Pashinyan calls Samvel Karapetyan a secret employee of the FSB of Russia
Armenian Prime Minister and head of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan commented on publications claiming that the leader of the Strong Armenia party Samvel Karapetyan is an agent of the Federal Security Service of Russia.
According to Armenian media, Pashinyan made his remarks during the election campaign in Lori Province.
"Authoritative international and Armenian media are reporting with evidence that the Kaluga oligarch [Samvel Karapetyan] who has appeared in Armenia's domestic political life is nothing less than an employee of the Federal Security Service [of Russia]. In other words, the person who arrived and is participating in Armenia's political processes is in fact a secret employee of the FSB," he said.
According to him, this fact has now appeared in the press, and the media are providing all the evidence: "This confirms our perceptions, because just two days ago I said that the actions of a person who raises an issue that has never been discussed in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as those of a spy. These people are making daily efforts to bring up an issue that has never been part of Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. They started talking about three hundred thousand and have now reached one million Azerbaijanis who will come to Armenia: I can only describe this as the actions of an agent, a spy, because such an issue has never existed in Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. Why are these people spending millions to bring and implant this issue into Armenia's political agenda?"
Pashinyan added that the Armenian people have the opportunity to prevent such actions. "To do this, we, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, must join forces so that the three-headed war party, the agent war party, does not cross the threshold needed to enter the National Assembly. I respect all our international partners, but, sorry, sending agents here to engage in political activity and create agent networks is not partner-like. The fact that the Kaluga oligarch is an agent of foreign intelligence services means that the party he created is also an agent network, and every citizen who has learned this information today must make a choice: is he an agent or a citizen? Every supporter, sympathizer, participant in this party, every staff member must make a clear choice, and I believe that the majority of them will choose citizenship, and for those who choose agency, with all due respect to all international partners, the Republic of Armenia will come," Pashinyan concluded.
Earlier, The Insider published material claiming that Samvel Karapetyan, according to its investigation, is closely connected with Russian intelligence services. It notes that according to leaked databases, when applying for a foreign passport in Kaluga in 1999, Karapetyan's employment field was marked "IC FSB" - such markers are placed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on forms of confidential informants or persons working under the direct control of the FSB. It is noted that under pressure from the Kremlin, the oligarch joined the pro-Russian Lazarev Club, financed the election bloc of Strong Armenia, and planned to take the post of prime minister. The publication writes that Putin personally promoted his candidacy in negotiations with Pashinyan.
Sources: Armenpress, The Insider
