Authorities Ban Second President, Leader of "Armenia" Alliance, From Leaving the Country

ArmInfo. The authorities have banned the second president and leader of the "Armenia" alliance, Robert Kocharyan, from leaving the country. This was reported by Kocharyan’s office, which had previously announced that Kocharyan intended to leave the country for three days on personal business.

The statement, in particular, noted that the visit was of a private nature, had been planned long ago, and was postponed due to a hectic campaign schedule. "Given the private nature of the President’s numerous previous visits, we have never provided information in advance. However, considering the falsifications recently spread by the authorities regarding the visits of opposition representatives, we deem it necessary to protect the public from the expected dose of government fabrications," the statement read.

Meanwhile, Bagrat Mikoyan, the chief of staff to the second President of the Republic of Armenia, commented on the situation, characterizing the travel ban as unlawful and without grounds. He asserted that the president had no intention of fleeing and criticized the government's handling of the border restrictions, suggesting that the decision was politically motivated and undermined democratic principles.