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The Armenian opposition will not end its street protests aimed at ousting PM Nikol Pashinyan and his government, Hayastan alliance MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan, one of the opposition leaders, has reaffirmed.

“if the fight drags on, we should not be disheartened, but rather fix the problems and move forward,” he said, addressing a rally in Yerevan’s France Square on Friday evening.

“If the battle drags on during the war, we suffer losses and some even flee the battlefield, it does not mean that we should lay down our arms and surrender. On the contrary, we need to regroup, mobilize our forces, prepare for a prolonged struggle and pursue victory,” Saghatelyan said.

He reiterated that the opposition would go back to the Armenian parliament only with its own agenda.

“I must once again repeat what I’ve been saying for the past three months: if the opposition returns to the parliament, it will do so only with its own agenda set by the people,” Saghatelyan said.

“The agenda is crystal clear: Nikol’s removal, efforts to counter threats facing Armenia and Artsakh and initiatives to solve pressing issues.”

He dismissed as “blackmail” the threats of the ruling Civil Contract faction MPs to strip opposition deputies of their seats, saying the ruling team “cannot draw us into its anti-national conspiracies through blackmail.”

“To put it simply, the Armenian people, unfortunately, have no platform for expressing their common will other than this square. There is no alternative to our struggle in the streets at this point,” Saghatelyan stated.