Opposition Could Have Claimed That Nikol Pashinyan Is a Treasure for Upcoming Elections: Kocharyan

Do you remember what slogans Nikol Pashinyan used during the elections in 2018? Democracy, fighting against corruption, social justice. In 2021, he used the same slogans, along with a steadfast intention to preserve Artsakh and the de-occupation of Shushi and Hadrut. This was stated by the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, during a press conference.

“Now I would like to model with you how Nikol Pashinyan should participate in the upcoming elections. Are you going to talk about democracy while still keeping Samvel Karapetyan in prison? What democracy? How many community leaders has he arrested? Regarding social justice, he has acknowledged a poverty rate of 24 percent, and that's where we remain. I am not even talking about corruption; today, he is the mastermind of corruption in Armenia. In the history of Armenia, there has never been such a destruction of $65 million like with ANIF. Or suddenly, $100 million from the 'Hayastan' All-Armenian Fund evaporates. At that time, I was a member of the board of trustees, and I demanded a report. The answer was as follows: it was necessary, I spent it.

Now there remains one slogan: peace. We must also show that that slogan is bankrupt, that this is a ceasefire, not peace, and that peace and ceasefire depend on one person’s mood. If all this had not happened, the opposition could have said that Nikol Pashinyan is a treasure for the upcoming elections because this man has nothing to say. I am not saying he is a treasure; do not attribute that to me,” he said.