I Advise Not to Use the Term President When Referring to Robert Kocharyan: Alen Simonyan

Robert Kocharyan is trying to unite the opposition around him. I do not think it will succeed, because you know very well the public's attitude and the ratings. I advise all of you, dear journalists, when talking about Robert Kocharyan, to never use the term president, because neither Robert Kocharyan nor Serzh Sargsyan have ever been elected presidents; they are simply people who have held that office,

said Alen Simonyan, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, during a conversation with reporters regarding Robert Kocharyan's announcement about joining the opposition.

Reporters also asked Alen Simonyan for his opinion on the skepticism and criticism from opposition figures following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's press conference on May 8. Alen Simonyan reiterated the Prime Minister's words.

The Armenian people have made their choice, the Armenian people are demanding, and I am sure they will continue to be demanding in the future, and there will always be opposition figures. Was it not possible for there not to be critics? But you also know well that part of that opposition consists of representatives of the former regime, and the other part is funded to be that type of opposition. We have also been in the opposition, but we were not paid for that; we did it honestly and sincerely, and perhaps that is why we have achieved success.