Nikita Belenchenko discusses Pashinyan's chances of retaining power in Armenia

Parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia on June 7. Seventeen parties and two political blocs will participate, of which, according to the results of the latest published polls, the Civil Contract party of current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has the best chance of winning.

Nikita Belenchenko, Director of the Center for International Studies at the Faculty of International Relations at BSU, discusses Nikol Pashinyan's chances of retaining power in Armenia.

"Despite Armenia not being a medium-sized or large country, enormous attention is focused on the current parliamentary elections. Indeed, their results will determine not only the composition of the National Assembly but also the country's future direction, as well as the development of the situation both in the South Caucasus and throughout the post-Soviet space. Pashinyan's leadership prevents him from securing an absolute majority in parliament. To secure an absolute majority in the adoption of key legislative changes or in determining Armenia's future course of cooperation with either the EU or the EAEU and Russia, he must forge some kind of internal truce with the coalitions that will also comprise the National Assembly," he noted.

Today, Armenia is grappling with a dilemma: cooperation with the European Union or cooperation with Russia, because EU leaders are literally forcing the country to choose.