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The walls of buildings in Yerevan’s Republic Square are being damaged with drills and nails for the installation of New Year’s decorations.

Notably, all buildings in the square are listed among specially protected monuments.

Speaking to Panorama.am on Thursday, Honored Architect of Armenia Artak Ghulyan underscored that Republic Square is among the monuments enjoying the highest protection, adding the damage to any ornament or stone there is unacceptable.

"There is nothing to discuss here, as it does not fit into any logic. There are a thousand and one ways to do this without damaging the buildings,” he stressed.

“Every Armenian knows that no faceted stone should be damaged, be it a piece of khachkar (cross stone) or a monument of Soviet architecture.”

Ghulyan called attention to the crack in the pomegranate sculpture due to the nail hammered into it.

"They are already worn out over the years. I repeat that any interference, even trivial, is inadmissible. Intentional or negligent damage to a monument entails criminal liability,” the architect underscored.

“This has to stop immediately,” Ghulyan said.

Former Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Culture Tigran Galstyan took to Facebook to denounce the damage of buildings.

"What kind of barbarian would be to damage the ornaments of a monument for a few days of New Year decorations?” he wrote.

Architects Arsen Karapetyan and Anush Ter-Minasyan also condemned the vandalism of monuments.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Gegham Melikbekyan, told Panorama.am that the Yerevan Municipality would soon issue a statement on the matter.