YEREVAN. – The climate is very “hot” in recent days at the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Zhoghovurd daily reports. 

“Zhoghovurd has learned from well-informed sources that President [and RPA Chairman] Serzh Sargsyan reproved the RPA MPs who dared to make critical speeches against the [Armenia-Russia natural] gas agreements.    

“And in order to be ‘amnestied,’ it was suggested [to them] to go nicely and vote in favor of the agreements.    

“It is no coincidence that, aside from voting in favor, [RPA MP] Davit Harutyunyan, Chairman of the [National Assembly (NA)] Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, for example, who had sharply criticized the agreements, was defending the fraud committed by the [NA] Counting Commission.      

“In an interview with Zhoghovurd, however, Harutyunyan denied the information that pressure had been exerted on him,” Zhoghovurd writes.