Karapetian announced on Monday the start of “the formation of our political team” that will fight for regime change in Armenia. He signaled such plans shortly after being arrested on June 18 hours after denouncing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinian’s political allies have accused him of plotting to overthrow the Armenian government on the Kremlin’s orders.
The tycoon’s nephew and chief spokesman, Narek Karapetian, said that this will be one of their main lines of attack on the new group which analysts believe could become a major player in the Armenian political arena.
“They will use the anti-Russian notion that Russia sent Samvel Karapetian to spread Russian influence here,” he said in a video statement that laid out the group’s main tenets. “The [pro-government] diehards say that Armenia would turn into a Russia province. Let’s see who is turning Armenia into a Russian province.”
Citing macroeconomic data, Narek Karapetian went on to argue that Armenia’s economic dependence on Russia has deepened significantly during Pashinian’s seven-year rule.
“During the seven years of our ‘sovereign’ economic policy, Russia’s [direct and indirect] share in Armenia’s foreign trade rose from 27 percent to 60 percent,” he said, adding that the tycoon’s political team believes the country should diversify the trade by finding new export markets.
Arsen Torosian, a senior lawmaker from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, responded by saying that Samvel Karapetian is linked to the Russian government because of having strongly benefited from procurement contracts granted by the Gazprom energy giant.
The 59-year-old tycoon, who has mainly lived in Russia since the 1990s, made his massive fortune there and has a dual Russian nationality, has yet to clarify whether he will personally lead his party or bloc. It also remains unclear which Armenian politicians or public figures, if any, will join it.
Narek Karapetian said the group will aim for a new Armenian government dominated by technocrats. It believes that businesspeople and company executives should also be involved in governance, he said.
The billionaire was initially prosecuted for allegedly calling for a violent overthrow of Pashinian’s government. It emerged on Wednesday that Armenian law-enforcement have also charged him with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering. Karapetian and his legal team reject the accusations as politically motivated.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Pashinian effectively admitted the connection between the crackdown and Karapetian’s rhetoric. He said the tycoon must give up his Russian citizenship before engaging in political activities in Armenia.