Armen Sarkissian and Nikol Pashinyan Discuss Situation Surrounding the Constitutional Court

President Armen Sarkissian today held a working meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the presidential residence. Emphasizing the importance of their traditional periodic meetings, Sarkissian and Pashinyan discussed issues related to the country's current agenda.

President Armen Sarkissian: “Mr. Prime Minister, I am pleased to host you today. This seems to be our tradition—to meet periodically, discuss both domestic and international developments, and to share insights regarding each of our institutions, the government and the presidency, regarding visits, meetings, achievements, and challenges. Thus, I welcome you once again to the presidential residence of the Republic of Armenia.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan: “Thank you, Mr. President. I am glad to see you. This is, in fact, our first working meeting of 2020, and I am also pleased to note that 2019 turned out to be a successful year for the Republic of Armenia. The economic activity indicators for 2019 have been published, and I can note that we achieved the highest figure for economic activity since the start of these calculations, which began in 2011. In 2019, we noted the transitional governance period following the revolution, and the focus of our discussions has always been the increasing importance of institutional reforms in our country and the establishment and implementation of a strategic governance logic.

“I believe we are entering such a phase in 2020, where the establishment of institutions and the implementation of a system of checks and balances have always been in our focus, and they are still at the forefront of our attention. You have also addressed the situation surrounding the Constitutional Court, which can be described as a crisis, and today I hope we will discuss this issue as well and exchange thoughts.”

“Of course, I fully align with your view that we must approach this issue from the perspective of institutional consolidation in our country, the logic of our national and state interests, and the necessity for an accurate and functional system of checks and balances. Only in this way can we achieve irreversible democracy, the rule of law—which carries its own consequences—and, of course, an irreversible constitutional reality, which has always been a focal point of our work and discussions. Therefore, I am very glad for this occasion.”

President Armen Sarkissian: “Very well, I am also ready for discussion. I will carefully listen to you, Mr. Prime Minister. What you said is very significant—the establishment of institutions in our country, balanced institutions, because talking about long-term, sustainable development is not possible without it.

“Of course, it is also worth discussing future plans—investment projects. I am pleased to note that there seem to be new, small victories during my visits—be it in the Gulf countries, Davos, or Israel. I will share my insights with you.”