Hovsep Khurshudyan makes revelations; there have been consultations between the Heritage Party and the ANC for two days now
“I can confirm that a trilateral meeting took place, in which we participated as a guest. I usually don’t use informal language, but this time, I cannot resist and must say that the information published in the press regarding the meeting that the Heritage Party is against any union with the ANC is snake oil,” Hovsep Khurshudyan, the press secretary of the Heritage Party, said during a conversation with www.aravot.am. Let us remind that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) initiated a meeting between the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the ARF, and the Heritage Party representatives, which took place in the building of the ARF Supreme Body yesterday. Vartan Oskanian and Naira Zohrabyan from the PAP, Armen Rustamyan and Aghvan Vardanyan from the ARF, and Rubik Hakobyan and Hovsep Khurshudyan from the Heritage Party participated in the meeting. Disclosing certain facts, Khurshudyan said that there had been consultations between the Heritage Party and the ANC for two days now to find ways of cooperation. The Heritage Party press secretary said that their party was open to everyone, and they didn’t practice any discrimination in cooperation with political forces, they didn’t strike off anyone. Hovsep Khurshudyan refused to tell any details about the trilateral meeting; there was an agreement that while the discussions were under way, the details would not be made public. And he doesn’t know the reason for the ANC representatives’ absence; he stressed once again that the Heritage Party participated in the meeting as a guest. In response to a question of www.aravot.am whether there was a possibility that as a result of the meetings, the opposition would participate in the Yerevan City Council election with a common list, Hovsep Khurshudyan said that he couldn’t answer that question at that moment, let alone on everyone’s behalf. He just said that they had talked about participating in the city council election with a common list during the meeting, along with the other issues. In his opinion, the Heritage Party will have a final decision on participation in the Yerevan City Council election on March 16. When asked whether these consultations on the opposition camp would continue or not, our interlocutor had a difficulty again to answer. “It was just one meeting; I cannot say whether they will continue or not.” In response to the request of www.aravot.am to explain why the ANC hadn’t been invited to the discussion that had taken place in the building of the ARF Supreme Body, Aghvan Vardanyan, the secretary of the ARF parliamentary group, said that this discussion had been the continuation of the meeting-discussions that had started on the political stage before the presidential election, and the ANC could have expressed its wish. And the reason for the ANC’s not being present at the given meeting is the structural changes that are under way in the ANC. “At the end of the day, it is unclear; the former ANC isn’t there, the new ANC is not there, we should know what is going on, but we are at the stage when the consultations have already started.” Aghvan Vardanyan didn’t wish to tell any more details about the meeting.
Nelly GRIGORYAN
