Armenian lawmaker flags threat from ex-president, two oligarchs

Armenia’s National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan said that the return to power of former President Robert Kocharyan and two prominent oligarchs must be prevented.

Speaking to journalists in the parliament, Rubinyan named businessmen Samvel Karapetyan and Gagik Tsarukyan alongside Kocharyan, describing their potential rise as a “negative development” for the country, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

“Preventing their return is necessary. Not everything harmful is a crime. Their election, if conducted fairly, would not in itself constitute a crime,” he said.

Rubinyan also claimed that opposition politician Vardan Gukasyan’s election as mayor of Gyumri was orchestrated through cooperation among Kocharyan, Karapetyan, and former President Serzh Sargsyan.

By Aghakazim Guliyev