Armenian authorities suffered a serious setback, a crack, after the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) declared its intention not to form a coalition with the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), Aram Karapetyan, Leader of the New Times Party (NZhK) told a press conference on Friday.
He says the BHK is not playing a game, rather, ‘a new political situation has been formed in the country.'
"The attempts to form a coalition failed since Serzh Sargsyan did not give a chance to the BHK to save its face by concluding a coalition agreement. They did not even take into consideration the 30 percent of votes which the party received during the elections. The BHK had only presented Serzh Sargsyan minor changes," said the NZhK leader.
Mr. Karapetyan says neither the BHK nor other radical opposition forces seek systematic changes, but they understand that if they chose some other political course, people would quit Armenia, and there would be a real revolt.
"Had the BHK entered the coalition, it would have appeared in a worse situation than the Country of Law (OEK). The party's downfall would have been much more painful in that case," he said.
The NZhK leader does not think that the BHK acted on the advice of second President Robert Kocharyan.
"It was Sargsyan's teammates who circulated the hypothesis that the BHK is not an independent force and that Robert Kocharyan directs the party in its relations with the outer world. Let me say that [BHK Leader] Gagik Tsarukyan is on good relations with influential figures, especially with those in Russia."
Aram Karapetyan does not rule out that the businesspeople affiliated with the BHK might quit the party after the party's decision to abstain from the coalition.
The NZhK leader, who has already announced its intention to run in next year's presidential elections, says he has become more resolute in his decision after BHK's step.
