MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Moscow does not expect any radical changes in Armenia’s foreign policy after elections to the parliament, the National Assembly, due this April, despite the country’s switch to the parliamentary form of government, Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin said in an interview with TASS.
“We consider that the elections scheduled for April 2, 2017 are rather interesting as Armenia is switching to the parliamentary form of government,” the ambassador said. “Under the country’s new Election Code, the opposition should occupy not less than one third of seats in the National Assembly.”
“At the same time, an important moment is the guarantee of a “stable majority” in the country’s parliament that should ensure continuity of the political process in Armenia,” the diplomat said. “Taking into consideration these facts, we see no solid reasons for Yerevan to change its foreign policy line radically,” he said.
The upcoming elections to the country’s legislature will be the first after Armenia amended its constitution in 2015 and switched over to a parliamentary form of government. Under the constitutional amendments, the new parliament will be formed based on a multi-party proportional election system. There will be no more elections in single-seat constituencies. The authorities expect that this measure will consolidate Armenia’s political system and increase the role of political parties in the country’s affairs.