YEREVAN. – The Civilitas Foundation founder, former FM, and Prosperous Armenia Party MP Vartan Oskanian’s prosecution was permitted by the United States itself, Karabakh Committee member Ashot Manucharyan stated during a press conference on Thursday.
He noted that he does not believe the US ambassador is unable to prevent a persecution against a person in Armenia. “That is, they are not against [it] for the most part. Armenia has become an object of battle between the US and Russia, and the primary lever to dominate over Armenia is the presidential chair. Today, Russia is infuriated because they are attempting to snatch its influence in Armenia away from it, and, under such condition, the Russian side is capable of many things,” Manucharyan said.
According to him, this is why the US is trying to weaken and neutralize Russia’s main weapon with such small strikes. “Armenia’s ruling ‘regime’ begins persecuting a protected man, who is the second person of the Prosperous Armenia Party. At that time the party’s first person disappears while its remaining members, who used to hold state positions and make money unlawfully, begin contemplating as to what they would do with them if they are launching such actions against a man who is protected to such [high] level. Thus, the entire ‘Russian system’ is being neutralized by the actions against Oskanian,” he noted.
And in response to the query as to whether Oskanian’s nomination for next year’s presidential elections is real, Ashot Manucharyan said it would be better to pose this question to the Russian and US ambassadors because, according to him, they are the ones who decide which role is preferred for Oskanian to play: a presidential candidate, or a distressed prisoner?
As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the National Security Service (NSS) Department of Investigation has brought formal charges Monday against Vartan Oskanian.
To note, on October 2 the National Assembly voted—by 64 ballots for, six against, and with one invalid vote—in favor of Prosecutor General’s petition to include Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. A total of 71 MPs participated in the voting.
On May 25 NSS Department of Investigation had filed a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering with respect to The Civilitas Foundation.
