Moscow is looking for a replacement for Pashinyan. Nikol is ready for all the conditions of the Kremlin

The Armenian opposition will demand the impeachment of the country's Prime Minister N. Pashinyan after the cancellation of martial law, opposition MP Shake Isayan said at a parliamentary session. Martial law was declared in Armenia on September 27, 2020. While the opposition is demanding the resignation of MPs from the ruling party, at least three MPs from “My Step” left the party after Pashinyan called on the soldiers to return to Yerevan and deal with the "whine under the walls."

Pashinyan's most authoritative opponent is the country's President Armen Sarkisyian, who on November 16 called on the entire government to resign. Sargsyan was one of the first to accuse Pashinyan of betraying national interests. He said that he did not know about the preparation of the Statement on a Ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh (November 10, 2020), noted that his "rich diplomatic and negotiating experience" was not used in making the decision. The president is in favor of early elections and the formation of a government of national accord in Armenia, while he does not indicate his candidate for the post of head of government. Now A. Sargsyan is in Moscow on a private visit, holds meetings with Russian Armenian leaders, discusses "the latest events in Nagorno-Karabakh and the situation in Armenia" (RBK).

The “Golos Armenii” newspaper reported on a business trip of the head of the protocol department of the Prime Minister’s Office E. Harutyunyan to Moscow. The newspaper asks what protocol details that were not previously agreed upon Harutyunyan will discuss during the four days. There is a version that they will discuss the terms of resignation and security guarantees for Pashinyan and his family members. “By providing guarantees, Russia in return will try to extract from Pashinyan the remains of the maximum that can be extracted from a person who has turned into a political corpse.”

In an interview with Turan, Moscow political analyst Alexander Karavaev said that the separate visits of Armenian leaders to Moscow indicate that the Kremlin wants to receive information from various sources. The situation in Armenia is complicated; Moscow's own information is not enough, personnel decisions on Armenia are made at the highest level.

“The information cannot come from just one person. I think that apart from the names mentioned in the news, there is another group of communicators for Russia in order to determine the power in Armenia. Business communication is of great importance, especially with mid-level businesspersons, with whom Russia needs to establish relations. Moscow is not interested in inflation or refugees; it is interested in the issue of the elite and clans in Armenia.

The question arises: should Pashinyan be fired? On the surface of his ties with the West, Pashinyan's conflict with Moscow over the arrest of R. Kocharian, head of the CSTO, and the fate of the Russian railway in Armenia. How to equip Armenia so that it can develop independently without constant demands from donors. It is possible to create such a state through external control by Russia. Pashinyan is now, after the collapse that has befallen the whole of Armenia, ready for any proposals from the Kremlin if he is left in power, said A. Karavaev.

Pashinyan admits the possibility of his departure, and he is looking for a replacement. On November 27, the Yerevan newspaper Hraparak reported about Pashinyan's secret negotiations on the transfer of power to the former head of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan. One of the organizers of the anti-Pashinyan movement, Vanetsyan, regarded the trilateral Statement he signed (Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia) a "betrayal", while he considers it necessary to fulfill all its points. 

"The next prime minister of Armenia should be a person who has work experience, who has good personal relations with the leaders of other countries, good relations with the Russian political circles," Vanetsyan said. He noted that the new prime minister should include favorable points for the Armenian side.

According to other sources, on November 27, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev held a meeting in Moscow with the head of the Russian Regional Academy (CSTO-EAEU) in Armenia, Artur Baghdasaryan. They say that Moscow is considering his candidacy for the post of Pashinyan's successor.

A. Baghdasaryan is the former leader of the Orinats Yerkin (Country of Law) party, chair of the Council of the CSTO Academy, chair of the council of the French University of Armenia. After losing the 2018 parliamentary elections, he announced his retirement from politics. From 2003 to 2006, he was the chair of the National Assembly of Armenia. In the 2008 presidential elections, Baghdasaryan was nominated by his party as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Armenia. On March 25, he signed a coalition agreement with President Serzh Sargsyan; and by his decree, he was appointed Secretary of the National Security Council. After 2018, he did not make political statements and assessments.