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It is too early to speak about ministerial portfolios as no agreement has been reached so far in the talks on cooperation between ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) Party and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) about forming a coalition, the head of ARFD faction Armen Rustamyan said during a briefing in the Armenian parliament today.

According to him, what is at issue is not the number of posts for ARFD. “Negotiations are underway regarding this issue as well, but we have not yet reached results,” the MP explained.

When asked to comment on rumors that ARFD members may be appointed ministers of territorial administration and economy,  Rustamyan said: “One can now say such things about all ministries, but no agreement has been reached. We will announce as soon as we come to an agreement”.

The representative of ARFD said that a cooperation offer was made by RPA, adding:“We discussed and presented our approaches. They will eventually be summarized and then made public”.

“Two major things – the system of government and the electoral system have changed in the country. I am sure that as a result of this, we will hold unprecedented elections in 2017,” Rustamyan stressed, referring to the transition to a parliamentary model of government based on the results of the constitutional referendum held in Armenia on December 6, 2015.

“We have already changed the system of government, the constitutional order. Five MPs of Dashnaktsutyun have done it. If we had not joined the process, there would have been no such changes. Isn’t it evident to you?” Rustamyan said.

When commenting on the December 6 referendum on the constitutional reform, the head of the opposition ARFD faction said that the adopted draft amendments to the Constitution will be a ‘second breath’ for Armenia. 

“We aim to prove this not only to those who voted for the document, but also to those who opposed it,” Rustamyan said in conclusion.