ArmInfo. The joint struggle of Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan against the revolution and its leader, Nikol Pashinyan, by no means cancels out their long- standing rivalry with each other. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by the Chairman of the Public Council of Armenia Stepan Safaryan, commenting on the information that appeared in the media about the unification of the two former presidents in the fight against the incumbent government.
"Kocharyan cannot forgive the RPA for surrendering power to the revolution, which led not only the RPA and Sargsyan, but also himself and many others to a dead end. However, they fought against each other long before that with very interesting methods, which fit into the concept of hybrid war. For example, through the Prosperous Armenia party of Gagik Tsarukyan, or from time to time nominating Aram Harutyunyan in the presidential elections to criticize Serzh Sargsyan, etc. And I don't think that much has changed now, "Safaryan stressed.
At the same time, according to Safaryan's estimates, Kocharyan is a more acceptable partner for Moscow in comparison with Sargsyan. First of all, given that, as president, Sargsyan from time to time tried to oppose the Kremlin's intentions to ''swallow'' the sovereignty of Armenia or himself. Unlike Kocharyan, who has never refused anything to Russia during all 10 years of his presidency.
The head of the Public Council determines the information noise around Kocharyan and Sargsyan by the presence of a real agenda related to them. The agenda, according to the head of the Public Council, is exclusively criminal, which both former presidents are trying with all their might to politicize in order to protect themselves, in order to "save their own skin". In this light, Safaryan noted with regret that the new political forces have so far failed to form a real alternative agenda to strengthen the results of the revolution. Accordingly, only these forces are guilty of this, as well as of Kocharyan and Sargsyan's attempts to present themselves as politicians.
"It has become very easy to develop opposition activities in today's Armenia. Freedom of speech, freedom of the media, freedom of democracy, which were absent in Kocharyan and Sargsyan times. The opposition needs to find a way to convey its thoughts, agenda, ideas to citizens. Criticism of the post-revolutionary situation should be meaningful, well-grounded, reasoned, respectively, convincing. And it should not be ridiculous, as today, when for example, Pashinyan is criticized that he dared to mount a horse in the conditions of the unresolved Karabakh problem. Unfortunately, none of the abovementioned happens in Armenia today, "Safaryan concluded.