Catholicos and Armenian Apostolic Church have strong support – Karen Kocharyan

There is a growing impression that Armenia is turning into a hub for forces hostile to Iran, said today Iran’s Ambassador to Armenia Khalil Shirgolami.

On this and other topics, Alpha News spoke with political strategist Karen Kocharyan.

“Of our four neighbors, at least two—if not openly hostile—are certainly not friendly. Because a friend does not say: ‘There is no Sevan, there is Goycha; there is no Yerevan, there is Irevan.’ Not to mention that today Aliyev declared that the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’ is already a reality,” the expert said.

Regarding Prime Minister Pashinyan’s actions toward the Church, Kocharyan said that many do not follow Pashinyan because they are God-fearing.

“The Catholicos and the Armenian Apostolic Church have very strong support. Nikol Pashinyan himself is trying to find a way to continue the anti-Church campaign. For that, he tries different things in different churches. Pashinyan understands very well that this is not October 2018, when one call could fill Baghramyan Avenue. Very few follow his words now: some refrain out of fear of God, others perhaps not to go against their own conscience—because everyone has married in churches, baptized their children there,” Kocharyan said.