Karapetyan vows greater political engagement

Armenian businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan said on Thursday that he intends to deepen his involvement in the country’s political affairs despite being under house arrest, signaling a renewed phase of political engagement.

“Rest assured, it will gain new momentum,” Karapetyan told a group of media editors when asked whether he plans to remain in Armenia and continue his political activities.

Karapetyan, the Strong Armenia alliance’s candidate for prime minister in the June 7 parliamentary elections, acknowledged that the restrictions imposed by his house arrest limit his ability to operate freely. He nevertheless said he would participate more actively in political processes within the bounds of those constraints.

Addressing questions about his Cypriot and Russian citizenships, Karapetyan said the process of renouncing both nationalities is already underway.

“We have initiated the process, and by the time it becomes necessary, it will have been completed it,” he said.

Karapetyan also said the opposition’s primary objective remains removing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from office and ending the “humiliation” of the Armenian people.

Karapetyan accused Pashinyan of steadily eroding the foundations of the Armenian state, referring to him as “Aliyev’s governor”.