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The future role of incumbent National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan is a new situation that still needs to be discussed, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a briefing with reporters.
Asked whether he had any idea what Simonyan might do if he gives up his parliamentary mandate, Pashinyan said he had not anticipated such a development.
“Naturally, I did not plan in advance that Mr. Simonyan would no longer be the Speaker of the National Assembly or a member of parliament. This is a new situation. We will discuss it and understand what comes next,” the prime minister said.
Asked whether he had any proposal for Simonyan, Pashinyan replied that having one now would mean he had planned the situation in advance.
“I was not prepared for this situation. If I had a proposal now, it would mean I had prepared for it from the outset, planned it and arranged everything. I had not thought about any of this,” he said.
According to Pashinyan, the situation is new to him and he has yet to formulate his position. Earlier, Simonyan announced that he would not take up his parliamentary mandate and would not serve in the newly elected National Assembly.