Artur Gasparyan explains why he withdrew from the faction
Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan announced during the Friday meeting of the Council of Elders that Artur Gasparyan, a member of the opposition bloc Barev Yerevan (Hello Yerevan), had withdrawn from the faction. “Our party and personally I think that business should be separated from politics for it creates corruption risks. The head of the faction, namely Gagik Baghdasaryan, must not be a businessman oltherwise how can we differ from the ruling party. I do not have any problems with him, I respect him. I think our country is in this state because business and politics are interwoven,” Artur Gasparyan told A1+ when commenting on his decision. Gagik Baghdasaryan was elected head of the Heritage faction in 2015. “Both I and Armen Martirosyan, Vice-Chair of the Heritage party, were against his candidacy but we did not speak about it outside the party. In February we came to an agreement that the head of the faction should be changed. I do not have an eye on the position. It became known at the end of the previous sitting, that the agreement had been cancelled. I do not want to be one of the six members of the faction whose name might be used by others when conducting negotiations with authorities over private business or other matters. Though I have no facts but nothing is excluded,” Mr Gasparyan stressed. He does not want to go against his own principles. “I criticize the ruling regime and their stooges day and night. And I shall never put aside my own principles,” he added. A the same time, Mr Gasparyan added that he will continue is work in the Council of Elders.
