May 14, 2022 - 16:27 AMT
Opposition says process of "lowering the bar" suspended in Armenia

Representative of the Supreme Body of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament from the opposition Ishkhan Saghatelyan has said the opposition Resistance Movement has achieved the suspension of the process of "lowering the bar" of the Armenian side on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

In recent weeks, protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have taken to the streets to block major roads in the capital Yerevan and call on the population to commit acts of civil disobedience. Pashinian has come under fire after he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to start drafting a bilateral peace treaty to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and set up a joint commission on demarcating the borders.

Pashinyan said in April that the international community is telling the Armenian side to lower its "benchmark on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh a little and ensure greater international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh."

Saghatelyan now claims that the movement has created a real political crisis, including in the eyes of international partners. According to him, the question of Pashinyan's legitimacy is on the table.

The lawmaker maintained on Saturday, May 13 that the campaign has proved that the Armenian people will not accept the concessions imposed on them, and that Nikol Pashinyan does not have the mandate to lead the country to new concessions.