Karapetyan says Pashinyan's removal is opposition's immediate goal

Opposition prime ministerial candidate and businessman Samvel Karapetyan said on Tuesday that removing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from office is the opposition's immediate objective, while insisting any further action will depend on the Constitutional Court's ruling on challenges to the June 7 parliamentary election results.

Speaking outside a Yerevan court, Karapetyan said the opposition would resort to street protests only if it determined they had become necessary.

"The goal today is to remove Pashinyan. After that, there will be other steps," Karapetyan said when asked what opposition leaders mean by their pledge to go "to the end."

Asked whether it could involve street protests, he said the opposition would assess the situation before deciding.

"If we conclude that such a step is necessary, we will take it," he said.

"We are acting through legal channels. We have appealed to the Constitutional Court and will wait for its decision before outlining our further steps," Karapetyan added.

The Constitutional Court is considering opposition petitions challenging the outcome of the June 7 parliamentary elections. Karapetyan said the opposition still believes the court could rule in its favor.

"Even if the chances are small, we still hope the court will accept the two conditions we have put forward," he remarked.

He said the court could invalidate the election results or order a second round of voting, adding that the opposition would decide on any further action only after the ruling.

"We don't want to discuss additional steps at this stage," he said.