The movement, called “Our Way,” is being formed under the leadership of jailed Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian. His nephew, Narek Karapetian, told reporters on Thursday that the group will not cooperate with the current mainstream opposition represented by the political teams of former presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian.
“Samvel Karapetian’s team will come up with its own political message, its own political way, our way,” Narek Karapetian said.
Earlier, he confirmed that Samvel Karapetian himself will lead the group aiming to form a technocratic government in Armenia.
Karapetian was arrested in June after condemning what he and many other public figures view as Pashinian’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
“I have always stood by the Armenian Church and the Armenian people,” he told News.am at the time. “If politicians fail, we will intervene in the campaign against the church in our own way.”
Prosecutors interpreted those remarks as a call for a violent overthrow of the government, bringing charges against the Moscow-based businessman.
Later, Karapetian was also charged with large-scale fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.
Karapetian has dismissed the charges as politically motivated. His legal team has also described his detention as illegal. A court on Thursday extended his detention by another two months.
Despite Karapetian’s imprisonment, some analysts suggest that the 59-year-old businessman has enough financial and political influence to reshape Armenia’s political landscape, particularly among voters disillusioned with both the government and the mainstream opposition. Surveys suggest that these voters now make up the largest share of the electorate.
At a July 16 press conference, Prime Minister Pashinian said that Karapetian must renounce his Russian citizenship before participating in Armenian politics.
Meanwhile, there has been speculation that former Prime Minister Karen Karapetian (no relation to Samvel Karapetian) may top the new party’s list of candidates in the next parliamentary elections due to be held in June 2026.
Narek Karapetian neither confirmed nor denied the reports when asked to comment on them last month. The former premier, who has deplored the tycoon’s prosecution, has not yet publicly commented on the speculation either.