The lawmaker, Hovik Aghazarian, was one of the eight officials whom Pashinian told to resign in written messages sent on November 17. All of those officials except Aghazarian stepped down in the following days.
They included Argishti Kyaramian, the head of Armenia’s Investigative Committee who clashed with Aghazarian during a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan last month. The two men insulted each other and nearly came to blows on the parliament floor.
Aghazarian denied until this weekend reports that he is under strong pressure to give up his parliament seat. Interviewed by state television on Friday, Pashinian admitted “asking” him to do so. The lawmaker known for his flamboyant and blunt rhetoric said the following day that he will announce on Monday evening whether or not he will leave the National Assembly.
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian, who is a leading Pashinian ally, met with him a couple of hours before the promised announcement. Aghazarian delayed it as a result.
“Yesterday I got a phone call from Moscow from my childhood friend and classmate who said he will be very upset with me if I respond to the prime minister's public request before seeing him,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Now I am waiting for him to arrive. He will tell me in the evening when he will come.”
Aghazarian did not identify the friend. He also denied newspaper claims that Simonian pressured and even threatened him during the meeting.
“I wish Alen Simonian threatened me, rather than did what he did to me,” he said.
“He didn't say anything bad, he just pressured me in a different way,” the 64-year-old added vaguely.
A spokesperson for Simonian said the parliament speaker will not comment on their 40-minute conversation.
Aghazarian was repeatedly summoned to Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee and questioned last week in two separate criminal investigations conducted by the law-enforcement agency. The lawmaker is suspected of illegal influence peddling in what observers see as another manifestation of the government pressure. He pledged on Thursday to “fight” to prove his innocence.
The spate of resignations came just days after Pashinian publicly lamented a continuing lack of “justice” in the country. They were widely construed as being part of the premier’s efforts to boost his flagging popularity before general elections expected in June 2026 or earlier.