Negotiations Have Entered a Dead End Due to Nikol Pashinyan's Initiatives: Ruben Hakobyan

Vazgen Manukyan's statement portrays the current situation in Armenia quite mildly. This was stated by former MP and director of the political analysis center 'Akunq' Ruben Hakobyan in a conversation with NEWS.am, commenting on Manukyan's statement.

"What is mentioned is even a mild characterization of the situation that exists in Armenia today. And the existence of such clubs is necessary for any situation; people with political experience should gather, talk, and discuss the events taking place in their country. In this respect, it is a timely initiative for the right purpose," he said.

Regarding Manukyan's emphasis on the Artsakh issue, he reiterated that he can also confirm that the negotiation process has entered a dead end. "The issue of Artsakh has never been so unclear, nor has it been diplomatically so isolated as it is today. The outlook is very unclear because lacking a clear plan regarding Artsakh, he at one moment says he has no mandate to speak on the matter, and at another moment states that there should be a solution that satisfies Artsakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and suddenly declares in Artsakh that 'Artsakh is Armenia, and that's it,' which essentially provides a serious provocative opportunity for Azerbaijan, allowing Aliyev to respond by saying 'Artsakh is Azerbaijan, and that's it.' In other words, the entire negotiation process, initiated by Nikol Pashinyan, is entering a dead end. The probability of war is very visible," he noted.

In response to Manukyan's other emphasis that a climate of hatred has formed in society, he stated that society has never been so polarized. "Society has never been so divided between black and white, ours and yours; it is evident and is a great luxury for a warring state when society is polarized and hatred, malice, and intolerance are between the blacks and whites," he added.

Ruben Hakobyan addressed the blockade of the courts, stating that there was an attempt to bring the judicial power under control of the executive. "And its logical continuation was that the Constitutional Court, which is one of the pillars of the state, was in fact attacked by the National Assembly yesterday. This does not promise anything good. The judicial system, as such, is today under great pressure, and it is being led by the executive power, represented by Nikol Pashinyan," he said.

Hakobyan noted that the March 1 trial, since the moment Pashinyan announced it was fully revealed, has nothing to do with legal processes. "If we consider the wiretapping, it was very clear that there was an order from the Prime Minister to ensure that the program written by Nikol Pashinyan was executed. Essentially, throughout this 1.5 years, March 1 has been put in the foreground, and there is an absolute attempt to view the subsequent governance entirely through the lens of March 1, which I think is already clear to the public that it has nothing to do with law, justice, it is just revenge, political revenge that I believe will manifest itself even more clearly in the future," he stated.

He added that he collaborates with the 'Verandatun' social-political club and that some details will be revealed during the club's presentation.