Kocharian Distanced from the Homeland Salvation Movement: The Ball is in Sargsyan's Court

In an interview with three media outlets yesterday, Robert Kocharian essentially distanced himself from the Homeland Salvation Movement or the 16-17 parties that demand the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan and reject the idea of elections. While most of them have not yet made a clear statement on this, the Republican Party (RPA), led by Serzh Sargsyan, has taken a hard stance on the matter.

RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov also stated multiple times in an interview with our newspaper that those who participate in snap elections under Nikol Pashinyan's leadership will legitimize the reproduction of the 'traitor'. Sharmazanov avoided giving assessments on the second president's statement that they will participate in the elections and 'bear' the consequences.

When asked about the RPA's position, he responded that as long as no Executive Board meeting has been held, the decision from the end-of-year meeting is still in force, which is that any consultation on this topic with the current regime is excluded.

The reason for this is that Armenia's third president, Serzh Sargsyan, has contracted the coronavirus and is in self-isolation. This is also explained by the fact that the leadership of the opposition forces, in the format of six (Serzh Sargsyan, Robert Kocharian, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, Gagik Tsarukyan, Arthur Vanetsyan, Vazgen Manukyan), has not held meetings for a considerable time.

As for when the RPA Executive Board meeting will be convened, Eduard Sharmazanov stated that they hold meetings regularly, and it has only been a month since the last meeting, and when they have a new decision, they will announce it.

This was reported by the newspaper 'Hraparak'.