Armenia's ruling party: Opposition exploiting emotions to undermine delimitation

Secretary of the parliamentary faction of Armenia's ruling Civil Contract Party Artur Hovhannisyan has accused those gathered in the village of Kirants (Guney) of trying to generate a political process.

He made the relevant remarks at a briefing in the parliament, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

According to him, the representatives of the Civil Pact, headed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the entire state apparatus, will solve the villagers' problems together.

"And all these people who go to Kiranz are playing on people's emotions and trying to generate a political process on their grief and emotions," he said.

He also commented on the statements of his fellow party members who promote the thesis of a Russian trace in the revanchist movement.

"We continue to say that there are forces that do not want and do everything so that Armenia does not have a state border. They generate processes that can lead to escalation and involvement of Armenia in war, damage the sovereignty of the country to carry out a coup," Hovhannisyan said.

"Against the background of the fact that the UN secretary general, international partners highly appreciated the delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there are silent countries. And this gives us reasonable suspicions that what is happening does not come from their interests, there is no reaction from very close partners, which gives grounds to make assumptions".

When asked by the journalist whether they have any facts based on which they make such a conclusion, Hovhannisyan called to look at the texts of Russian state media and political figures, statements, live broadcasts of people who have been stealing from Armenia for years and are now hiding in Russia.

On April 19, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said after the eighth meeting of the state commissions that Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to start delimitation from Tavush (Tovuzgala) region and to finalise the agreement on the draft regulation on joint activities of the delimitation commissions by July 1. Since the evening of the same day, residents of Armenia's revanchist forces, dissatisfied with the agreements between Yerevan and Baku, have been holding protests. On May 4, representatives of the movement, led by the revanchist Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, began a march from the village to Yerevan.

At the traditional briefing in the National Assembly of Armenia on May 7, Vladimir Vardanyan, MP from the ruling Civil Contract party, stated that lack of reaction from close partners to delimitation raises suspicions.

"Against the background of the fact that the UN secretary general, international partners highly appreciated the delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there are countries that are silent. And this gives us reasonable suspicions that what is happening does not come from their interests, there is no reaction from very close partners, which gives grounds to make assumptions".

The MP suggested that the opposition plays on people's emotions, calling it a dangerous phenomenon. "I hear everything from Kirants (Guney) except the issue in connection with delimitation and demarcation. Emotional statements that have no factual basis are being heard. If we hold discussions without emotions, it will be more effective," he said.

"Armenian citizens should be explained the necessity of delimitation and demarcation without emotions," Vardanyan emphasised.