Robert Kocharyan about his political comeback: Never say never
Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan does not rule out his return to politics. “Never say never,” Kocharyan said in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service when answering a question concerning his possible return. At the same time, the second president stressed that he has not yet decided on the issue of his political comeback. “This is perhaps the most discussed topic. In politics, we usually say: never say never. I feel well in my current position it is difficult for me to predict what will happen in the future. I do not want to provide clarity on this issue for the simple reason that there is not anything to clarify. I do not have desire to return, get involved in all that and again assume the burden of responsibility, however, there are always certain circumstances,” Kocharyan said. The second president gave the interview within the framework of the program “Russian and Me” which has already interviewed about a dozen former presidents. Speaking about the protests in the Armenian capital against rising electricity prices and the talks over possible nationalization of the the Russian-managed Electric Networks of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan said the problem stirred up people's outrage because of the economic situation in the country [Armenia]. “If the overall economic situation is not so good in the country, then even a slight increase in tariffs will significantly affect citizens’ budget and the outrage is justified in this context. But the reasons for it may also be the public regulator’s actions, the ineffectiveness of the company, and the changes occurring in the energy market. You had better explain to people rather than shift the blame onto somebody else,” he said refusing to predict the outcome of the protests.
