Russian Duma Endorses Sargsyan Candidacy

ArmeniaNow reports that the Russian State Duma has effectively endorsed the candidacy of the prime minister, Serge Sargsyan, in next month’s presidential election in Armenia. The online weekly bases its conclusion on today’s official visit by State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov to Armenia and his meeting with Sargsyan, currently the favorite to take over the presidency when the incumbent, Robert Kocharian, steps down after his second and final term in office.

As the leader of Russia’s pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which achieved a landslide victory in the December legislative elections in Russia, Gryzlov on Monday signed a cooperation deal with Armenia’s governing coalition members – the Sargsyan-led Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia Party. Thereby, the two countries’ ruling parties agree on “exchange of information, mutual visits of delegations, coordinated steps within the framework of international forums.”

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[…] MP and Prosperous Armenia Party member Naira Zohrabyan told ArmeniaNow that Gryzlov’s visit in the middle of the campaign and United Russia’s agreement with the Armenian coalition parties in itself implies that “Russia is eager to see the continuity of government in Armenia.”

Photo: © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008