The opposition "With Honor" and "Armenia" Factions of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia on Friday issued a joint statement. It reads as follows, in particular:
"(…) the authorities of the day adopted decisions to recall NA vice president [and opposition member] Ishkhan Saghatelyan and NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs chairman [and opposition member] Vahe Hakobyan from the [aforesaid] positions.
The situation is absurd in that it is being done to distract the public from the existing security challenges, the possible threat of war which they themselves have declared, the Berdzor [(Lachin)] issue, new concessions [to Azerbaijan], and the issue of not returning the [Armenian] prisoners of war [in Azerbaijan] to the homeland to this day.
The international community, despite the obvious retreat of parliamentarism, persistently tries not to notice the current situation, whereas such behavior by the [Armenian] authorities should have been followed by a sharp and immediate reaction [by the international community].
With this behavior, the authorities of the day once again confirm that they are concerned only with positions, busy with persecutions, lacking any opportunity to face the challenges facing the country, have no legitimacy, do not represent the interests of Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)]. And under these conditions, [their] removal [from power] is inevitable."
