At rally in Gyumri, Pashinyan confirms his loyalty to Russia

Opponents of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and Karen Karapetyan are not going to initiate Armenia's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikol Pashinyan, the oppositional leader, has stated at a rally in Gyumri.

Nikol Pashinyan and his supporters arrived in cars to the today's rally in Gyumri from Yerevan. According to the organizers, the rally was unprecedentedly large for Gyumri – more than 10,000 people.

At the rally, Nikol Pashinyan announced a mass oppositional event in Yerevan on May 1 and warned Karen Karapetyan, the Acting Prime Minister of Armenia, against any attempts to resist people's will, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"Since April 29, all protests will restart with a new force; and on May 1, we should all be out in Yerevan squares and streets," Mr Pashinyan has declared.

According to his story, Mr Karapetyan is trying to present the Armenian opposition as an anti-Russian one.

"We are no enemies to Russia, but we are no enemies to our people; and we shouldn't lead them in a wrong way. After our advent to power, there will be no foreign policy reversals – we don't state that Armenia should withdraw from the CSTO, since the membership therein is in the interests of Armenia. But we state we will do everything to make this organization more efficient for the security of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh," said Nikol Pashinyan.

He has also assured that he is not going to initiate Armenia's withdrawal from the EAEU. "Armenia will remain committed to all its international obligations; this concerns both the EU, and the EAEU. It doesn't mean that Armenia's cooperation with them is ideal, but we must work on this," Mr Pashinyan has stated.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.