MP from the 'Armenia' Faction Responds to Vahagn Aleksanyan

MP from the 'Armenia' faction, Arthur Khachatryan, has responded to the statement made by the 'Civil Contract' faction MP Vahagn Aleksanyan, concerning a debate invitation from Public Television. According to Khachatryan, he learned from his faction that the proposed debater was to be himself, and Aleksanyan had refused.

In his post, Aleksanyan stated that Public Television had suggested one of the ruling coalition MPs participate in a debate with a specific MP from the 'Armenia' faction. However, upon hearing that the proposed debater was Khachatryan, he reportedly declined. Khachatryan clarified in his response: “Yesterday I received a call from a young man named Karen from Public Television, who offered to debate with any member of the ruling party. I made it clear that I would only consider this option once the scope of questions and the opponent were specified; without that information, my response could not be seen as an agreement.”

Khachatryan noted that Karen later called him back and informed him that the candidate from the ruling party was Aleksanyan. He expressed feelings of both anger and amusement upon hearing this, stating, “They should propose someone intellectual.” He surmised that the ruling party realized their candidate did not meet this requirement and subsequently suggested Gevorg Papoyan instead, to which Khachatryan agreed.

Addressing Vahagn Aleksanyan, Khachatryan stated, “One must earn the right to participate in a debate. His past and present do not promise such a future for him.” He further emphasized that the MPs from the 'Armenia' faction do not debate with Aleksanyan, not out of fear as he imagines, but because they do not wish to lower their standards to such an extent.