Robert Kocharyan calls attacks on Samvel Karapetyan 'stupid' amid sharp decline in foreign investment
YEREVAN, August 15. /ARКА/. Armenia's ex-president Robert Kocharyan described attacks on the president of Tashir Group Samvel Karapetyan as 'stupid' amid sharp decline in foreign investment.
“Everything that happened to Samvel Karapetyan is a fantastic ingratitude towards a philanthropist and businessman,” Kocharyan said in an interview with the 5th TV Channel.
According to him, when foreign investment has sharply declined in Armenia, organizing such attacks on a major investor is simply stupid.
He also added that it is difficult to even imagine what damage is being done to Armenia.
Commenting on Karapetyan’s entry into politics, Kocharyan said that, according to public opinion polls, it is obvious that about 50% of voters either are disappointed or need a new person in the political arena.
"Samvel Karapetyan, entering politics, largely meets this demand. A new face, widely known and successful in life. All this is good data for the creation of a new political force," Kocharyan noted.
Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June on accusations of calling for a power seizure after he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church in its conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration. Following the arrest, Pashinyan declared it was time to nationalize Karapetyan’s company, Electric Netwroks of Armenia, and the Armenian parliament passed laws allowing the state to seize it.
In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), citing a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.
The SCC ruled that Armenia must halt any efforts to enforce the new legislation or confiscate the company, warning that such actions would hinder the family’s ability to recover damages if they lose control.
On August 15, the Anti-Corruption Court extended the arrest of Tashir Group President Samvel Karapetyan for another two months.
Samvel Karapetyan had previously issued a statement promising to soon introduce the "Our Way" movement to the Armenian public. 0-
