ArmInfo. The extra-parliamentary democratic forces of Armenia will support the country's authorities in the matter of Armenia's European orientation in every possible way Leader of the Republic Party, Aram Sargsyan announced on June 21 during the parliamentary hearings on the initiative of the "Platform of Democratic Forces" to join the European Union.
According to him, assistance will be provided by the full potential of extra-parliamentary forces. At the same time, Sargsyan continued, these forces will criticize all those actions that will hinder the republic's joining to the EU. The politician noted that all developments in the country since 2020 have a geopolitical focus." Today everyone is interested in the same question: which direction will Armenia move in, towards civilized Europe or will it remain where it is? The answer to this question has divided Armenian society into three groups. One group insists on further rapprochement with Russia, regardless of whether Moscow fulfills its obligations or not, the second group adheres to maintaining relations with Moscow, while simultaneously developing ties with the Western community, and finally, the third group is in favor of the country joining the EU family, which I belong to. We must finally make a political choice, taking the necessary real steps in this direction," the politician said. He added that if the opposition's demands are met, the Armenian side will have to abandon the European Union observation mission, purchase weapons from France and other countries, and withdraw French and American military experts from the country. "In other words, from the point of view of armaments, to continue to remain a backward state, which Azerbaijan will certainly take advantage of. In this case, there will be losses with democracy: there will be no free press, there will be no opportunity to freely express one's position," Sargsyan noted, adding that at present it is necessary to seize the moment. Sargsyan recalled that early parliamentary elections will soon be held in Azerbaijan, which will be accompanied by aggressive calls to obtain the necessary number of votes. "Ilham Aliyev will actively adhere to this rhetoric, which will be encouraged by Moscow. The Armenian authorities themselves recognize the possibility of new provocations from Azerbaijan. The only guarantor of excluding such developments is the collective West, including the EU. For this reason, four political parties recommend that the authorities hold a nationwide referendum within 3-4 months regarding applying to join the EU. Thus, the people will have the opportunity to speak out about the directions and paths of the country's development. Yes, a huge amount of work will need to be done on the path to European integration, which may take years, but we need to take the first step," the politician noted. A few days earlier, the Platform of Democratic Forces, whose members are the "Republic" party (chairman - Aram Sargsyan), the Rally For The Republic Party (chairman Arman Babajanyan), the Christian Democratic Party (chairman Levon Shirinyan) and the European Party (chairman Tigran Khzmalyan), proposed that the country's authorities hold a referendum on Armenia's membership in the European Union within the next 4 months.