Russian political scientist: Armenian opposition definitely determined - COMMENT

Moscow. 24 April. REPORT.AZ/ "The situation in Armenia has not escalated accidentally. Serzh Sargsyan's appointment as prime minister unfuriated people who are tired of the current politics: stagnation of the economy, outflow of population from the country."

Russian political analyst, Nikita Golobokov told the Russian bureau of Report News Agency.

According to him, the protest of the so-called Electric Yerevan in 2015 and rebellion of armed group "Sasna Tsrer" in 2016, which also held mass demonstrations of protest, means that, if were not the entire Karabakh clan, it would also be problematic for Sargsyan to challenge the government.

The expert added that the position of the "Karabakh clan" is still very strong, and they are unlikely to want to part with power.

"Karen Karapetyan (vice prime minister) is a member of that clan. It is a difficult question whether Sargsyan’s leaving the post would be masquerade or not. Because the opposition's opinion is absolute and they will not agree with change of places”, Golobokov stressed.

He also mentioned that there would be a clear confrontation between NATO-led Armenian peacekeepers and the Russian-Armenian army: "Soldiers are also human, they are also interested in politics and are under the influence of propaganda. Here, the activity of US NGOs in Armenia and the influence of the Armenian Diaspora plays a major role. On the other side, probably, it does not exist Russian soft power mechanisms in the country, but Russia has a strong military base."

Golobokov noted that the events in Crimea showed that how important for Russia to protect bases in the CIS.

On the other hand, the Kremlin does not want to offend the Armenian society, so now it wants to wait for the side of any of the parties and then come to an agreement with the winners", he added.