Armenian chief legislator calls former President Kocharyan “political corpse”

Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan sharply criticised yesterday’s press conference held by former President Robert Kocharyan, calling him a “political corpse,” according to a statement on his Telegram channel reported by Caliber.Az.

Simonyan wrote that he had not watched the press conference and had only seen fragments of video online and a few quotes in the media. He dismissed any expectation of new content, stating that, from an aesthetic perspective, listening to Kocharyan was unpleasant.

“These pseudo-smirks, grimacing, nonsense, and bravado no longer interest anyone. No one has told him this so as not to spoil his mood,” Simonyan said.

He added that if Kocharyan had anything to contribute politically, he should have the courage to attend debates with the only legitimately elected leader of Armenia. However, Kocharyan, who once called himself “the only man in the country,” is too afraid to do so, like all other unelected politicians, said Simonyan.

“Don’t be afraid — you have long been political corpses. You have nothing to lose, and at least there will be a chance to see which of you is more of a corpse. So — Be brave!” he concluded.

Nikol Pashinyan, , previously challenged Robert Kocharyan to a public debate, likely to confront him on political issues, including governance, past policies, or Armenia’s trajectory post-2020 Karabakh war. Kocharyan, a prominent opposition figure, declined the challenge.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan repeatedly challenged Robert Kocharyan (along with other former presidents like Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Serzh Sargsyan) to a public debate, often framing it as a test of their political relevance and willingness to address Armenia's historical handling of the now-gone Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s trajectory post-2020 Karabakh war, negotiations with Azerbaijan, and related accusations.

By Khagan Isayev