Sargsyan: Armenia changes its form of government, but not foreign  policy

ArmInfo.The parliamentary form of government is more suited to the Armenian reality, to the mentality of the Armenian people. This was stated in an interview with Izvestia by the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan.

He noted that Armenia has been living in the parliamentary republic  for several days, and on April 17 the deputies will elect the prime  minister. "Thus, all the main government bodies of the state will be  formed." Constitutional changes started in Armenia in 2005 / They  entered into force in 2007. Working for a long time at the highest  positions of public administration, including as prime minister, and  as president, my colleagues and I came to the conclusion that the  semi-presidential form of government contains big threats, because it  is not balanced, it turned out that the president had greater legal  responsibility for domestic and foreign policy, ensuring security and  so on, but did not have the appropriate authority to fully implement  the duties envisaged by the Constitution, "Sargsyan said.

At the same time, he added that the return to the presidential form  of government would not have been positively received in the Armenian  society. "After all, the 2008 presidential elections did not go  smoothly, and almost all political forces demanded that the form of  government be changed to a parliamentary one." In order to meet these  wishes, we decided to balance the political structure of the country,  which now has a strong legislative power of the parliament, to which  the government bears full responsibility. , that this form of  government is more suited to the Armenian reality, to the mentality  of our people, which will allow us to make democratic transformations  and at a faster pace zvivat Armenian economy ", - he said.

Answering the question of how the powers between the president and  the prime minister will be distributed and who will be responsible  for foreign policy, Sargsyan stressed that the parliamentary system  assumes a strong legislative authority, to which the government is  fully accountable. "The president, being the head of the state,  follows the national interests, monitors the observance of the  Constitution, in some cases he can challenge legislative acts, refer  them to the Constitutional Court and not even sign them." However, in  such cases, after the president's refusal to approve the documents,  acts , adopted by the government or the prime minister, come into  force.The government is the supreme body of executive power, and the  prime minister determines the main directions of domestic and foreign  policy. Our relations with the outside world will remain unchanged,  changes in domestic and foreign policy can occur only when the  parliamentary majority chooses it.In addition, it is important that  the foreign minister is guided in his activities by the attitudes  received from the prime minister, - explained Sargsyan.

Speaking of relations with Russia, he recalled that the  Russian-Armenian alliance is based on friendship and brotherhood,  which have passed the centuries-old test of time. "We have been  together for centuries, and the parliamentary majority headed by the  Republican Party and its coalition partner Dashnaktsutyun will  continue to consistently develop and strengthen our allied relations  with Russia, and this has a very positive effect on the development  of Armenia. in relation to Russia, "added the third president of  Armenia.  Speaking of the new Armenian President Armen Sargsyan, the  former RA President, noted that Sargsyan was a promising physicist in  his youth. "In the early 1990s he was appointed our ambassador to  Great Britain, then he worked as prime minister and returned to the  United Kingdom in 2013. When we thought about the presidential  candidates, we came to the conclusion that he was the most suitable  person for that. 

He has a wide range of acquaintances in Russia, in the West, in the  Arab world, he will be able to represent our country in the  international arena with dignity, not foreign policy, but external  relations, and he is widely known in our diaspora Therefore, he can  play a consolidation It is important for our compatriots living  outside of Armenia to promote repatriation, there is no change of  power in Armenia, the form of government is changing, and until 2022  both the foreign and domestic policies will be basically implemented  by the parliamentary coalition. course, and in the case of Armen  Sargsyan it is impossible, because he knows Russia well, is fluent in  Russian, is not only an expert but a connoisseur of Russian culture  and art. Even if it were possible, why, "Sargsyan asked.

Answering the question about possible premiership, Sargsyan said in  part: "My party colleagues supported Karen Karapetyan's proposal at  the meetings of the relevant party bodies, and I am ready to assume  such responsibility, but nothing eternal can happen. Therefore, along  with their duties, if, of course, my candidature will be approved in  the parliament, I'm going to devote a lot of time to transferring the  experience that I have accumulated for many years in different  positions.This is very important.We should think about worthy young  politicians x, which are among the Republicans, and outside the  party. We have a big and useful work for Armenia. "