Pashinyan Attempts to Blackmail Artsakh President through Babayan, Tensions Rise: 'Past'

'Past' newspaper reports: 'The day before, four factions of the Artsakh parliament issued a statement expressing their concern regarding the text of the statement made by Charles Michel following the trilateral meeting in Brussels on May 23. The Artsakh parliamentarians reaffirmed their positions towards the Armenian authorities as stated in their previous statement. Samvel Babayan's party did not join this statement.

According to 'Past', Babayan's faction refrained from joining due to the clearly anti-Pashinyan wording in the statement. Only the next day, on May 25, they released a separate statement that briefly mentioned the Armenian authorities. This Babayan statement in Artsakh is seen as an attempt to save face. Our Artsakh sources indicate that Nikol Pashinyan is trying to blackmail Artsakh President Araik Harutyunyan through Samvel Babayan.

We have information that there is currently significant tension within the 'United Fatherland' party, with marked polarizations. One faction is attempting to 'play games' with Araik Harutyunyan, while another faction strives to dissociate from Samvel Babayan but simultaneously does not want to spoil relations with him or openly oppose him.

The newspaper reports that in various discussions, they have repeatedly mentioned feeling 'between two stones,' as they also wish to express their opinion against the Armenian authorities and voice their real sentiments, yet Babayan is thwarting their attempts.'

For more details, see today's issue of the newspaper.