Friday, March 6 2015 09:19

 Moscow does not care for the domestic policy of Armenia unless it starts affecting the regional and foreign policy of the country. Consequently, the collapse of the Prosperous Armenia Party could not be planned by Russia. Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan told ArmInfo on March 6. 

"Moscow does not care for the domestic policy of Armenia unless it affects the country's balanced and sometimes pro-Russian stand. In addition, Russia perceives the domestic policy conflicts in Armenia as provocations by the West. So, there is no sense is creating additional conflicts," he said.  The politician believes that it were miscalculations and hasty steps that collapsed the PAP. "It is no longer as powerful a party as it was in January," Minasyan said. The political expert said Naira Zohrabyan's appointment as the PAP leader was anticipated following Gagik Tsarukyan's February 5 call for consolidation and snap elections. "If Tsarukyan did not retreat in 2012 and consolidated the opposition and participated in the elections, we would have a bipolar political field today," Minasyan said. He is sure that the incumbent authorities are also weak and lack public confidence.
Minasyan thinks Tsarukyan may emerge again ahead of the presidential election in 2018. "Everything is possible. Yet a year ago, no one could even imagine that the first and second presidents of Armenia, Ter- Petrosyan and Kocharyan, might support the same political force. However, the image of a politician is of big importance. Tsarukyan has retreated twice already - he would hardly manage to enlist the public support for a third time," he said.

At the PAP Congress on March 5 Gagik Tsarukyan stepped down as the PAP leader and announced that he leaves the big politics. Secretary of the PAP parliamentary faction Naira Zohrabyan replaced him on the posts of the PAP leader and PAP faction head saying the party will be operating in he opposition camp. Mayors of Nor Hachn and Byureghavan, Gagik Matevosyan and Hakob Balasanyan, left the Party on March 6.

Earlier, ex-minister of foreign affairs of Armenia, parliamentarian Vartan Oskanian, Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanyan and another 7 parliamentarians had left the PAP.