Samvel Karapetyan deflects questions regarding renunciation of  Russian and Cypriot citizenship with humor 

ArmInfo.Strong Armenia Party leader Samvel Karapetyan used humor on Tuesday to sidestep questions about his progress in renouncing his Russian and Cypriot citizenships. 

Speaking to journalists following a session at the Anti-Corruption  Court, Karapetyan noted that his current status under house arrest  limits his direct involvement in the paperwork, deferring the matter  to his legal counsel, Aram Vardevanyan.

 "I woke up this morning, called Vardevanyan, and told him to start  this process quickly. But Vardevanyan is such a private person that  he doesn't even tell me how things are going," the Strong Armenia  Party leader said with a smile. He also noted that he trusts  Vardevanyan and therefore signs all the papers his lawyer brings  regarding this matter. "I'm under house arrest; none of the  ambassadors wanted to come and see me.  Vardevanyan is handling this  matter. My problem is Vardevanyan himself; if he resolves these  issues, then the problem itself will be resolved," Karapetyan noted.

Vardevanyan, in turn, asked journalists to discuss the matter later,  stating only that the process of renouncing his citizenship had  begun.

Recall, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, reacting to Samvel  Karapetyan's nomination as a candidate for prime minister by the  Strong Armenia party, stated that, according to Armenian law and the  Constitution, individuals holding citizenship of a second, and in  this case, a third country, cannot be members of parliament or run  for prime minister. On April 15, during a hearing at the  Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia in Yerevan, Karapetyan announced  that he had begun the process of renouncing his Russian and Cypriot  citizenship.