Former central bank governor says replacement of premiere would not translate in tangible improvements

YEREVAN, April 4. / ARKA /. Bagrat Asatryan, a former governor of Armenia’s Central Bank, claimed today that the replacement of prime minister would not translate into any tangible economic or social improvement, ‘because Armenia needs systemic changes.’

Armenia’s prime minister Tigran Sarkisian unexpectedly stepped down on Thursday. His resignation was announced at a meeting of the governing body of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia. The reasons behind the resignation were not clear.

Speaking at a news conference Bagrta Asatryan said Tigran Sarkisian’s government should have resigned long time ago after a string of dramatic failures. 

“The problem is not in the prime minister, the problem is in the political system, in the ruling political force which make any change in this country for the better practically impossible," he argued.

According to Asatryan, there are several factors which have accelerated Tigran Sarkisian’s resignation, such  as the consolidation of parliamentary minority forces that were  going to express vote of no confidence in the government and  youth pressure groups whose protest against a new pension scheme was gathering momentum. He claimed that the resignation of the government is an attempt to divert public attention from the prevailing dire economic situation.

"The government was saying for years that Armenia was heading to Europe and one day it made a U-turn towards the Russia-led Customs Union. The government should have resigned right after the president said Armenia was joining the Customs Union,” he said.

According to Asatryan, there is no political force that would take responsibility for the situation in the country. -0-