Narek Karapetyan denies holding Russian citizenship

Armenian opposition leader Narek Karapetyan has denied claims that he holds Russian citizenship after a criminal probe launched by the Investigative Committee.

Karapetyan, who tops the party’s list for the upcoming parliamentary elections, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of attempting to divert public attention from growing criticism of the administration.

“Narek Karapetyan does not have any other citizenship. Narek is only a citizen of Armenia,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

Karapetyan sharply criticized Pashinyan, saying the prime minister had “completely lost self-control” and alleging that his “real face has now been exposed before the public.”

He also accused members of the ruling team of spreading “fake news” in order to shift public attention following recent political tensions.

“Changes are coming,” Karapetyan wrote.