Former Armenian President and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian on Wednesday left the government villa in Yerevan where he continued to live after resigning from office in April, the ex-leader’s aide told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
According to Nairi Petrosian, the head of Sarkisian’s office, the ex-leader will live in a house in Dzoraghbyur, a village just outside capital Yerevan.
As a former president, Sarkisian is entitled to a house provided to him by the government. After resigning as prime minister on April 23, Sarkisian and his wife continued to live in the government villa next to the family of Nikol Pashinian, who moved in after becoming prime minister on May 8.
Still in early October Prime Minister Pashinian’s chief of staff Eduard Aghajanian said that in November Sarkisian would have to vacate the premises that he had occupied for more than 10 years.
Shortly before the change of government, then Prime Minister Karen Karapetian’s cabinet decided to grant the house to Sarkisian as his property. Amid criticism and growing public protests Sarkisian relinquished the right of ownership two days after being controversially elected by parliament on April 17 as prime minister to continue to occupy the number one post in the country after two straight five-year terms as president. Sarkisian then quit his office amid antigovernment protests led by then opposition leader Pashinian.
Already as prime minister Pashinian instructed his chief of staff to provide the ex-president with a house, but, according to the government, Sarkisian has rejected all proposed options, including a house in Yerevan’s administrative district of Avan with a market price of $1,250,000.
According to Aghajanian, the reasons for the rejections were mainly connected with security concerns.
“In the case with the Avan house, for example, they cited the presence of some electric wire or line over the house, which, according to them, created a security problem,” he said.
“That [house in Avan] was our last offer. We are not going to propose any other options,” Pashinian’s aide concluded.
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