government cannot shut down all gasoline and natural gas stations in the country, and other businesses where fire safety and building quality violations exist, because doing so would shut down 30-40% of Armenia’s economy.

Pashinyan, at today’s parliamentary Q&A session, prefaced his remarks by noting the devastating fire at Yerevan’s Surmalu Market that killed sixteen and injured scores of others.

When asked if his administration can correct these violations soon, Pashinyan replied that setting standards overnight would damage the country’s economic base.

He said many residential buildings in Armenia are holdovers from the 1980s, are unstable, and need immediate modernization.

Yerevan municipal authorities shut down Yerevan's Malatya Market after fire safety violations wer uncovered. The market reopened today.