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Armen Sarkissian, the potential candidate for president of Armenia proposed by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), pointed out the need to start a national dialogue to overcome the challenges faced by the country.

Speaking to reporters following his meeting at AGBU Armenia HQ on Thursday, Mr Sarkissian stressed Armenia is facing a wide range of problems, adding the Armenian society is well aware of those issues does not need someone from abroad to ‘diagnose’ them.

“We need to summarize them and elaborate a clear-cut program on different directions, starting from democracy and anti-corruption fight. Improving the education system is of great importance to me, so as our national passion is also put into the education. Strengthening the civil society, as well as giving people back their hope and faith are also important,” he said.

According to the official, there is a lot of work to do even in the charity sector.

Sarkissian, currently serving as Armenia's Ambassador to the UK, stressed the need to launch a national dialogue as a tool to overcome the existing issues in the country. He noted if the political and non-political forces in the National Assembly and outside the structure fail to engage in a dialogue, the society will become more fragmented. 

“It is not possible to settle none of the existing issues amid the lack of dialogue. It is time to speak up, [since] the challenges are bigger than we can imagine,” he added.

Commenting on the claims the Armenia society has no trust in the ruling RPA, Mr Sarkissian said he does not share the view, adding when making a choice, one should not be guided by the fact who has nominated the candidate.

“I am not a RPA member, I am non-partisan in general. I hope the people in the National Assembly and beyond the structure will give their vote to the person. I am honoured to have my candidacy proposed for discussions by the Armenian President,” he added.