Vice Speaker: Opposition’s proposed policies will 100% lead to war

Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan stated on Wednesday that the opposition’s policies are certain to trigger war if implemented. 

Speaking at a press briefing, he was asked by reporters to respond to accusations that repeated warnings about the risk of war if the opposition wins the upcoming elections amount to threats.

Rubinyan, a senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, denied making any threats. He said that there is currently no risk of war.

“Let’s define what a threat is. When someone says, ‘If you don’t do this, I will do something that will be bad for you,’ that’s a threat. When we say that the Republic of Armenia, if it adopts the policy proposed by the opposition, will inevitably lead to war, there is no connection to a threat here,” he said.

According to Rubinyan, the likelihood of war at present is zero because the Pashinyan administration and the ruling Civil Contract party are pursuing their current policy.

“If the opposition comes to power and starts implementing the policy it has announced, that will clearly and 100% lead to war,” he added.

The Vice Speaker of the National Assembly also recalled that, in the past, the same authorities were criticized for not highlighting the risks of war.

“Those same people said, ‘Why aren’t you presenting the reality?’ and now they say, ‘Why are you saying it?’” Rubinyan emphasized.

He said that the upcoming elections are not only a choice between political forces but also between the policies they propose.

Rubinyan noted that the Civil Contract party maintains its current stance of preserving peace, while, according to him, the opposition forces are proposing a revision of this policy.

“If the components of the peace agreement, the Washington Declaration, the TRIPP agreement, and the delimitation regulations are revised, that will lead to war,” he stated.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned last week that the country could face an imminent war if opposition forces, whom he described as being controlled from abroad, win the upcoming parliamentary elections. He accused these opposition forces of attempting to revise the recently established peace and making belligerent statements.