YEREVAN. – According to the information being disseminated in the political backstage, the talks between President Serzh Sargsyan and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Chairman Gagik Tsarukyan are still in progress, Zhamanak daily reports. 

“In return for supporting [Sargsyan in next year’s presidential elections], now, Tsarukyan also wants the ‘lucrative’ office of the head of the Customs [Department]. According to some information, Sargsyan and Tsarukyan have reached a preliminary agreement [in this respect], but the authorities wish to prolong this situation as much as possible not allowing the opposition to take drastic actions.     

Accordingly, the authorities’’ [next] move depends on [opposition bloc Armenian National Congress leader and First President] Levon Ter-Petrosyan. If he announces his nomination [for the elections], Tsarukyan, who has adopted oppositional manifestations, likewise will be nominated to neutralize him [that is, Ter-Petrosyan] and snatch the opposition votes. [And] If Ter-Petrosyan nominates another [presidential] candidate, Tsarukyan will support Sargsyan.      

Incidentally, during the PAP Political Board session Tsarukyan told those present: ‘My hand is on the pulse; everything is under control,’” Zhamanak writes.