Samvel Karapetyan`s nephew mentions three fakes that Armenian  authorities will use against  new political force

ArmInfo.  First Vice President of the Tashir Group of Companies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, Narek Karapetyan, has presented three key fakes that he believes the Armenian authorities will use  against the new political force established by businessman Samvel  Karapetyan.

In a video message on his Facebook page Karapetyan   noted that  the  first one concerns the so-called "Russian fake" that Samvel  Karapetyan, who has lived in Russia for many years and has businesses  there, was allegedly sent from Moscow to strengthen Russian influence  in Armenia, the so-called gubernization of the republic. He urged to  consider the reality and think about who is actually turning Armenia  into a Russian province. "In 2018, Russia's share in Armenia's trade  turnover was only 27%. Meanwhile, today this figure has increased to  45%, plus another 15% from the re-export of gold items from Russia to  the UAE through Armenia. Thus, under the current authorities,  Armenia's dependence on Russia has reached 60%," Narek Karapetyan  stated. 

However, he pointed out that the problem is not so much the increased  Russian influence, but  the lack of other economic partners for  Armenia to develop mutually beneficial relations with. He emphasized  that in order to ensure sovereignty, it is necessary to have an  equivalent trade strategy. In his opinion, the new political team of  Armenia should work to study and find countries where Armenian goods  can be competitive, noting that this could be, for example, Iraq.  Touching upon the second fake, he noted that it is connected with the  "former" political forces. As Karapetyan noted, all Armenian  authorities before Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan showed a desire to  interact with the diaspora, including large investors.  Particularly,  Samvel Karapetyan was invited to make his investments. 

"Thus, relations based on mutual respect were created between those  who ruled the country and investors," the businessman's nephew added.  Additionally, as Karapetyan noted, it is important to understand  something else  that the current authorities did not do: the  political strategy that was successful in 2000, in 2010, cannot be  effective in 2030. According to him, the new political force will be  more professional and will be prioritize  attracting skilled  professionals for the development of the country, regardless of their  political views, as long as they are competent  and their "hands are  clean." "At the same time, the authorities in Armenia face a  significant challenge: they have politicized public administration.  However, in order to have a strong political team in the country, it  is crucial to depoliticize those who make decisions in the country.  In other words, the ministries in the country must function as  professional systems," Karapetyan noted.

Referring to the third fake, the businessman's nephew recalled that  in Switzerland, Pashinyan stated that the diaspora should no longer  be seen as a supporting institution. In this context, he recalled  that it is the diaspora that sends $5 billion to Armenia every year,  which is 20-25% of the country's GDP.

Karapetyan added that, in other words, 500,000 people in Armenia  receive assistance from the diaspora, and if this assistance is not  provided, these people will find themselves trapped in poverty. In  this vein, he pointed out that currently  23% of the population in  Armenia, about 600-700 thousand people, live in poverty.  Noting the  importance of using the potential of the diaspora for the development  of the country, he pointed to neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia,  which have certain natural and other resources, but lack the support  of the diaspora.

.  He also called it unacceptable that diaspora representatives  should invest in Armenia, but should not have the right to express  their opinion on this or that situation, according to the logic of  the current authorities. In conclusion, Karapetyan highlighted that  all three of these above-mentioned fakes or manipulations pursue one  goal - to create societal confrontation for easier control or to  undermine confidence  in those forces that offer new ideas.