Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appeared to accuse his opponent, the detained Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, of being a ‘foreign agent’, claiming that the authorities have compiled a ‘thick file’ of individuals they believe are acting in line with foreign agendas.
Pashinyan cited ‘assessment and data obtained’ by state agencies indicating that a number of individuals were operating as ‘foreign agents’ in Armenia.
He further stated that he maintains a list of such individuals, and clarified that his statements primarily referred to political figures.
‘If those people are still at large, it means they have not yet crossed the line into espionage, but they are acting within that logic. Some individuals are very close to that line, walking along its edge. Once they cross it, there will be a response’, Pashinyan said.
The comments came in response to a question about his earlier discussion of ‘foreign agents’ in Armenia in parliament on 15 April.
At the time, Pashinyan said that ‘those who want to undermine Armenian–Russian friendship and brotherhood are simply foreign agents’ in response to remarks by Karapetyan, who heads the opposition Strong Armenia party.
Earlier in April, Karapetyan claimed there would be an ‘economic war’ with Russia in July if Pashinyan remained in power. The warning appeared to be a response to what has become a regular talking point by Pashinyan — that a victory by the opposition in the upcoming parliamentary election would lead to war with Azerbaijan in September.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
‘Our deepest economic ties are with Russia. It is Russia that supplies us with cheap gas, gladly accepts our seasonal workers, and buys a significant portion of our agricultural products. And if all of that stops, what answer will you give to our people, who will become poorer?’, Kareptyan said, adding that he was ‘angry’ about Pashinyan’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in April.
Russia appears to be exerting economic pressure on Armenia following the tense meeting between Pashinyan and Putin in Moscow, having announced ‘stricter requirements’ on the import of Armenian products and reopened a criminal case regarding the Armenian major mineral water producer Jermuk.
During their meeting, Putin appeared to touch on Karateptyan’s arrest within the context of Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections on 7 June.
Despite the tensions, Pashinyan claimed on 15 April that the Armenian–Russian relations were at their ‘highest level’, adding that rumours of a fallout were aimed at provoking tensions with Russia and paralysing the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
He also reiterated that Armenia had no intent to enter into conflict with Russia, either political or economic.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
‘A balanced policy implies that we must maintain good relations with Russia. And we are protecting those good relations’, Pashinyan said, citing his government’s foreign policy priorities.
In addition to defending his own record, Pashinyan also appeared to mock Karapetyan for seeking to renounce his Russian and Cypriot passports ahead of the elections; Armenian legislation stipulates that prime ministerial or MP candidates must be solely Armenian nationals and have lived in Armenia for the past four years.
‘Those people are citizens of 60 countries, and they state that they have bravely started renouncing their citizenship. Before they renounce it, it could take up to 30 years, because there’s no country in the world whose citizens they are not. Those people, in the literal sense of the word, are foreign agents’, Pashinyan said at the time.
Karapetyan’s house arrest has also been extended by another three months, well past the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Public opinion surveys have indicated that Karapetyan is poised to be Pashinyan’s primary opponent in the June elections.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
