Kocharyan slams Pashinyan over export subsidy claims

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has strongly criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent pledge to support exporters facing restrictions in Russia, calling the proposal unrealistic and economically unsound.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kocharyan, who is the prime ministerial candidate of the Hayastan bloc in the upcoming parliamentary elections, said Pashinyan “is very far from arithmetic” and lacks understanding of the scale of Armenia’s exports to Russia. “Armenia doesn’t have that money, nor does he have the ability to compensate,” he added.

Kocharyan noted that government officials had previously downplayed the restrictions, describing them as technical issues that would soon be resolved. He argued that exporting agricultural products to Europe is not a viable alternative, citing strict regulations and protectionist policies among European farmers. “For the next 10 years, Armenia won’t be able to export anything to Europe,” he said.

The former president warned that tough statements from Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union members amount to ultimatums that could devastate Armenia’s agriculture. “This is not a decline, it’s a disaster,” Kocharyan said, urging farmers to oppose Pashinyan in the June 7 elections.

He further alleged that the government’s policies are deliberately undermining Armenian agriculture to pave the way for Turkish imports. “There is no other explanation,” Kocharyan claimed.