Iskandaryan: In a parliamentary country, the supporting structures of  the political system are political parties, which I do not see in  Armenia

ArmInfo. Armenia is trying to come to its senses after the abrupt changes in 2018 and build a certain scheme, in line with which it will move on. Director of the  Caucasus Institute, political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan said  this at a meeting with reporters on December 26.

Commenting on the selection of the top 10 events remembered in 2019,  the expert noted that the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia  that "Artsakh is Armenia and that's final" is not being spoken for  the first time in history. <Considering how Pashinyan came to power,  he had to speak harshly and make nods in the right direction, and at  the same time make statements that show that Armenia is still with  Artsakh, and everything remains in place in the field of approval of  theses>, he said.

Iskandaryan mentioned the resignations in the power structures, in  particular the head of the NSS and the head of the Police, as a  manifestation of the effect that was bound to happen and a split  inside these people was inevitable, since "the revolution always  devours its children".

<The fellow travelers who came around Pashinyan are diverse people,  among them there are professionals who, by the fact of their  biography, cannot behave like ordinary people. Therefore,  contradictions arise, which result in the replacement of these  people. While all this is just berries, we will observe serious  contradictions further>, the political analyst predicts, noting that  cadres in key structures cannot appear in one day, and it takes time  to stabilize the crisis with the elites.

Iskandaryan attributed the charge against Serzh Sargsyan and others  to the fact that they are representatives of the past power, noting  that the revolutionaries who came to power "cut off" the political  heads of the former.

The adoption by the Senate and the US House of Representatives of  resolutions on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the expert  considers an achievement to which Armenia has nothing to do. This, in  his opinion, is the merit of the Armenians - US citizens who elect  and listen to them.

Iskandaryan believes that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in  this format is more related to the US-Turkish relations, and the  specific situation that developed during the vote.

Speaking about the crisis that has arisen around the Constitutional  Court, the political scientist noted that the figure of the judges of  the Constitutional Court in particular, in all the constitutions of  the world, was intentionally built so that it was almost impossible  to dismiss them, noting that this stems from the logic of the  political system.

<When a revolution occurs, influence on the elite begins, and in the  Constitutional Court it is especially difficult to do. The desires of  the conflicting parties are clear, and the state's tools are usually  serious>, he explained, noting that pressure on the Constitutional  Court will continue.

Speaking about the results of the Armenian chairmanship in the EAEU,  Iskandaryan described 2019 as a year of stomping on the spot, not  referring specifically to Armenia, but to the structure itself. He  believes that the Eurasian Union is in the process of grinding in,  getting used to, so that the leaders of the countries learn to  interact with each other, noting that any union is a space not only  for cooperation, but also for contradictions.

<2019 for the EAEU was a year of some types of rivalry between  countries, "bargaining" of some kind of preferences, and this process  will continue>, he said.

Touching upon the Karabakh settlement, Iskandaryan called this year  convex from the point of view of negotiations, noting that the  meeting in Bratislava showed the real situation in the framework of  the conflict, in particular, the meeting of the heads of countries  showed that there is no solution to the Karabakh conflict, there is  stagnation and due to the lack of real subject to negotiation  substantive negotiations are not conducted.

Iskandaryan believes that such a format of negotiations is not an  attempt to resolve the conflict, but an attempt to learn how to live  in a conflict: to shoot less, reduce the risks of serious  escalations, and not leave the negotiation process so that the format  continues.

The expert considers the visits of journalists to Baku and Yerevan to  be an unprecedented event, explaining that this shows, on the one  hand, that the parties do not see a solution to the conflict, and on  the other, that there is a process that can mitigate the risks of  tension and that the status quo will continue to work.

Speaking about the ongoing protest moods on various issues, he said  that people had expectations that were utter and impossible, but the  revolutionaries only worked on negative theses. The removal of Serzh  Sargsyan did not solve the problems. Against this background,  confidence in the leadership is falling; there are reasons for  protests. "If there is a request for protest, every occasion becomes  another pretext for this political protest to manifest itself and the  protest ground to expand," he added.  Speaking about the  parliamentary form of government, the political scientist believes  that the construction of institutionalization schemes, the  development of systematic plans, as well as party building is not  observed in Armenia. <It is possible to drive out each individual  official, but you cannot liquidate the system, there are no resources  for this, the authorities see that a lot is not working out. It's not  about people, but about systems, projects, and fighting people is  completely useless. In a parliamentary country, the supporting  structure of the political system are political parties, parliaments  do not work if there are no political parties, "he said, noting that  the ruling bloc" My Step "is not a political party.