YEREVAN. – Russia has remained the successor of the same Mongol-Tatar Golden Horde.

Armenia’s opposition National Self-Determination Union (NSU) Chairman, ex-presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan noted the aforementioned at a press conference on Tuesday. 

Hayrikyan argued that Genghis Khan was the world’s greatest “environmentalist” because he massacred 3 million people, and therefore people stopped cutting trees and, as a result, the forests were restored in those areas.

“Stalin [had] decided to go along the same path. Now, what should you restore in the Russian Empire?” the NSU leader asked.   

In his words, even though Russians consider Russia to be a bad country that is unfit for living, there are people in Armenia that say that 80 percent of Armenia’s population is in favor of joining the Russia-led Customs Union.    

“This is a big lie. Which Armenian person would prefer to go to Moscow instead of Paris? If he were allowed to go where he wants, either Madrid or [Saint] Petersburg, which Russian would say Petersburg?

“And those [Armenians] who have relatives working in Russia say that if we had been on good terms with Europe, we would have gone to Europe to work,” the ex-presidential candidate stated.       

Paruyr Hayrikyan stressed that Armenia might not become a member in the Customs Union after all, if five out of every one-hundred Armenian citizens that are against the Customs Union attend the National Self-Determination Union rally on November 29.

To note, following the talks that were held on September 3 in Moscow between Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin, Sargsyan had announced that Armenia plans to join the Customs Union and subsequently engage in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Aside from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan likewise are members in the Customs Union. And in response to this development, the European Union had stated that the signing of the Armenia-EU Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement is now doubtful.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am