Monday, January 24 2022 21:04

ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claims that he learned about the impending resignation of President Armen Sarkissian a few hours before the  statement became public. In this regard, as the Prime Minister  assured on January 24 during an online press conference, answering  questions from the media and public organizations, the political  majority has not yet decided on the candidacy of the future  president.

It should be reminded, that yesterday, on January 23, Armenian  President Armen Sarkissian has resigned. According to Sarkissian, the  reason for his resignation is the lack of appropriate tools for the  President, including the ability to influence "issues related to war  or peace". As stated in a statement published on the website of the  head of state, Sarkissian thought it thoroughly and decided to resign  from the position as president of the of the Republic of Armenia  almost four years of active work " This step of mine is entirely  non-emotional and comes from a certain logic," the President noted.  Armen Sarkissian became the first President of the Republic of  Armenia, elected not by popular vote, but according to the new  Constitution, by the Armenian Parliament in April 2018 for a period  of 7 years.

So, according to Pashinyan, 2-3 hours before the official  announcement of his resignation, Armen Sarkissian informed him of his  decision by phone. The Prime Minister, he said, tried to understand  whether the President's decision is final or still subject to  discussion. "But he told me that the decision is final," Pashinyan  said.

In this context, as the Prime Minister assured, the political  majority did not have time to orient themselves about a possible  candidate for the presidency. According to Pashinyan, in this matter,  "in the face of the threats" the authorities should make decisions  that will allow the establishment of "political harmony" between the  President, the National Assembly and the Government.

At the same time, referring to the motives, and whether he considers  the grounds indicated in the President's statement sufficient for  making such a decision, the Prime Minister said that he takes them  into account, but considers it incorrect to comment on them. At the  same time, as the head of government emphasized, after 2018, when  Armen Sarkissian was elected President, and then Pashinyan became  Prime Minister in May, the provisions regarding the institution of  the presidency and its powers in the Basic Law of the country were  not revised (according to Sarkissian, the reason for his resignation  is the lack of appropriate tools of the president, including the  ability to influence "war or peace" issues, ed.  note).

Nikol Pashinyan also referred to Hetq's information that Armenian  President Armen Sarkissian was found to have citizenship of the small  Caribbean state of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It should be noted that  according to the publication, Sarkissian mentioned several reasons  for his resignation in his statement, but they have little to do with  the real reasons.  The real reason for resignation was the presence  of citizenship of another country, at least until the moment of  election as President. "The President most likely will not return to  Armenia, as he may face criminal prosecution on the basis of forgery  of documents," the publication said. According to Pashinyan, he was  informed about the publication, but has not yet had time to read it.

In this vein, Pashinyan, speaking about possible constitutional  changes, stressed that he did not want to somehow individualize this  issue and noted that the constitutional commission should monitor the  weaknesses of the current constitution, and, if they are, propose its  own changes. But nevertheless, he expressed his point of view that  constantly changing the constitution and the system of government of  the country is not so right and that he believes that there is no  need to change the basic law of the country for the time being.