Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) has faced no force majeure situation, Vahan Babayan, MP from PAP, said at a news conference on February 12.
"Our Party works as usually and prepares for the parliamentary elections of 2017. PAP has its own program and approaches on the pressing issues for the country, mainly the economy-related ones. The Party is expected to convene extraordinarily shortly," he said.
Babayan disclaimed the statements that PAP is left aside of political processes in Armenia. He said his party participates in all the political discussions in the country.
Mikael Melkumyan, another member of PAP, in turn, said the Party plans to run for parliament independently and has already prepared a number of programs. "Our prior goal is to ensure that the citizens of Armenia have jobs and have decent living standards," he said. Melkumyan recalled the situation with last year's low procurement prices of grape and other agricultural products that affected farmers. "We should not let this situation repeat," he said.
In this light, he said that the depreciation of the Russian ruble will hold many citizens of Armenia from leaving to Russia for seasonal job, which will reduce transfers to Armenia. In addition, PAP plans to make Armenian wines and cheese competitive on the Russian market. He suggests more favorable credit interest rates to the people.
Melkumyan calls it important to achieve a lower gas price for Armenia, as the global prices of energy resources have slumped. To settle this problem, Armenia needs to intensify the relations with Iran. For conclusion, he said, one of the PAP's priorities is to restore the public trust in the government.