Robert Kocharyan: By sowing an atmosphere of fear, the authorities  think they will get the required number of votes—it won`t work

ArmInfo.  The second President of the Republic of Armenia, leader of the opposition  "Armenia" bloc, Robert Kocharyan, cast his ballot at a polling  station in Yerevan.

Speaking to journalists, he noted that he voted for Armenia, its  national identity, and security. Kocharyan assured that in the event  of electoral success, the changes in the country would be tangible.  However, as the ex-president admitted, the alliance's mandates alone  would not be sufficient to achieve this goal, and for this reason,  work will be conducted with other opposition forces.

Responding to a question from a Russian journalist regarding his  expectations for the elections, the second president of the RA was  brief: "good changes," pointing out, however, the necessity of  stopping the series of losses of sovereignty, among many other  things. Kocharyan expressed doubt that if the ruling "Civil Contract"  party wins the elections, its leader, the Prime Minister of the RA,  could become an ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "I  do not think that will happen, but the comparison of Pashinyan to  Zelenskyy is very fitting. They are very similar in their adventurism  and their shameless attitude toward the interests of their own  countries," the leader of the "Armenia" alliance said.

He also touched upon the issue of the detentions of his political  force's representatives. According to him, June 6 became a benefit  performance for the Anti-Corruption Committee, which spent the entire  day releasing audio recordings. All of this, the ex-president  continued, is a more than obvious fact that all citizens of the  country are under wiretap by security structures. He urged citizens  to take this circumstance into account when voting.

"If you want all this to continue, vote for them. It's simply  disgraceful: they're digging through laundry, rummaging through  kitchen sinks—I can't recall anything like that. Moreover, criminal  cases are being brought exclusively against opposition forces, using  arrests, detentions, and house arrests," Robert Kocharyan noted,  adding that the authorities want to sow an atmosphere of fear in  society. "Everyone knows that Nikol Pashinyan is a coward, and  cowardly people tend to project their phobias onto citizens, sowing  an atmosphere of fear, thinking they'll get the necessary number of  votes. It won't work," the former president noted, confirming that if  the bloc enters parliament, but falls short of mandates, it will give  its votes to the opposition political force that receives the most  votes in the prime ministerial election.

Responding to a Russian journalist's question about the authorities'  European aspirations, Kocharyan said that Yerevan's aspirations to  join the EU are nothing more than a beautifully packaged fairy tale.  "What's being proposed is something whose prospects are absolutely  elusive, at least for the next 20-30 years. For this reason, common  sense, the state, and the people lose. A pathological liar claims  that his election victory is a win for the country, but his victory  will be a disaster for the country," the second president of the  Republic of Armenia noted.