‘Certain circles in Russia and Eurasian Economic Union back secret plan by Armenian opposition’ – Pashinyan
- Armenia has reached a very important historic turning point, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a discussion of the 2027 state budget. He described it as a moment that would have a decisive impact on the country’s political, economic and social development.
However, he said that forces both inside Armenia and abroad were seeking to prevent this historic moment from arriving. According to Pashinyan, similar forces had opposed Armenian statehood in the past, dating back to 2018. That was the year of Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution”, which brought him and his team to power. “But this year, their cards have been laid bare,” Pashinyan stressed.
He singled out the so-called “secret plan”, which opposition circles have been discussing recently.
“The aim of this plan is to prevent Armenia from continuing on its path of economic development. There are not enough resources inside Armenia to implement this secret plan, so its authors must do everything possible to secure resources from abroad,” he said.
The prime minister spoke about this “secret plan” a couple of weeks ago, but did not specify which countries he meant. This time, however, he openly named them:
“I do not want to hide the fact that certain circles within the Eurasian Economic Union, led by Russia, and in the Russian Federation itself support this plan. And there are reasons for this, because people have been sent to Armenia with specific promises and guarantees.”
Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the pro-Russian opposition Strong Armenia party, has repeatedly spoken about a “secret plan” to change the government in Armenia. He made these remarks in response to a question about the steps the opposition intended to take to oust the current authorities.
At his weekly briefing on 22 October, Nikol Pashinyan said that forces both inside Armenia and abroad were taking steps to effectively eliminate the country:
“The aim is to provoke political instability inside Armenia. As a result, they intend to take control of the Armenian state. In other words, they want to strip Armenia of its independence – first de facto, and then de jure.”
The prime minister also said that several similar attempts had taken place over the past three years. He cited, in particular, the events in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 and hybrid attacks on Armenia during the parliamentary elections, which took place in June this year. He believes a third attempt is now under way. In particular, he was referring to an expert forecast by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, which warned of an allegedly catastrophic economic downturn in Armenia if the country left the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU. “This is part of the ‘secret plan’ that people are actively discussing now,” Pashinyan said.
“Armenia’s political forces must understand that the people are their only guarantee”
The prime minister said that certain opposition figures had “received specific guarantees and been sent to Armenia”. He then asked: “So why are these guarantees not being honored?” He went on to answer his own question, urging the opposition to look back at the history of the Armenian people. He said that whenever such “guarantors” had emerged, the outcome had invariably been another catastrophe.
“I am essentially doing our opposition colleagues a favor by pointing out that they still have time to avoid a similar catastrophe. I am talking about the political catastrophe facing opposition parties, which you all know about. I hope they will seize this opportunity to avoid it.”
He recalled that he had previously urged the opposition to stop relying on these “guarantors” and instead focus its efforts on strengthening Armenia’s independence and sovereignty. However, his proposal went unanswered.
“In effect, it was rejected through silence. I believe the window of opportunity has not yet closed. Ultimately, our political forces must understand that there is only one guarantee – the people of Armenia,” he stressed.
