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Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan unveiled plans to participate in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections in the country in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

“If I have announced my political comeback, naturally one can assume that I will run in those elections,” he said, adding it is still early to talk about the formats of his participation.

According to the ex-leader, he can count on the political support of those people who ‘remember his ruling years and appreciate the successes registered especially in the economy and foreign policy’ at that time, as well as those who disagree with the measures of the current authorities.

“I am the person who knows what he is doing, can rule, set goals before the country and achieve success,” the second president said.

Kocharyan also commented on the criminal case investigating the post-election turmoil in capital Yerevan on March 1, 2008, slamming it as a ‘legal waste’.

“The criminal case filed against me has nothing to do with the ten fatalities. This has also been stated by the head of the investigative body. My criminal case is linked to a charge that does not have either logic or legal grounds,” he stressed, adding he cannot present any other details over the case since it is considered a pre-trial secret.

According to him, ‘the people who incited mass disorders 10 years ago through their slogans and steps, and in fact attempted to overthrow Armenia’s constitutional order, are now trying to take revenge on the authorities of the time.’ 

“This is the whole essence of the case,” he said, urging the authorities to abandon such an attitude toward the case.

The former president also talked about the charges brought against Russia-led CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov as part of the same case, adding what Armenia did in regard to him was an ‘unpromising’ move which caused serious concerns within the organization and due to which Armenia can lose its place in the CSTO.

The Yerevan appellate court, under the presiding judge Alexander Azaryan, on 9 July granted the motion filed by Kocharyan’s attorneys to commute the arrest ruling against the ex-president charged over March 1-2, 2008 events in capital Yerevan.

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction ruled to remand Kocharyan into custody for two months on 27 July. He was taken into custody from the court hall, accused of ‘overthrowing the constitutional order in the country with a group of people’ in the scope of the criminal investigation into the post-election crackdown following the presidential elections of 2008, which left eight civilians and two police officers dead.