Opposition Strong Armenia Alliance MP Narek Karapetyan has conditioned the search of his house with political persecution.

Karapetyan told reporters that the search was being carried out within the framework of some investigative case, so there are restrictions on the publicizing of respective data, but he can inform that the law enforcement officers have not seized anything.

“It is obvious that people [in Armenia] are forbidden to engage in politics; this is the whole problem. That is, no one can engage in political activity [in Armenia], except for the satellites he [i.e. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan] noted; this is unacceptable. He is leading the country on the wrong path, and the majority of society does not agree with this position of his. He continues to aggravate the situation; yesterday’s statements are also about that. He was speaking with Azerbaijan in exactly the same way, and now he is speaking with a country [i.e. Russia] 120 times larger than Azerbaijan. He brought the already tense relations with Azerbaijan to an open conflict. Let him go and negotiate. All this is being done at our expense. Those who are applauding him now were applauding him before the 2020 war, too. We all know the result. One cannot speak to the world with emotions,” Karapetyan added.

Asked whether Russia is against the diversification of Armenia’s foreign policy and economy, the politician repeated that the Armenian authorities should negotiate and look for ways out, rather than bring the situation to a deadlock once again.

“We are an independent country, we must be able to both maintain distance and not bring the matter to a conflict. Yesterday he [i.e. Pashinyan] was saying something about charity. What now? Should we not engage in charity? Shall we catch a man so that he likes us?" Karapetyan said.

When asked whether he predicted a new war, Karapetyan gave a negative answer, explaining that he was talking about economic expansion and deepening influence. "Everyone knows how [Armenia’s] neighbors are trying to influence, how Turks and Azerbaijanis are economically pressuring neighboring countries. Such threats are not excluded. Under the guise of peace, they will try to ensure an economic and demographic presence in order to establish their influence."

Referring to Armenia’s relations with Russia, Karapetyan said that 65 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade falls on Russia. "It is wonderful that Armenian apricots are sold in France, but is that enough for our farmer?"

As for the prime minister's complaints about Armenia’s fish farming, Narek Karapetyan stressed that Armenian fish is of high quality, which is why it is exported to Russia. "Being a landlocked country, we have been able to supply fish to Russia, which has several seas. Instead of standing with and praising local producers, Pashinyan is criticizing them."