Levon Ter-Petrosyan`s party responded to accusations of their political force`s pro-Iranian stance.

ArmInfo. The Armenian National Congress (ANC), the party of Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, responded to accusations that their party has a pro-Iranian stance.

On his Facebook page, ANC Deputy Chairman Levon Zurabyan noted that such accusations against their political party are not the first. He recalled that when their political force was laying the foundations of an independent state (1991-1997), they were called "pro-Westerners," and when they pursued a policy of normalizing relations with Turkey without preconditions (1992-1994, 2009-2010), they were called "pro-Turkish."

"When we tried to achieve peace with Azerbaijan based on a compromise settlement of the Karabakh conflict (1992-2020), we were called defeatists, agents of Baku, and "pro-Azerbaijani lackeys." When we tried to restore democracy in Armenia (2007-2013), we were called "orange pro-Westerners" (rapprochement with the US and the EU - ed.). When we joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and began cooperating with European liberal parties (2010-2026), we were called 'pro-European,'" Zurabyan recalled.

Further, as the ANC deputy chairman continued, when they, based on realistic positions, tried to resist the ignoring of Russia's role and influence in security and economic issues (2013-2026), they were labeled 'pro-Russian.' And now, as Zurabyan noted, the current leadership is leveling a new, no less 'unprecedented' accusation against them.

"Now we are supposedly 'pro-Iranian,' because we view strategic cooperation between Armenia and Iran as a guarantee of our country's independence and sustainable development, and we are also promoting projects to build a direct railway and other strategic initiatives with Iran. Such is the fate of an independence supporter in Armenia. We are constantly being branded, accused of being "pro-oriented," by those for whom servility and subservience to the powers that be have become an incurable part of their psychological makeup. They can't even imagine that a force guided solely by the country's national interests could exist in Armenia. It's inconceivable to them that in the politics of a small country like Armenia, one can avoid being an instrument of some great power," the ANC deputy chairman stated.

In conclusion, Zurabyan expressed his conviction that tomorrow these same people will replace the current accusations with others, but two things, according to him, will remain unchanged: the ANC's ideology of independence and the "servility" of those who bring these accusations against them.

As a reminder, the head of the Armenia-Iran Strategic Cooperation Development Center Foundation Pouya Hosseini and Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Party Levon Zurabyan signed a memorandum of understanding in Yerevan on September 1. By the memorandum, the parties confirmed their readiness to promote deepening bilateral cooperation through the exchange of opinions, holding joint seminars and events, encouraging the deepening of political, economic and cultural ties between the countries, and exchanging experience and information to achieve common goals.