Samvel Karapetyan: Armenian authorities offered me not to engage in  political struggle in exchange for ENA

ArmInfo.  Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the "Strong Armenia" political force and currently under house arrest, said that even before his arrest, the Armenian authorities offered me not to interfere in the political struggle in Armenia in exchange for the return of control of the Electric Networks of  Armenia (ENA). Karapetyan stated this at a press conference in  Yerevan on May 22.

According to him, this offer was conveyed to him through his Moscow  friends. "And before this offer, that is, even before they detained  me, I was asked at a high level to make a statement declaring that I  would not defend the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). In exchange,  they promised me that they would return the Electric Networks of  Armenia (ENA) and everything else (Samvel Karapetyan did not specify  what else was being discussed - ed.). But I did not accept this  offer, and we moved forward," Karapetyan stated.

The leader of the Strong Armenia party also commented on the  opposition's readiness for street fighting amid increasing pressure  from the Armenian authorities and new arrests. He noted that, in his  opinion, opposition forces in Armenia are prepared for any  development. "I think the opposition is ready for any kind of  struggle. The current government's operating style is the result of  internal upheaval. As they toured the country's regions, they saw  that they had lost popular support. Therefore, they are now relying  solely on pressure and repression. But this won't help them. While  they detain one person, 1,000 more are speaking out against them,"  Karapetyan concluded.

As a reminder, on June 18, 2025, law enforcement agencies arrested  and then a court remanded Samvel Karapetyan in custody on charges of  calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order. This occurred  only because the latter, speaking out in defense of the Armenian  Apostolic Church, stated in an interview that "we will intervene in  our own way" if politicians fail to fulfill their role. Following  Karapetyan's arrest, the authorities effectively took control of ESA  from the Karapetyan family, appointing Romanos Petrosyan, a member of  the Civil Contract party, as its interim manager.

On February 12, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex,  businessman Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the Strong Armenia  party, was unanimously nominated as the prime ministerial candidate  for the Strong Armenia party. Parliamentary elections in Armenia are  scheduled for June 7, 2026.