“These were dishonest, absolutely biased elections”: Konstantin Zatulin

Konstantin Zatulin, chairman of the RF State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and director of the CIS Countries Institute, commented to Alpha News on the parliamentary elections held in Armenia.

“These were dishonest, absolutely biased elections, in which the authorities made full use of administrative resources on a scale, that would previously have been difficult to imagine not only in Armenia, but in many other countries as well. Candidates were arrested, placed under house arrest, and before that, the leader of the competing ‘Strong Armenia’ bloc and the other leader of the ‘Armenia’ bloc, Robert Kocharyan, was imprisoned. There were obstacles placed in the way of citizens who wished to participate in the elections and had traveled from various countries for that purpose, including from Russia. It even got to the point where, as is known, the Ministry of Defense began identifying arriving citizens and demanding they report for military training exercises as reservists. All of this was ostentatiously ignored by the Western community, which is preoccupied with the idea of pulling Armenia away from Russia and sees Nikol Pashinyan as a convenient partner for implementing that policy,” Zatulin said.

In the deputy’s view, it is impossible to call these elections lawful and legitimate.

“We know that every effort was made to inflate the vote percentage. Numerous reports of violations were received. The voting procedure itself also raised questions. Separate ballots were issued in such a way that it was effectively possible to understand in advance which candidate a voter intended to vote for.

Unlike a system where a person marks a single ballot listing all candidates, here, as far as I am aware, more than twenty ballots were issued, from which one had to be selected and then placed into the ballot box unsealed. This is a remarkable invention of the Armenian electoral system, presented as a manifestation of democratic elections, but in practice allowing for last-minute pressure on voters and causing them to fear that the authorities would find out how they had voted. I do not know what decision the opposition parties that participated in the vote will make, but I cannot bring myself to call these elections lawful and legitimate,” Zatulin noted.

According to the deputy, everything concerning Pashinyan’s statements regarding the EAEU is camouflage.

“As for Mr. Pashinyan’s statements that he intends to move toward the European Union while simultaneously remaining in the Eurasian Economic Union, this is, in my view, yet another example of the remarkable candor he has employed on more than one occasion. It is difficult to understand how one can seriously cooperate with EAEU member states, above all Russia, while openly declaring an intention to leave that union, without even holding the referendum that was promised on the matter.

In effect, Mr. Pashinyan is saying the following: when we become members of the European Union, then we will hold a referendum. That is, first make the decision, then ask the people’s opinion.

It is entirely obvious to me that everything relating to the EAEU in this case is merely camouflage. Of course, I understand that the Armenian authorities derive certain benefits, paying for their path toward the European Union through their participation in the Eurasian Economic Union. But it is perfectly clear that the EAEU members themselves are under no obligation to follow this logic. Particularly telling is the fact that Mr. Pashinyan, who in violation of the CSTO charter suspended Armenia’s participation in that organization, is now attempting to explain to others that the EAEU charter allegedly does not provide for the possibility of suspending Armenia’s membership,” Zatulin said.

In the deputy’s view, Pashinyan will seek to achieve the withdrawal of the Russian military base from Gyumri.

“The first thing subject to revision by Pashinyan is the military-political commitments.

And I believe that if he retains his post, he will seek to achieve the withdrawal of the Russian military base from Gyumri, just as Russian border guards were previously withdrawn from Zvartnots Airport and a number of other sections of the Armenian border.

It is clear to me that, while heading toward Europe and the West in words, Pashinyan is effectively steering toward yet another capitulation before stronger neighbors: Azerbaijan and Turkey. Today, whether we like it or not, it is Turkey as a NATO member that represents Western interests in this region, and makes no secret of its drive to extract maximum concessions from Armenian society.

In this sense, Pashinyan is a ‘useful little man’ who systematically signs agreements that his predecessors, in my opinion, were not prepared to accept even in their minds. This concerns questions of corridors, amendments to certain provisions of the Constitution under pressure from neighbors, and many other processes. In my view, all of this is entirely obvious. Therefore, I harbor no illusions about cooperation with the Pashinyan government. Unlike certain people in Russia who still maintain such illusions and are effectively playing into Pashinyan’s hands, I personally have no such illusions,” Zatulin concluded.