During the Parliamentary briefings today, the journalists wondered if the members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation party had already decided who would be the secretary of the party. Armen Rostomyan’s answer was affirmative: “Armenuhi Kyureghyan will be the secretary.” He said, that Ruzan Arakelyan should be in place of Aghvan Vardanyan, who stands the next in the list, but they did not know the wishes of Ruzan Vardanyan herself, whether she wanted to come to the Parliament: “We will definitely have a full stuff constituted of 7 people.”
Let us remind you, that Armenian Revolutionary Federation has announced that they are going to vote for the leader of the anti-governmental movement Nikol Pashinyan. But a member of ARF faction Aghvan Vardanyan announced that he is not going to vote for him. Armenian Revolutionary Federation demanded to leave his mandate and expelled him from the party.
To the question, that in case they saw themselves in the new government being formed by Nikol Pashinyan, as prior to entering the coalition they had agreed on some conditions with the Republican Party of Armenia for entering the coalition, whether they would put forward such claims or offers to Pashinyan as well, Armen Rostamyan answered: “Firstly, I do not pretend or intend to ever enter into the governmental structure, but we have the type of political power relations and we are ready to support. We are not going to leave Nikol Pashinyan alone.”
And what was suggested by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to support Pashinyan, Rustamyan said that they had talked with Nikol Pashinyan about some issues: “First, regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we had said, that the issue should be regulated with the logic that had been expressed by the nation of Karabakh through a referendum. The parliamentary system should be developed, instead of being eliminated, rather it should be decentralized. The authorities of the Prime Minister should be limited. There should be a new Electoral Code, where this local rating system should not exist. Our relations with the European Union, Eurasian Economic Union, Collective Security Treaty Organization and our commitments gained in that framework should be preserved, there should be partnership relations, and in regards to the Armenian-Turkish relations and issues on the Armenian Genocide, they should be treated by the policy mentioned by the ARF long ago. In other words, we should speak about the solution of primary problems which, I think, will be reflected in the future program.”
He said that they had discussed the issue of finally separating the business from the politics with Pashinyan: “In order not to have an impression, that a group of oligarchs would be replaced by another. Business should be separated and it must be a reality. The people having their business have nothing to do in the Parliament or the Government. It is already a clash of interests that must not be allowed.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN