Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is not calling for debates for the first time with his rivals who are former presidents – Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Serzh Sargsyan.
His rivals do not respond. Usually, the opposition leader calls the president or prime minister to a debate to achieve a change in power. In Armenia, however, it is the opposite; the prime minister emphasizes that he is ready to debate with each of the opposition representatives.
Pashinyan is proceeding with the right strategy. His rivals hesitate to debate with him because they know that Pashinyan has strong arguments against them.
Armenian society sees this and evaluates those who want to be an alternative to Pashinyan as weak.
In Armenia, parliamentary elections will be held in June next year. As the elections approach, Pashinyan will target his rivals more and strike them at their weak points.
At this pace, it seems difficult for Armenian radicals without Russia's support to remove Nikol Pashinyan from power.
Elkhan Shahinoglu,
political analyst
