Armenia is becoming a center of geopolitical competition. The second president of Armenia and the candidate for prime minister from the "Armenia" bloc, Robert Kocharyan, stated this during a press briefing in Armenia’s southernmost Meghri city of Syunik Province, as part of the parliamentary election campaign.

According to Kocharyan, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's short visit to Yerevan Tuesday can be viewed as interference in the June 7 parliamentary election in Armenia.

"Of course, such a hasty, unannounced visit—the agenda and purpose of which are unknown to the public—a few days before the elections gives rise to such assessments. Especially since in recent times we see how the visits of delegations of some European countries [to Armenia] have become part of the election campaign. When you look at the content of the signed documents, there is nothing extraordinary, but the visit, of course, is of a propaganda nature. And what is wrong with that? We [i.e. Armenia] are becoming a center of geopolitical competition," Kocharyan noted.

The Armenian ex-president and PM candidate added that he has not heard any statements from Russia in favor of Armenia’s opposition, while such statements—i.e. in favor of the current Armenian authorities—are being made from European countries, and this has already become a trend.

The leader of the "Armenia" bloc noted that if 10-15 years ago this would have been considered a bad phenomenon, now everything has become mixed up, and this situation should be treated calmly. The former president described what is happening as an attempt to influence the upcoming parliamentary election in Armenia.

"Today, the side that is trying to have an influence on the elections justifies this with similar attempts by the opposite side. The gradual and mutual increase in tension will not lead to anything good," Robert Kocharyan concluded.