In the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, Armenia’s Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said the authorities in Yerevan are ready to send citizens arriving from Russia to military training camps. Papoyan made the remark in an interview with local publication Civic after being asked about rumors that the opposition allegedly planned to bring 100,000 people from Russia to Armenia in order for them to vote against the incumbent government of prime minister Nikol Pashinyan:
“I am very glad [these citizens are coming] because, first, our polls show that most of them will vote for us [the ruling Civil Contract party], and second, we need these people, because military training camps are now underway. It will be very good: We will send 30,000 to 40,000 of those 100,000 to training camps, and then they can return to Kaluga [where Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan lived for several years]. What’s the problem?”
The pro-government Telegram channel Baghramyan 26, citing its own sources, wrote that starting on June 1 the authorities began checking Armenian citizens arriving from Russia. “This applies to people who are subject to mandatory 25-day training camps. At the moment, a number of people have already received notices requiring them to appear at a military draft office to take part in training camps,” the channel wrote.
