“Pashinyan’s opinion is very close to our opinion. It’s another matter what his actions will be, it depends on us,” said Tigran Khzmalyan, chairman of the European Party of Armenia, referring to the meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and extra-parliamentary forces in a conversation with Aravot.
“This time, everyone gathered was unanimous, and it was the first time when everyone spoke indiscriminately in favor of this geopolitical change and taking the right steps, and it is not only about leaving CSTO. I think we express the opinion of the vast majority of the republic, urging Pashinyan to take that historic step. That was the main content of the meeting. Leaving the CSTO is a step in a big process and a change in geopolitical orientation. The authorities, apart from Pashinyan, with some threats and dangers, naturally, they are better informed than we are, in fact they share our opinion. Of course, there was no mention of decisions, but my impression was that they listened to us very carefully, because we claim to express the opinion of the vast majority of our public,” Khzmalyan said.
To our clarifying question, that is, does Nikol Pashinin share your proposal to withdraw from the CSTO, what is your impression, is the government thinking about it, Khzmalyan answered, “The authorities are not aliens, and they see the same situation. If they don’t express themselves, they get the same messages and get the same impressions. It is no secret that the CSTO does not work, but we all understand that it is not about the CSTO, it is about Russia.
So, we understand the responsibility placed on the authorities. I cannot express my impression of what Pashinyan will do. We have said what he asked. He asked to hear an opinion. For well-known reasons, it cannot be heard in the parliament, and there cannot be a proposal-discussion within his party, because it is his party. He heard and his opinion is very close to ours. What his actions will be is another question. It also depends on us. We have to support our statehood with rallies and signature collections, if the government does not reflect that, we can always help the authorities.”
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To our question about whether Pashinyan provided details of the meeting with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Tigran Khzmalyan answered that Pashinyan evaluates the visit very positively: “Pelosi said everything that we heard in public, and it was about politics and military and about the possibility of help. Just the fact that he made an unscheduled visit to the Ministry of Defense and met with the minister who had just returned from the United States…we just need to be able to read those messages, which are quite transparent and there is nothing secret. What Pelosi said, from the USA to Ukraine, from Taiwan to Armenia, that is today’s global front line of dictatorships and democracies, is difficult to say more clearly. She said that she came to listen to Armenia’s expectations. In other words, we will get what we want. In other words, you should understand what we really want.”
Nelly BABAYAN
