Verbal sparring and mutual accusations are back at press club discussions and press conferences indicating the start of a political debate ahead of the May parliamentary elections.

The leaders of Armenia’s three coalition parties met late on Monday amid allegations of growing differences between at least two of them.

In a statement today former Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian confirmed reports that he is re-entering politics and likely will side with Prosperous Armenia in pursuit of the May parliamentary elections.

Following is Oskanian’s statement:

The May parliamentary elections in Armenia may become unprecedented at least by their potential to unite some irreconcilable political forces.

Upon the initiative of the parliamentary opposition parties, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and Heritage, the National Assembly is to hold hearings on the possibility of scrapping the current mixed electoral system, including single-mandate constituency and party list ballots, and switching to an all-proportional vote.

News agencies report that Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff visited Israel last week to discuss the issues on a possible attack against Iran.

Dempsey made it clear that “the USA is asking Israel not to act independently against Iran. However, obviously, nothing is reported on whether a strike is on its way or not.

Armenia’s main extra-parliamentary opposition bloc has announced it will launch another ‘rally wave’ on February 17.

Armenia’s Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan has warned university rectors and school principals against allowing political campaigning on the premises of their institutions ahead of the May parliamentary elections.

Leaders of the two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s parliament accused on Monday a top representative of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of blatant pro-government bias after meeting him to discuss the political situation in the country.

A key lawmaker of the ruling-coalition Prosperous Armenia Party has laid down the gauntlet for transparency in the May parliamentary elections.

“Elections must meet all the international criteria, otherwise it would be a real catastrophe for Armenia,” MP Naira Zohrabyan said on Monday, as reported by News.am.

On January 10, President Serzh Sargsyan singed a decree setting up the Commission on Ethnics of High-Level Officials. The body will be tasked with analyzing and publishing declarations of incomes and assets submitted by 500 officials, identifying cases of the clash of interests and breaches of ethical norms, etc.