Yesterday, Pashinyan raised a seemingly rhetorical question, which not only has a very clear and irrevocable answer, but will also be the source of all the political processes going on in Armenia.

When asked if the Russian President’s congratulations were important to him, Pashinyan responded: “There is a question as to who he was talking to. He didn’t congratulate, but who was he talking to?” Answer: “Putin spoke with Pashinyan, who was recognized as legitimate by him in 2021 and became the prime minister as a result of the elections, whose legitimacy will end on August 3, 2026.” This answer should ring in the ears of the entire administration, from Pashinyan to the last brother of Konjoryan, because this essentially means that from the point of view of Russia, there will be no government in Armenia from August 3.

Therefore, it is not clear who should leave Armenia for the EAEU session to be held in Kyrgyzstan on August 6-7. If Pashinyan is not legitimate, his deputy prime minister, minister and anyone else cannot be legitimate either. The EAEU simply has no right to accept Pashinyan at that summit. Pashinyan can announce in his own small ways that he is not going, but that does not solve the issue, and the issues are many and very serious.

For example, imagine that the EU demands Pashinyan to withdraw the Russian military base from Gyumri. Pashinyan also arrests and invites the Russian soldiers out. Those soldiers have no right to fulfill Pashinyan’s request, because Pashinyan at that moment, according to official Moscow, will be a common criminal citizen of RA, who overthrew the constitutional order and seized power.

Or let me give you another example: the budget of the Republic of Armenia has its share of all trade within the borders of the EAEU. RA receives that share from the EAEU’s total “obshyag”. If there is no government in Armenia, then the EATM has no right to transfer the money due to Armenia to someone, some N.P. from the street. If the EAEU transfers those funds to the National Assembly, today and tomorrow, RA can overcome the constitutional crisis and have a legitimate pride. Let’s assume that I am the prime minister tomorrow, can I not go to Moscow and ask the same Putin, who gave our money to him? Naturally, Putin will also find himself in a very uncomfortable situation, so from August 3, I will not give our money to anyone…

The movie has started, but don’t suddenly hope that you will be an observer. No, we all have a role in this movie… whether we like it or not. All we can do is decide whether we are taking on the role of a positive hero or a negative one…

Arthur Danielyan

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