Robert Kocharyan: No final decision yet on format for 2026  parliamentary election 

ArmInfo.  The final format regarding the participation of the second President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, in the 2026 parliamentary  elections has not been determined yet, as stated by the former  president during a press briefing on January 29.

 According to him, rumors have recently been circulating in the media that if the "formers" step down, greater prospects will open up for the remaining  candidates. However, as Robert Kocharyan noted, one should not lump  all three presidents of the RA into one category.

 "We, the three former presidents-myself, Serzh Sargsyan, and Levon  Ter-Petrosyan-are completely different in character. We have varying  views and work styles, but we share one commonality: our past roles  as presidents. If simply being a former president is reason  enough  to declare 'You shouldn't participate in elections,' then  former  ministers, members of parliament, or ombudsmen should not participate  either. Is that normal? Of course not," the second president noted,  adding that each person decides for themselves whether to participate  in elections, and if so, in what format.

At the same time, the former president noted that if his political  force doesn't take first place in the elections, he personally will  have no ambitions. "In this case, this force must answer whether it  accepts Kocharyan's leadership or not. However, every opposition  force participating in the elections must declare that it excludes  any cooperation with the "Civil Contract" party." The former  president also stated that he does not see himself serving as a  minister. "In our political team, there are many people  who possess  the necessary knowledge and can do this." As for who will become  prime minister, there is a very simple option: the one who receives  the highest percentage of votes has the priority right to be  nominated for the post of prime minister," the second president of  the Republic of Armenia noted. 

In response to a question about Pashinyan accusing the former  presidents of robbery, Robert Kocharyan replied that the Prime  Minister himself came to power with a slogan of love for the people,  but it later turned out that he loves money. If he had loved the  people, Kocharyan continued, the situation of pensioners would not be  as it is now. The former president noted that in 2008, he did not  hold any public office. "I was a free man, worked for a large  company, earned a lot of money, and was not responsible for  everything. This was a pleasure for a person who, from 1998 to 2008,  constantly went through difficult trials and assumed responsibility  in crisis situations. Now the situation is again in crisis, and Iface  a choice:  to take responsibility or evade it. I believe that no one  can lead the country out of this situation better than me. If you  name someone with more experience in all areas, that would be very  good," the former Armenian president said.

In this regard, speaking about the support for Nikol Pashinyan from  foreign countries and organizations, Robert Kocharyan recalled the  statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and EU High  Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.  The former president believes that this support is not their  initiative, but rather comes from Armenia. "Delegations from Armenia  go and declare:  'We have taken a pro-Western stance, and Russia is  waging a hybrid war against us.' Saakashvili did the same: he  escalated relations and then fled, asking for support. Armenia is  escalating relations and trying to get something from the West in  return. How will this affect domestic politics? There will be a  certain impact. From this perspective, the opposition has found  itself in an unequal conditions. Russia doesn't make such statements,  nor does China. The difference between China and the US is that the  US says, "If you don't do this, I'll punish you," while China says,  "If you do this, I'll reward you." There's a big difference between  these approaches, which is why China is much more attractive to many  countries. For some reason, Armenia has found itself in a situation  where relations with one side have to be build  by destroying  relations with the other. For a small country, this is not normal,"  Robert Kocharyan noted.