Today, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced the strategic task of establishing the Fourth Republic. Radar Armenia spoke with Arman Babajanyan, the chairman of the "For the Republic" party, on this topic.

- The 7th conference of the "Civil Contract" party declared the establishment of the Fourth Republic of Armenia as an upcoming strategic task. What new political or legal value does the proclamation of the Fourth Republic add?

- Real value can arise only when the "Fourth Republic" turns not into rhetoric, but into institutional transformation: transitional justice, judicial vetting, irreversible guarantees of democracy, real multi-vectorization of foreign policy, and an independent security architecture. Without this content, the proclamation will remain a play on words, without a qualitative change in statehood.

- In your opinion, why has this thesis been raised now, and how does it differ from the agenda of the Third Republic?

- There is nothing new in legal terms. The Third Republic had already ensured independence, recognized borders, established the Constitution, and fulfilled international obligations. There can be a new value only if the "Fourth Republic" turns into a new contract between citizens and the state, based on truth, responsibility, and freedom.

This implies a comprehensive package of transitional justice, including legal and political assessments. The overthrow of the constitutional order, the violent seizure of the state, political assassinations, and persecutions did not go unanswered due to the absence or lack of legal procedures, but rather due to the lack of will of the authorities. Now there is no alternative: the political forces and figures responsible for this degradation should not participate in future political processes. This is the demand of democratic self-defense.

- Was the "Third Republic" preventing all this?

- The obstacle was the lack of political will. The Constitution, state structure, or legal system never prohibited transitional justice, vetting, or lustration. The authorities preferred to avoid the truth and preserve their own governmental interests. Otherwise, it will remain political rhetoric without institutional content.

- The declaration emphasizes the activation of the EU membership process. Could this be due to the new Republic?

- No. The path to EU integration was open, and it is under the conditions of the Third Republic. The obstacle was the lack of will of the authorities and the lack of competence of the departments. To withdraw from the EAEU and initiate negotiations on the DCFTA, a political decision was necessary and remains so, not just another issue for the Republic.

- And what about the issue of withdrawing from the CSTO and forming a new security architecture?

- It is the same logic. The Constitution and international law have never prohibited Armenia from withdrawing from the CSTO. There was simply no political decision. Moreover, staying in these structures has become a source of our security problems, not a solution. In the same context, the withdrawal of the Russian military base in Gyumri is an imperative for the security and sovereignty of Armenia. The Russian armed presence on our borders and in Turkey and Iran does not ensure security but undermines the independence of our country and hinders peace processes. The concepts of Russia and peace are incompatible.

- Is a new Republic necessary to solve the problems of socio-economic, education, healthcare, demographic, and territorially balanced development of the country?

- Emigration, unemployment, and the lack of decent salaries are not problems of the Republic's numbers. The problem lies in the quality and will of state policy. Without a balanced distribution of industry, technologies, and investments, and the creation of factories and new production facilities in the regions, neither the third nor the fourth will support the border family. The Republic is not changed by numbers, but by policy. There is no need to declare a new Republic to have a modern education system or accessible healthcare. Knowledge, vision, and political will are needed. If the government lacks the skills and determination to create competitive education and decent healthcare, then changing the name of the Republic will not change anything.

- How can the proclamation of the "Fourth Republic" be made not a political slogan, but an irreversible state program that will serve to deepen democracy, restore justice, and establish a stable and prosperous future for the Republic of Armenia?

- If this idea remains only rhetoric, Armenia will continue its path of degradation, with emptying villages, ineffective institutions, and external dependence. The "Fourth Republic" will have value only if it becomes a new contract between citizens and the state, based on truth and transitional justice, strengthened by the vetting of the judiciary, and branches of government with the separation and control of branches of government, a program of balanced economic development, and real European integration. There is no other way: if the political will does not work, the Republic's numbers will mean nothing, and if it does, even the old one can become the basis of a new Armenia.