Narek Karapetyan holds only Armenian citizenship, lawyer insists

Armenian lawyer and Strong Armenia party member Aram Vardevanyan has rejected claims that its top candidate Narek Karapetyan holds Russian citizenship, calling the allegations “absurd lies” aimed at influencing the political process ahead of the parliamentary elections.

Karapetyan, who heads the party’s electoral list, has been accused of holding Russian citizenship, which would disqualify him from holding public office under Armenian law.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Vardevanyan accused the authorities of spreading false reports and using politically motivated criminal proceedings to distract public attention from the government’s “disgraceful conduct”.

“Narek Karapetyan is only a citizen of the Republic of Armenia,” Vardevanyan insisted, adding that “the page of absurd lies and hatred must be closed.”

He also urged voters to participate in the June 7 elections, saying “changes are coming” and calling turnout a “strong civic duty”.