In his interview with News.am, Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Project Director of Transparency International Anticorruption Center has noted, that if there is no political will, it is impossible to fight against corruption only with legislative amendments and establishment of government councils. According to Hoktanyan, TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows, that no progress was recorded. Compared with CPI 2016, TI CPI 2015 results are neither improved, nor worsened, there is stagnation. However, the situation deteriorated in 3-4 years’ time according to TI CPI, which does not imply corruption level, but is correlated with the situation of corruption: if the perception worsens, so does the situation.

In Hoktanyan’s opinion, no better indicator has been created so far for understanding the corruption situation than corruption perception. The perception will improve in the course of some positive changes. By arresting one judge or prosecutor no rapid progress will occur. In Georgia, many years were needed for corruption perception to be improved, which brought changes for the better. The serious fight starts with intolerance of corruption by the top officials, in some time, that mindset is extended to the wider society. Whereas the authorities in Armenia are not only tolerant of but involved in corruption.

Hoktanyan thinks, that in Armenia there is stagnation in the field of corruption. “No progress was recorded since 2003 when TIAC started publishing TI corruption perceptions index. We can console ourselves that there was no setback either but when we explore the level of corruption, there is nothing to be happy about. There is also neither decline, nor progress in Iceland but the people live in much better condition. Our stable situation is more likely to be stagnation than to stable and positive development.”

As for government's activity in the cotext of fighting corruption, Hoktanyan has noticed, that political and economical elite's convergence generates systematical corruption. The Prime Minister tries to activate the economy by the investments, and to reduce corruption by the improvement of the economical situation.