The newly elected mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, who headed the Communist Party's electoral list in the local government elections, has announced that he supports Armenia's membership in the Union State.

"Yes, I am in favor of keeping everything on the principle of Belarus," he stated.

Let's start by noting that Armenia's possible membership in the Union States or any other international structure has no connection to the powers of community mayors and councils of elders. Therefore, Vardan Ghukasyan's reference to this topic can be described as inappropriate. To put it mildly, it is unacceptable if we do not take into account that he headed the Communist Party's list.

But Vardan Ghukasyan's words, especially after he was elected as the "unified opposition candidate" for the post of mayor in Gyumri, are not accidental and need to be viewed in a broader context. It seems that this was a special bait after the titular opposition's "victory."

After all, no matter how much Ghukasyan declares that he has no political support and is not currently on a political path with anyone, he was still considered Robert Kocharyan's "protege" in these elections. This fact was substantiated during the campaign. Ghukasyan criticized former presidents, even indirectly accused Serzh Sargsyan of involvement in the 2007 assassination attempt on him. Despite attempts to "separate himself from his predecessors," he defended Robert Kocharyan and even praised his policies. And so, no matter how much Ghukasyan jokes in front of the cameras in the genre of Leninist humor, his message may still have political significance and is an attempt to present a particular team's point of view indirectly.

Moreover, Vardan Ghukasyan is not alone in this view. Three years ago, during a press conference in February 2022, Robert Kocharyan repeated the same idea, but in much more "political" terms. Regarding joining the Russian-Belarusian Union State, Kocharyan noted: "If you are moving towards becoming a factor in this region, one of the possible solutions may be within the framework of the Russian-Belarusian Union State."

Therefore, Ghukasyan's update on this topic has much more far-reaching goals.

But the most remarkable thing in this whole story is that the love confessions towards Russia and the Union State are made unilaterally, without an answer, and without having such a topic on the agenda.

Arman Galoyan