YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/.  Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan blamed today the rising inflation on high consumption driven by high economic growth, the sharp rise in prices of food and other goods in international markets and on the arrival of tens of thousands of Russian nationals and ethnic Armenians.

In an interview with the Public Television he said according to some estimates, about 50,000 ethnic Armenians have returned to their homeland from Russia and Ukraine and about 50,000 Russians have come to live in Armenia, which in turn has pushed up apartment rental prices.

Responding to the remarks that people’s incomes are not seeing significant changes, Kerobyan said that over the past year the average salary has increased by 17%.

"That's more than the 12-month 9.5 percent inflation rate recorded in October. About 50,000 people got new jobs and pensions went up. All of this, taken together, shows that quite a wide range of people's incomes have grown faster than inflation," he said.

Armenian government’s growth projecti0n for 2022 is 7%, while inflation is set at 4% (±1.5%). -0-