YEREVAN. – The hunger strike by Armenia’s 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—takes the problem away from the political arena. President Serzh Sargsyan stated this during his talk with a group of journalists on Monday.   

According to the President, this is the primary reason why he does not plan on visiting Hovannisian at Liberty Square. Sargsyan noted that holding political talks with man who is suffering for eight days will not yield any results, Aravot daily reports. But the sole reason that he could go to Liberty Square is to call upon Hovannisian to end his hunger strike.    

But Sargsyan added that he still can make such call without physically being at the side of Heritage’s leader, and the President did just that. In front of the video cameras, Sargsyan called upon Hovannisian to end his hunger strike.   

Reflecting on the method of resolving matters by way of hunger strikes, Armenia’s President said as follows:

“Let us assume that someone is on a hunger strike in front of the presidential residence, demanding that his salary be ten, or one-hundred thousand dollars. Am I obligated to meet this demand?”