Fresh rumors about Harutiunian’s impending resignation began circulating last week amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Karabakh caused by Azerbaijan’s eight-month blockade of the Lachin corridor. One of his top loyalists flatly denied the rumors on Friday.
Nevertheless, Ruben Vardanyan, a former Karabakh premier, claimed over the weekend that Harutiunian told him and several other individuals “early this week” that he has already decided to step down and will not change his mind.
“Some of the eight individuals present at that meeting did not believe your words, while others thought that maybe you are telling the truth this time around,” Vardanyan said in video appeal to Harutiunian posted on Facebook. He gave no other details of that meeting.
Vardanyan, who was sacked by Harutiunian in February, went on to brand the Karabakh leader as a liar who is “wrecking state institutions.”
Harutiunian pointedly declined to respond to his former top minister. His press secretary told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Monday that he will not comment on the allegations.
Meanwhile, Harutiunian’s Free Fatherland party issued a statement accusing Vardanyan and “some groups” of trying to force the elected president to resign for the sake of their “parochial interests.” But it did not explicitly deny the resignation pledge allegedly made by Harutiunian.
Harutiunian already fueled speculation about his impending exit early this year. In January, he signaled his desire to force snap elections in Karabakh despite the Azerbaijani blockade. In March, he helped to enact a constitutional amendment that empowered the Karabakh parliament to elect an interim president in case of his resignation.
Vahram Atanesian, a local pundit, claimed on Monday that Karabakh’s three main opposition parties increasingly cooperating with Vardanyan are trying to force Harutiunian to quit and install a new president allied to them. None of those parties has publicly called for his resignation.
An opposition leader, Davit Ishkhanian of the Karabakh branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), was elected parliament speaker earlier this month. Lawmakers representing Harutiunian’s party voted for him.