Arushanyan Comments on Rumors of His Removal from Mayor Position

Today, information has circulated in the media indicating that after the removal of Arkadi Tamazyan, the mayor elected from the 'Living Country' party in Alaverdi, the next in line to face a similar fate is Goris Mayor Arush Arushanyan.

"Although he has recently visibly changed his attitude towards Nikol Pashinyan's government, the members of the ruling party still view Arushanyan as an opposition figure," the media reported.

Mediahub spoke with Arush Arushanyan, whose 'Arushanyan Alliance' group holds 14 out of the 21 seats in the Goris City Council. Commenting on the circulating rumors, the mayor stated, "I want to understand how a duly elected mayor can be removed if the majority consists of my council members. I want to understand if my council members are supposed to dismiss me from my position."

In response to the media's observation that if, for instance, one or several members of his faction were co-opted or 'managed' as happened in Alaverdi, leading to a vote of no confidence against him, he replied, "Such a thing does not exist in Goris; there is no such discussion. My council members are not the type who can be co-opted. In general, there has never been such a discussion, nor can any of my council members be 'managed' by someone else."

When asked about the claims that his attitude towards the authorities, specifically Nikol Pashinyan, has softened and that he no longer exhibits the sharp opposition stance he once did, he responded, "I am not engaged in any political activities at all; I am focused on the issues facing Goris, our borders, and our numerous problems."