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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was tested for the novel coronavirus for a third time and the results came back negative again, he said in a Facebook live on Sunday.

Speaking about the leaked video showing edited footage of him preparing to address the nation in a televised message, the PM said many expressed concerns about his coughing in the video.

Following the recommendations of his colleagues, the premier got tested for COVID-19 for the third time already, he said.

“Once again the results came back negative – fortunately for me and unfortunately for some,” he said.

Speaking about the footage, Pashinyan said he is surprised by some reactions to it.

“In the Soviet period, children believed that their teachers don’t eat, don’t go to the bathroom… A very bad thing has happened, but this bad thing is about those responsible for it, not about the content of the footage,” he said, adding that the footage simply shows technical behind-the-scenes preparations.

He stressed the “velvet and absence of vendetta have been and continues to be our ideology”, adding they have been authorized to run the country with such an ideology by the people.

In Pashinyan’s words, the Spring revolution was a chance for everyone to change for the better, including almost all state officials not involved in corruption scandals. "After the revolution, such an opportunity has been created for everyone; everyone should have a chance to live in the new Armenia, to become a new citizen of the new Armenia,” he said.

The prime minister said, however, that during this period some people used that chance, while other abused it.

"Obviously, the people who made use of that chance should enjoy the outcome of their decision, while the people who abused it must be pushed out of the state administration system," he stressed.