Hayrikian on single candidate: Never say never

At a meeting with reporters today, the leader of National Self-Determination Union (AIM), presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian commented on the words of another candidate, Chairman of Freedom Party Hrant Bagratian who said Hayrikian is not an opposition candidate as he violated the confidentiality of the negotiations between three presidential candidates – Hayrikian, Bagratian, and Raffi Hovannisian.

“Who do you think you are so that I could negotiate with you while concealing it from the people?” Hayrikian said. In his words, prior to his public open letter, he had repeatedly called those candidates and made the same appeal to them, but their conversations were brief – for lack of time.

“I realized that there was little time left so the purpose of my application to the Constitutional Court was to gain time. I thought I could withdraw my application three days later, but at the moment of its submission I was told I could withdraw it within 24 hours. This was the reason of my changeable behavior,” Hayrikian explained.

He stated that despite all difficulties, he is prepared to follow a victorious path and to unite, even with a man who declared it is still necessary to find out if the shooting was an attempted murder or not.

According to Hayrikian, in recent days he discovered a new Bagratian. “He is the kind of man who – after obtaining a parliamentary deputy mandate thanks to Levon Ter-Petrosian – can even decide not to consult with him,” Hayrikian noted.

When asked whether the unification of the candidates is still possible, Paruyr Hayrikian replied: “Never say never”.