Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today met with Tigran Arzakantsyan as part of political consultations with extra-parliamentary forces.
“Dear Mr. Arzakantsyan, I am pleased to see you. Thank you for accepting the invitation. I am sorry that your registration during the electoral campaign was declared invalid. I hope you know that the decision made by the Central Electoral Commission stems from the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. I would like to learn your views about the future course of political life in Armenia. I also wish to hear your opinion about ways of building closer ties of interaction between extra-parliamentary forces and the government,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
Tigran Arzakantsyan said: “What matters most to me is that our party has developed noteworthy development programs. I would like to discuss with the new leadership and the new government issues related to Artsakh’s education system and economic development.”
“I consider myself a patriotic Armenian; I would like to see that my knowledge and investments proved to be effective for my homeland. I wish to serve my country and follow up the talks with the Government of Armenia. Our political teammates, too, would like to cooperate on all these issues,” he added.
“Security is what matters most. Economic development, elections come and go, while life continues. We must continue to uphold and develop our country in every direction. The election results are clear to all of us, but this is not the end of life. We are prepared to cooperate effectively and discuss any issue of national concern,” Arzakantsyan said.
The interlocutors discussed ways of tapping the national potential, as well as the prospects for further cooperation.
Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is holding consultations with extra-parliamentary forces.
Nikol Pashinyan met with Sovereign Armenia Party leader David Sanasaryan as part of consultations
“You are a newly formed political party and I would like to hear your views on the steps to take so that the government and the extra-parliamentary opposition could come closer to each other and work together,” Pashinyan said at the meeting.
“The concept of extra-parliamentary opposition is quite a broad one: some forces adhere to ideas and principles that are diametrically opposite to each other. This is another problem. Nevertheless, I believe that given the challenges facing our country, we should at least try to find ways of getting some synergy, extra energy even by combining mutually exclusive, incompatible approaches. So I would be grateful if you could express your views on these issues. Thank you,” he added.
Davit Sanasaryan said, in turn, that the Party brings together individuals who participated in the April and 44-Day wars, people who went through the hardships of political struggle. “We consider ourselves the bearers of the values proclaimed by the 2018 revolution and we will do our best to make reality what you and I promised during the revolution.”
The interlocutors discussed ways of mobilizing the national potential, as well as the prospects for further cooperation.
During a meeting with Alliance Party leader Tigran Urikhanyan, Nikol Pashinyan said: “The practice shows that extra-parliamentary forces in particular, and all political forces in general often generate valuable political content, which goes unnoticed due to the political noise, and we all suffer from this. And, therefore, we need to make sure that noteworthy ideas and proposals do not get lost in the political noise.”
“We will be pleased if we can make our own contribution to the development of the Republic of Armenia with proposals, including the programmatic approaches voiced during the electoral campaign. Of course, I speak on behalf of the Alliance party, because we formed a joint electoral list consisting of two parties and representatives of several other parties on the basis of a memorandum. Meanwhile, I am convinced that my opinion is shared by other partners as well, since everyone will benefit from sustainable development in the Republic of Armenia,” Tigran Urikhanyan said.
Nikol Pashinyan met with Samvel Babayan, who headed the Liberal Party’s electoral list.
“I followed your activity as much as I could during the electoral campaign, and I sincerely regret that your political force did not cross the threshold necessary to get into parliament. I have initiated today’s meeting to hear your views on upcoming political developments, on the formats in which we could cooperate with the extra-parliamentary opposition,” Pashinyan said.
Babayan noted that “everyone should now give up ambitions and try to cooperate for the sake of our statehood and future.”
“I do believe that internal stability will help us solve big problems if we all realize and understand that the national interests should prevail over anything else. Second, we presented our point of view during the preceding political campaign. I wish to highlight some fundamental political issues: the Constitution and the law form the basis thereof. Our political team believes that the turmoil comes from an imperfect and ambiguous legal framework. This is a serious problem and I am asking you to pay greater attention to it in the future,” he said.
“We must strengthen the state, so that people could put their positive energy at the service of our statehood. No one is safeguarded against the evil power, so we must limit it by laws, by legislation, so that it does not hinder us any longer,” Babayan added.
Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with For Republic Party leader Arman Babajanyan as part of consultations with extra-parliamentary political forces.
“I deeply regret that the Shirinyan-Babajanyan bloc did not pass the necessary threshold to enter parliament. As I stated in public, today I would like to talk to those forces that partook in the parliamentary elections and are inclined to dialogue,” Pashinyan said at the meeting.
“I wish to learn your ideas about the formats in which we could enhance the level of mutual understanding and accessibility between the government and extra-parliamentary forces. And, of course, I think that the political forces generated quite serious political content during the snap parliamentary elections, and the implementation of at least part of that political content can make a significant contribution to bringing Armenia out of this difficult situation,” he added.
Arman Babajanyan said: “First of all, let me congratulate you on organizing free and fair elections in this decisive period for our country, as well as on the fact that these elections made democracy and democratic processes irreversible in our country. Your victory in these elections is undeniable and indisputable, and in this respect, we are prepared to support your initiatives to safeguard the people’s power. In this context, we are ready for dialogue in any format.”
“We understand that our country is facing serious internal and external challenges, and I am confident that we will be able to defy them with political maturity and cognizance. Once again, congratulations from me, our party and our bloc. We are open to dialogue,” he added.
Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Bright Armenia party leader Edmon Marukyan.
“I have been following the election campaign of your Bright Armenia party as much as I could, and frankly speaking I regret that the Enlightened Armenia party has not overcome the threshold of joining the National Assembly, because the party has had its unique place and role in our political life in recent years. Today I would like to hear your opinion on the future course of political life. I would like to hear what decisions you see for the government and the extra-parliamentary opposition, including the Enlightened Armenia party. I wish to see if you have your own ideas that you think important for us to discuss this topic today,” Pashinyan said.
“Our political team will continue to play its role and represent the approaches that we defend and have been defending so far, as well as the values advocated by the party. I hope that the newly formed parliament and the holding of parliamentary elections in general can become the basis for overcoming the internal political crisis in the country,” Marukyan said.
During the meeting, the interlocutors explored ways of consolidating the existing potentialities and capabilities, as well as the prospects for further cooperation.
Nikol Pashinyan met with Citizen’s Decision political party executive body member Suren Sahakyan as part of consultations with extra-parliamentary political forces.
“I would like to learn your opinion on the future course of political life in Armenia. I wish to hear your opinion about ways of building closer ties of interaction between extra-parliamentary forces and the government. And if you have other thoughts, of course, these thoughts too,” Pashinyan said.
“Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for the invitation. You are just raising a very important question. The voice of extra-parliamentary opposition failed to be heard over the past couple of years. The election results showed that the political field is not competitive; it is disconnected from reality, so we need to work hard in order to have new “grassroots” in this “gray political field,” Suren Sahakyan said, in turn.
Nikol Pashinyan met with Christian-Democratic Party leader Levon Shirinyan.
Nikol Pashinian said: “Dear Mr. Shirinyan, I am happy to see you, thank you for accepting my invitation. I followed your election campaign as best I could, not in full of course, but I had very good impressions. I am sorry that your bloc did not make it into parliament, but the peculiarity of elections is that they are always unpredictable, if, of course, they are democratic and free elections.”
“Today I would like to hear your opinion on the future course of political life in Armenia. I would also like to know what you think about the possible platforms for fostering relationships between extra-parliamentary forces and the government as a whole, so that we could better listen to each other,” he added.
Levon Shirinyan said, in turn: “The offensive was checked after all. To my mind, this is crucial, and I think we played a key role in that respect. I can say that our bloc worked with exceptional efficiency. The continuation of the revolution, the stability of the state and the strengthening of independence were extremely important for us. We see no problem here, and we will back your government.”
Nikol Pashinyan received Fair Armenia Party chairman Norayr Norikyan as part of his political consultations with extra-parliamentary political forces.
“What are your political plans? How do you see the relationship between the government and extra-parliamentary forces? Which is the way to consolidation, which is the most important component of our country’s recovery from this difficult situation? And what can we do to engage in a dialogue, so that the extra-parliamentary forces hear what the government is saying, and in turn, the government hears what the extra-parliamentary forces say?” Nikol Pashinyan asked.
“I am convinced that there are many good ideas and opportunities, but they get lost in the general noise. Assuming that it is impossible to turn down the noise, at least one should extract rational elements from it: not doing so would mean missed opportunities,” Pashinyan noted.
“I hope that in the coming years, both the legislative and executive branches, naturally with a very strong and responsible mission, must conduct profound processes in all areas of public life in order to make a breakthrough and move forward. I agree with the remark that our country has been facing a deep crisis since last November. Yesterday you said that the political crisis has been overcome. I agree with this assessment. I see a serious need for state building in the coming years to improve governance efficiency and strengthen state institutions,” Norayr Norikyan said.
“I am deeply, and now even more strongly, convinced that it is the duty of our generation to eradicate the informal mores from this sphere, to build a highly responsible, impartial and fair judicial system, and to create an atmosphere of justice in public institutions in general,” he noted.
Nikol Pashinyan met with Republic Party leader Aram Sargsyan.
“I would like to hear your ideas about Armenia’s internal political life, future development, your party’s vision and your personal ideas about what to do, how you see the relationship between the Republic Party, the Government and the parliamentary majority. What specific concerns do you have based on your past experience? What can we do to create a more cohesive and positive political field in the country? I mean positive in terms of interaction between the government and the extra-parliamentary forces, since I think it is really very important to listen to each other. There may always be such ideas that get lost in the noise. I would like to talk more about these topics and see how much our ideas coincide,” Pashinyan said.
Aram Sargsyan noted: “The elections have really put everything back to its place. Today three political forces are going to parliament. I congratulated the other two parties on the fact that they went to the National Assembly, and I think that the best option for the general process would be to transfer the discussion to the platform of the National Assembly. We need to find a common ground between parliamentary forces, give up the old rhetoric, and find the right the formula for getting the nation out of this situation.”
“The task of extra-parliamentary forces in this respect is much easier. In my opinion, their influence is even less. The key word here is that you are prime minister for everyone, no matter which team they belong to. You should be the prime minister for the misguided, too. Their preferred political forces were striving to get into the National Assembly, but they have nothing to make noise about, their complaints have no context. We would be ridiculed for such complaints if we applied to the Constitutional Court based on the results of public opinion polls or a large number of people at rallies. This is just absurd,” Sargsyan noted.
“In our part, I think we will always be close to the state and next to the state. The independence of the Republic of Armenia is what matters most. Our western approaches seek to balance the foreign policy field. We think it very important and we think it will help both the state and the politicians involved in foreign policy. And we intend to continue our work in this direction,” he noted.
He added that there are also proposals regarding the economic sphere, we are happy to present to the government what we have, we will try to make sure that they reach their integrity and become reality, and if they are rejected, they must be rejected reasonably, so that we can explain it to our partners, so that business is not offended.
While looking at cooperation prospects, the parties referred to issues related to the consolidation of opportunities and capacities nationwide.