Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has apologized for spitting at ARF member Karen Megerdichyan last Sunday in Yerevan.

Kaskad (Cascade) pedestrian square. encountered Simonyan at Yerevan’s Kaskad (Cascade) pedestrian square and called him a “traitor”.

Simonyan, in a Facebok post today, said he lost his cool and responded by spitting in Megerdichyan’s face.

“Yes, democracy implies that officials should and can be criticized, and will be provoked. Our task is not to give in to them. I'm sorry I got off track with the personal insult directed at me. I am sure that any Armenian with dignity would not tolerate such an insult, but the high responsibility placed on an elected official should have a deterrent role,” Simonyan wrote.

Simonyan said he wanted to turn the page on the incident since Armenia faces a host of serious challenges that need to be addressed.