Pashinyan rejects claims of 2018 deputy PM offer

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday denied ever being offered the post of deputy prime minister during the 2018 protests that brought him to power, rejecting claims made by former President Serzh Sargsyan.

Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Pashinyan said that while he was held in custody, former Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan approached him on Sargsyan’s behalf to propose his release in exchange for the end of the protest movement. “I said it was impossible,” he stated.

He also confirmed holding a meeting with foreign ambassadors at the time, but said he had rejected any suggestion of outside mediation. “I told them I don’t need foreign ambassadors’ assistance to advance the political agenda in Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan stressed that “no conversation or hint” about any government post ever took place. “I would never allow such discussions. I categorically reject it,” he said.