Opposition protesters demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation blocked the Armenian presidential residence in central Yerevan on Wednesday, preventing employees from entering or leaving it.
"They [the authorities] cannot hide behind the police and security officials for a long time," one of the opposition leaders Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a deputy parliament speaker, told reporters at the protest, responding to the statement of ruling Civil Contract faction MP Vahagn Aleksanyan, who called Tuesday’s blockade of the Armenian Foreign Ministry by opposition demonstrators an act of “hooliganism”.
“Before making such statements, they must realize that their rule is not eternal and each of them will sooner or later answer for their statements and steps,” Saghatelyan said. "They are hooligans themselves, who are consistently leading the country to disaster.”
Asked whether they will return to the parliament if they fail to force Pashinyan from office, Ishkhan Saghatelyan noted: "We will return to the parliament with our own agenda."
He claims the opposition campaign has disrupted the plans of the Armenian authorities to make concessions to Azerbaijan in the near future.
“The meeting in Brussels is a clear proof of that. I am sure that in parallel with the verbal commitments, which were announced, Nikol simply asked Aliyev and his other colleagues for a timeout given the current situation in Armenia, hoping that the tensions would somehow ease or they would be able to stop the campaign. In this sense, the results achieved by the people are obvious," Saghatelyan said.
The opposition leader says the Turkish-Azerbaijani duo is evidently in a hurry to capitalize on the advantages gained in the 2020 war in Artsakh.
"They understand that when they lose Nikol Pashinyan’s rule in Armenia, their plans will not be fulfilled," the opposition figure said.
Saghatelyan stressed the need to step up pressure on the government.
"Obviously, the people have stood up and there is a public demand to oust the treacherous authorities. The task is to attract all our supporters to the rallies and to give new momentum to the morning protests," he said.