ArmInfo. The first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, head of the Armenian National Congress Party, in his interview to the ilur.am, told about his relationship with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
In particular, Ter-Petrosyan stated: "It is believed that Nikol Pashinyan is my" political godson, "and I am his godfather. This is complete nonsense from the 90s to the mid-2000s, Pashinyan, as a journalist, was one of my most critics. "said Ter-Petrosyan. The first president noted that during the 2008 presidential election he joined the team of Ter-Petrosyan's campaign headquarters and took an active part in his work. He was also one of the agitators of the ANC bloc at the parliamentary elections in 2012. In 2014, he broke off his relationship with Congress and toughened criticism in my regard. "
Ter-Petrosyan also refuted the statement that Pashinyan calls him and asks him for advice. The first president of Armenia stated that since 2012, he had twice met with Pashinyan. "After that, I do not communicate with the Prime Minister," he noted.
Ter-Petrosyan refuted the information that allegedly Pashinyan "inherited" his political program - "territories in exchange for peace." According to the former president, he himself was never a supporter of this theory, and Pashinyan's position on the Karabakh issue is completely different and has been known to everyone for a long time. "The Prime Minister only said that he refused to negotiate on behalf of Karabakh and that he would restore Artsakh's status as a negotiating party," Ter-Petrosyan stressed.
According to him, the statements of the ANC on the need for a transition to a semi-presidential system are not aimed at the desire to extend the power of Pashinyan and his political team. The ANC has always advocated a semi-presidential system, considering it the most efficient for Armenia.
Finally, Ter-Petrosyan refuted the rumors about Pashinyan's close cooperation with the ANC, which is manifested in the appointment of party representatives to government positions. We are talking about the press secretary of Prime Minister Vladimir Karapetyan. "The fact is that Vladimir Karapetyan himself decided to suspend his activity in the ANC. Thus, all the rumors that there is close cooperation between the ANC and the Civil Contract party are not true. The Armenian National Congress did not have anything to do with winning Pashinyan and we do not count on "our share" of his victory. In addition, we have repeatedly stated that we are ready to contribute to the efforts of the new authorities of the Republic of Armenia, all efforts aimed at the prosperity and development of our country.
"Obviously, the aforementioned and other similar absurdities and lies are spread by a huge financial media resource center based on money stolen from the people. This center aims to rescue criminals from justice on March 1 at any cost, using the inevitable mistakes and omissions of the current government. These forces intend to raise a wave of discontent and overthrow the government, restoring the criminal regime through constant upheavals, as a result of which both Karabakh and Armenia will fall. This is nothing like a betrayal. The defeated regime actually declared war on the Armenian people and its elected government. Therefore, the duty of the people is to overcome this challenge and give a decisive rebuff to the anti- government forces, " Levon Ter-Petrosyan concluded.