Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reaffirmed that he guarantees the authenticity of the recording circulating on the internet, in which former President Robert Kocharyan, currently running for parliament, allegedly appeals to Russia for help—a claim he has denied as fake.

Earlier, a recording was published online in which, allegedly, the second President of Armenia and leader of the “Armenia” alliance, Robert Kocharyan, addressing what media reported to be Russian leader Vladimir Putin, says in Russian: “You brought me into Armenia’s political field, now I have problems; please ensure my exit from this field.”

Kocharyan has denied making the statement to Putin or any other leader, saying that the recording is fake and AI-generated.

Speaking at a press briefing, Pashinyan argued that the recording is authentic.

“I guarantee that this is a real, original recording; moreover, it is not a telephone conversation, clearly, but a voice message. It corresponds 100 percent to reality—I guarantee it. Robert Kocharyan himself left this voice message on a phone and sent it through an intermediary,” Pashinyan said, expressing surprise that civil society, investigative journalists, and, in general, no one has subjected it to scrutiny.

According to Pashinyan, from a legal perspective, the recording contains an instance of political activity in Armenia orchestrated by another country, which could primarily have political consequences.

Addressing the possibility of giving a legal assessment to the recording, he said he is not sure that it is necessary. “I am not convinced that there is a question of a legal assessment because when we say agent, we must understand that there are several layers—there is a foreign agent [of influence], who lobbies for the interests of a country. Our legislation, I am not sure, provides for such a thing, but at the very least, it deserves a political evaluation,” Pashinyan added.

As for potential criminal liability in other cases pertaining to parliamentary candidates, Pashinyan said law enforcement authorities will provide the legal assessment. Top “Strong Armenia” candidate Narek Karapetyan is under investigation over citizenship disclosure claims, while Prosperous Armenia’s Andranik Tevanyan is investigated on espionage charges.

“It is foreseen, and if I am not mistaken, an announcement was made that a criminal case has been initiated; it will be clarified through the criminal case,” Pashinyan said.