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Government, Opposition Claim Each Other’s Reluctance To Have Snap Elections
Մարտ 17, 2021
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A senior pro-government lawmaker and an opposition faction leader have blamed each other for reluctance to have snap elections despite their public statements about the need to resolve the political crisis brought on by Armenia’s defeat in last year’s war against Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian, who represents the majority My Step alliance, told media on Wednesday that he did not consider that Bright Armenia, one of two opposition factions in the Armenian parliament, is genuinely in favor of holding early elections.
During a news briefing at the National Assembly, Simonian said that Bright Armenia would find many reasons to avoid snap elections.
New Ambassador of Kazakhstan presents credentials to Armenian President | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency
15:42, 17 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. Newly-appointed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Bolat Imanbayev presented today his credentials to President Armen Sarkissian, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.
The Armenian President congratulated the Ambassador, wishing further success and expressing confidence that he will invest his experience and efforts for the further deepening of the relations between the two friendly countries.
The meeting also touched upon the development of cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan. The officials noted that the relations between the two countries are dynamically developing, however, they added that there is a great potential in a number of fields which is not utilized yet.
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Saturday met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as part of discussions initiated by him to defuse the current political crisis in the country.
In statement issued shortly after his dismissal, Gasparyan said, “the whole process of [my] dismissal is unconstitutional, which once again confirms that a solution to the current crisis, meeting the interests of the country, can only be ensured by the resignation of the prime minister and early parliamentary elections.”
He went on to promise to challenge the grounds for his dismissal in Armenia’s administrative court.
Protesters since have been attempting to block the entrance to the country’s parliament and ministry of foreign affairs.
Criticism
After coming to power riding a wave of optimism following 2018’s Velvet Revolution, Pashinyan’s administration has since faced severe criticism for failing to adequately prepare the Armenian armed forces for conflict with Azerbaijan. One decision critics point to is Pashinyan’s choice to reject more modern air defence systems offered by Russia, and instead acquire dozens of second-hand Soviet-era Osa systems from Jordan