At a session of the NKR government, Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan warned that state workers who "display personal excesses and inordinate luxuries will be punished".

PM Harutyunyan called on government employees not to be lax and inattentive when it came to monitoring budgetary expenditures, adding that all such outlays must be substantiated and directed to real necessities.

PM Harutyunyan noted that while it is true that such statements have been made in the past, he reassured the assembled government representatives that he meant business this time.

He said that the government's oversight bodies had come across numerous violations and abuses in this regard, including "pilferage, unjustified work junkets, unjustified expenses and even property rights violations".

"We have pointed out these shortcomings time and again but sadly results have been unsatisfactory. I don't wish to go into details but expenditures must be justified," stated the prime minister, adding that accountability will start with ministers and work down through the ranks.