‘I understand this as direct political support for Pashinyan’ – Kocharyan on Fidan’s statement

Armenia is pursuing an anti-complementary policy—escalating relations with one side to extract something from another, Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan said at a press conference, in response to a question from Alpha News.

“This initiative comes from Armenia. Delegations go abroad and say that they have chosen the Western path, while Russia is going to start a hybrid war against us. This is the same model that Saakashvili used—escalating relations, then running to the United States to ask for support,” Kocharyan said.

He criticized the current authorities’ approach, calling it dangerous for a small country. He emphasized that unlike the previously pursued complementary policy, which sought common ground and overlapping interests, today Armenia is moving down a path of confrontation.

Referring to the remarks made by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Kocharyan characterized them as direct support for Nikol Pashinyan and his policies. “I understand this as support for this policy. There is no other way to interpret it. He may phrase it in diplomatic language to insist that they are supporting the policy rather than the person. Yet this policy is tied only to Nikol Pashinyan’s name. What difference does it make?” he said.