Samvel Babayan Has Been Stripped of Artsakh Citizenship During Arkadi Ghukasian's Tenure

«Zhoyvour» newspaper reports: «The political situation in Artsakh is increasingly tense ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for 2020. The former Minister of Defense of Artsakh and a celebrated hero, Samvel Babayan, has expressed his desire to run for the presidency.

However, he discovered yesterday that he has been stripped of Artsakh citizenship, a decision made 13 years ago, in 2006, during the presidency of Arkadi Ghukasian.

In response to inquiries from «Zhoyvour», Ghukasian, upon hearing Babayan's name, declined to answer any questions. «I am not interested in this. I have no connection or any opinion on the matter,» said Ghukasian.

Meanwhile, Babayan stated in our conversation: «I am trying to resolve this issue properly, within the law. If they continue to insist on their position, we will, of course, consider it political. We have submitted a written request for clarification on the basis for such an action. Once they clarify, we will understand whether it is political or not.»

For more details, see today’s issue of the newspaper.