Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held consultations with the agencies responsible for the Republic’s economic policy to discuss issued of energy security and solution of existing problems.

Speaking about the ongoing protests against the planned electricity price hike, President Sargsyan hailed the mutual trust established between the protesters and the law-enforcement bodies over the past days.

“I have been following the recent developments and I can assert that over the past week Armenia has turned into a large and effective educational center, where our citizens and law-enforcers, journalists and lawmakers, intellectuals and foreigners teach each other, listen to each other, tolerate each other, something that rarely happens in the world.,” the President said.

The President reminded that during a meeting with Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov he stressed the importance of conducting an audit at the Armenian Electric Networks. He added, however, that the decision on price hike was justified.

“I’m confident that if the price is not increased, the energy system will face the danger of collapse.”

He suggested to select an experienced international consulting company to conduct an audit at the Electric Networks, to give an answer to the following questions: to what extent the price hike is justified and which are the dangers threatening the energy system in case the price is not increased.

The President said that before the final decision, the government will assume the burden of the increased prices.

“If the audit comes to prove that the price hike is justified, the consumers will start paying the cost. In case the audit concludes that the planned price hike was groundless, the government will do its best to get back the sums spared by the Electric Networks and will call the officials to accountability,” President Sargsyan stated.