Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has expressed readiness to again “cooperate” with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) three months after forcing its members out of his government.
He made the offer in a written appeal to the delegates of Dashnaktsutyun’s ongoing congress in Nagorno-Karabakh made public on Tuesday.
Pashinian paid tribute to the pan-Armenian party’s 129-year-long history, saying that it has been “heroic” and “at times contradictory and controversial.”He also praised Dashnaktsutyun’s “exceptional” role in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora.
“On behalf of myself and Armenia’s newly elected parliament majority, I declare that we are ready for cooperation with Dashnaktsutyun,” read the message publicized by the party. “We will also be open to your proposals and criticism.”
Dashnaktsutyun was part of Armenia’s former government ousted during last spring’s “velvet revolution.” It received two ministerial posts in a new government formed by Pashinian in May. The popular prime minister fired his Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated ministers in October, accusing their party of secretly collaborating with former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party.
The Dashnaktsutyun congress got underway in Stepanakert on January 16. It is attended by representatives of the party’s chapters in Armenia and other countries around the world having sizable Armenian communities. They were due to debate Dashnaktsutyun’s new political strategy after its failure to win any seats in Armenia’s new parliament elected on December 9.
The weeklong congress began with an announcement by Dashnaktsutyun’s longtime top leader, Hrant Markarian, that he will not seek reelection to the party’s main decision-making body. Markarian was reportedly blamed by dissident Dashnaktsutyun figures for the party’s poor showing in the elections.
Markarian and other Dashnaktsutyun leaders criticized Pashinian during the election campaign. The premier reacted angrily to Markarian’s criticism in one of his campaign speeches.
In his message, Pashinian said he hopes that Dashnaktsutyun -- which remains influential in the Diaspora communities in the Middle East, the United States and France -- will gain a “young spirit” and come up with “fresh ideas” after its congress.
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