Interior Ministry has no information on Samvel Karapetyan’s renunciation of foreign citizenships
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The Ministry of Internal Affairs has no information that businessman and Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan has renounced his citizenships of other countries. Armenian state authorities do not automatically receive information when a citizen begins the process of renouncing another country’s citizenship.
Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan said this during a briefing with journalists on 4 November, responding to questions about Karapetyan’s renunciation of Russian and Cypriot citizenship.
Asked whether house arrest could hinder the process, the minister said she was not fully familiar with the details of other countries’ legislation.
“I am not very familiar with the legislative details in other countries, but renouncing citizenship is a standard process. There should be no obstacle in that respect,” Sargsyan said.
Asked whether the ministry was informed when someone began the process of renouncing another country’s citizenship, the minister replied: “We may receive that information once the citizen has renounced their citizenship and provides us with the relevant information confirming that they are a citizen only of the Republic of Armenia. If the question concerns Mr Karapetyan, we have no information about him renouncing the citizenship of any country.”
On 30 June 2026, Samvel Karapetyan told journalists that the process of renouncing his other citizenships had begun. He also maintained that, to complete it, the court needed to allow him to visit the relevant embassies and submit applications.