Head of the "Heritage" faction, politician Stepan Safaryan considers the concession of Armenia's rights and state interests as the core of Serzh Sargsyan's "football diplomacy".
"Serzh Sargsyan didn't even stay true to his precondition, which was to not visit Turkey if the borders remained closed. He will face a serious issue with Armenians in Armenia and the Diaspora if he overlooks Turkey's statements on opening of the border in the case of a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring Azerbaijan," said Safaryan to "A1+".
He is surprised and offended to hear Serzh Sargsyan's statement yesterday when he said that he hadn't gone to the Diaspora "to ask for their permission."
"The acting president evidently doesn't realize that the permission of the Diaspora is necessary in order to make deals that sacrifice their rights. This goes to show that Serzh Sargsyan has declared a war on the Diaspora."
As far as Serzh Sargsyan's conduct during the Turkey-Armenia football match is concerned, Safaryan said that he saw nothing wrong with congratulating the Turkish side on the goal they scored, but not in so actively and indescribable way.
Stepan Safaryan was not surprised by Armenia's defeat and regrets it, but there is something more painful for him. "You can start things over in football and celebrate new victories, but Serzh Sargsyan must think about Armenia's defeat after signing the protocols. Unlike football, we will not have the opportunity to start again. I regret that football mixed with politics."
Stepan Safaryan believes that the most effective way to get out of the current state is to demand Serzh Sargsyan's resignation and the ones to do that are at least three parties- "Heritage", the Armenian National Congress and the ARF
