“This is simply for show. It’s connected to something very important for them. I have the impression that this is connected to Kocharyan’s detainment,” political analyst Stepan Danielyan said regarding the fact that neither the Russian President nor the leaders of other CSTO states congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on winning the snap parliamentary elections. As far as why he thinks that, Danielyan said, “The detainment of a former leader has an affect on them because it shows that this can happen to them in the future.”
According to Stepan Danielyan, the CSTO states would not want for such an incident to take place. “Remember how Ukraine’s President Yanukovych sought refuge in Russia? They would not like for such an event to occur. Kocharyan is the only former leader out of all the CIS states to have been arrested. This incident has important meaning for the CSTO member states.”
Regarding opinions that the Russian Prime Minister should congratulate Pashinyan instead of Vladimir Putin, Danielyan said, “The Prime Minister of Armenia is the head of state, and the Russian President is the head of the Russian state. The Prime Minister can congratulate Pashinyan as well, but the Russian President and head of the Duma should congratulate him first.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
