Journalists and supporters of the opposition gathered at the building of the Central Election Commission of Armenia

Journalists and opposition supporters gathered outside the building of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Armenia, where the commission spent more than two hours deciding on the admission of the opposition party "Strong Armenia" to the elections. The corresponding footage is published by Izvestia on June 6.

"It's tragic. Everything that happens is a tragedy for us. Obviously, [Armenian Prime Minister Nikola] Pashinyan no longer has power. <...> Everything that was promised has not been done," Menua Soghomonyan, a representative of the Hayakve socio—political movement, told Izvestia correspondent Alexei Poltoranin.

The lawyer of the Strong Armenia party, Aram Vardevayan, in turn, added that there were no legal grounds for canceling the registration.

"We were convinced that there could be no result from this, because there were no legal grounds and there cannot be," he said.

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While the republic remains a strategic partner of the Russian Federation, will the nature of relations between Moscow and Yerevan change after the elections

In April, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Russia wants to see Russian-oriented political forces in the elections in Armenia. He noted that some pro-Russian politicians are in prison in Armenia, despite the fact that they have Russian passports. In addition, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, more than 2 million Armenians also live on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Putin also noted that the aggravation of internal political processes on the eve of the elections in Armenia should not harm relations between Moscow and Yerevan. Pashinyan, in turn, stressed that the construction and strengthening of relations between the two countries will continue regardless of the outcome of the vote in the republic.

The head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Vahagn Hovakimyan, announced on June 5 that the CEC of Armenia did not deprive Samvel Karapetyan's bloc of registration for the upcoming elections on June 7. It was clarified that the issue was considered on the basis of an appeal by the leader of the pro-Western Republika Party, Aram Sargsyan, after an appeal by the Prime Minister of Armenia.