‘The Prime Minister Has Exactly 20 Days’ – Hrayr Tovmasyan Responds to Nikol Pashinyan’s Statement

The President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, Hrayr Tovmasyan, has responded to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that he has offered his services to the current authorities.

Below is the full statement from Hrayr Tovmasyan:

“Dear compatriots, colleagues,

I am compelled to respond to the fabricated and misleading allegations attributed to me by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during today’s press conference. I find it necessary to clarify that since Mr. Pashinyan became Prime Minister, I have spoken to him on the phone only two times. Once he requested me to conduct the examination of an international treaty being reviewed by the Constitutional Court as promptly as possible, as it was necessary for the fulfillment of Armenia’s international obligations. The second phone call was initiated by me concerning the visit of the President of the German Constitutional Court, Mr. Andreas Vosskuhle, for organizing a meeting with him.

At no point have I had any face-to-face meeting with Nikol Pashinyan that was out of the view of cameras. During his tenure, except for the meeting with Mr. Vosskuhle, I have never been in the government or at the government summer residence, nor has Pashinyan been at the Constitutional Court, my office, or any other place.

Regarding my office, I have never made any proposal to either Pashinyan or any representative of the government. I demand that Pashinyan publicly reference at least one credible fact, one objective piece of evidence, indicating that since May 2018, I have offered my ‘services’ either directly or indirectly, face-to-face or through intermediaries, to him or any other representative of the government, suggesting any steps that would promote support for him or his political power regarding the Constitutional Court.

I state and insist on this as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia and as an Armenian man, for whom honor and dignity are above all else, and lies and deceit are unacceptable and condemnable, especially when they come from a high-ranking official's lips.

From now on, I will patiently wait for exactly 20 days for Pashinyan to present any objective facts or reliable evidence to support his claims. If he fails to do so, I will ask my lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Nikol Pashinyan.”