Leader of "New Times" Party Aram Karapetyan says Serzh Sargsyan was in an inappropriate situation during the Novruz celebration.
"He was representing the only Christian country at a Muslim celebration and tried to justify his presence by mentioning that Armenia was the first country that adopted Christianity so that others wouldn't think he was playing games with the Muslims," said Aram Karapetyan.
Karapetyan is sure that Serzh Sargsyan either visited the Islamic Republic of Iran by the country's invitation or was forced to visit.
Karapetyan has no doubt that the leader of any country meets or talks to U.S. government officials before visiting Iran, but doesn't know whether U.S. government officials met with Serzh Sargsyan before the latter's visit to Iran.
Aram Karapetyan says President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev did the right thing by declining the invitation to take part in the Novruz celebration. "Aliyev simply didn't want to become a part of the issue that would be presented during his visit; in other words, Iran was going to try to become an intermediary in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in some way."
Karapetyan says it was wrong for Serzh Sargsyan to visit Iran. "Armenia won't get anything out of that visit from the political angle. There was nothing new, unless there are agreements that remain confidential."
The leader of the "New Times" Party welcomes the fact that thousands of Iranians prefer to celebrate the Novruz celebrations in Armenia, but mentions that Armenians and Iranians are hot-tempered and there can be different disputes.
"The number of Iranians coming to Armenia is a little troubling. I must say that Armenia's police, the National Security Service and border guards are not ready to receive that many Iranians at once. To tell you the truth, Armenia's authorities are not ready for anything."
