Strong Armenia party prime ministerial candidate Samvel Karapetyan stated that before his arrest he had been offered a deal, but that he refused it. He made the remarks during a press conference.
“…Before the arrest, when a thousand people stormed the house, they specifically made me an offer at a high level to go somewhere, have coffee, and declare that we would not support the church. After that, both ENA and everything else would be returned. I did not accept the offer, and we moved forward,” Karapetyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.
Earlier, Karapetyan had also stated that on the fifth day of his detention he received another proposal through his friends in Moscow. According to him, he was asked to declare that he would not engage in politics, and in that case he was promised that the situation would be resolved.
Karapetyan also said the opposition is ready for different forms of struggle, Panorama.am reported.
Responding to a question from 168.am editor Satik Seyranyan on whether the opposition was prepared for street protests amid searches and investigative actions carried out at the homes and offices of Prosperous Armenia representatives, Karapetyan said the authorities had realized during regional visits that they had lost public support and were now relying on pressure and repression.
“But that absolutely will not help them. When they arrest one person, a thousand more appear instead — that is not a problem,” Karapetyan said.
On June 18, 2025, hours before the arrest of businessman and Electric Networks of Armenia owner Samvel Karapetyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the time had come for Electric Networks of Armenia to be nationalized. On June 24, Pashinyan announced that the plan for state ownership of the company was already prepared. On July 18, it became known that the Public Services Regulatory Commission had appointed former State Oversight Service head Romanos Petrosyan as interim manager of Electric Networks of Armenia.
