Russia says willing to strengthen allied ties with Armenia

YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Russia aims at strengthening of allied partnership and further integration cooperation with Armenia, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a Thursday press briefing, TASS reports.

“We’ve said numerously that we are in favor of solving the problems which exist in brotherly Armenia based on the country’s Constitution, within the legal framework and through constructive dialogue between political forces. We are set in an unchanged way for continuing the work aimed at developing and strengthening of joint allied partnership and integration cooperation”, she said.

The second round of the vote for electing a Prime Minister will take place May 8 in the Armenian parliament after lawmakers failed to make the election on May 1. Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, head of the Yelk (Exit) faction, was the sole candidate in the election. Pashinyan, the MP who spearheaded massive demonstrations throughout the country for about two weeks, failed to be elected by a 56-45 vote. He needed at least 53 votes to be named Prime Minister.

The opposition leader has already been officially nominated as a candidate for the second round. Pashinyan is endorsed by the Tsarukyan and ARF factions.

There are 4 factions in the Armenian parliament. The Republican Party (HHK) faction, the ruling party of Armenia, has 58 seats in the 105-seat unicameral parliament of Armenia – known as the National Assembly. The ARF faction – (Armenian Revolutionary Federation aka Dashnaktsutyun), has 7 seats. The Tsarukyan alliance has 31 seats, and the Yelk faction has 9 seats.

According to the Constitution, if a Prime Minister isn’t elected in the second round also, the parliament is dissolved by virtue of law.

The ruling party said it will not nominate their own candidate for the second round, just like in the first round. However, the HHK said it will not block the election.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan