YEREVAN. – Late Friday night, Armenia’s National Assembly (NA) Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan paid a visit to opposition Heritage Party leader, former FM Raffi Hovannisian—who is declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who claims to be the real winner in the vote and who declared a hunger strike on March 10 at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square. 

They talked for several minutes under Hovannisian’s tent and, subsequently, Abrahamyan responded to the questions posed by news reporters.

“We will try to do everything so that right solutions are given to the matters,” Abrahamyan noted.

To the query as to whether President Sargsyan will visit Hovannisian, the parliament leader responded: “I do not know anything.”

Abrahamyan also noted that he listened to Hovannisian’s concerns and he definitely will convey them to the President. 

He added that they will discuss all reasonable proposals and, also, make their own proposals. Abrahamyan noted that he does not consider holding a presidential runoff, dissolving the NA, and holding a new parliamentary election to be reasonable proposals. 

“Every person has the right to make proposals. Mr. Hovannisian received 550,000 votes. We respect the votes of these citizens, and we will do everything so that there would not be problems for the country,” he noted.  

And with respect to Raffi Hovannisian’s recent statement that, “they will swear-in over my dead body,” Hovik Abrahamyan said this is an unacceptable ultimatum.