YEREVAN. – Ara Babloyan, Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, will meet with the detained MPs, said Arsen Babayan, Head of the NA Media and Public Relations Department.

In his words, Babloyan, who just recently returned to capital city Yerevan, is heading from Zvartnots International Airport to meet with NA deputies Sasun Mikayelyan, Ararat Mirzoyan, and Nikol Pashinyan.

As per Babayan, the parliament speaker plans to ask and urge his colleagues so that real negotiations are conducted, with a real negotiation agenda and at a normal environment to hold talks.

As reported earlier, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of “My Step” initiative—which protests against ex-President Sargsyan being elected Prime Minister by the parliament—opposition Civil Contract Party Political Council member, and NA “Way Out” (Yelk) Faction head, had a very short talk on Sunday morning.

About an hour later, police used force against demonstrators on a street in capital city Yerevan, and took dozens of people into custody, including Civil Contract Party members and MPs Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan, and Sasun Mikayelyan. 

According to the information that was disseminated, Pashinyan was at Sevan town police precinct, whereas Mirzoyan and Mikayelyan were taken to the police department of Shengavit District in Yerevan. 

Later, three of them were formally detained.