The political parties in Armenia conducted talks with the religious organizations before the parliamentary election, an expert has said.

Alexander Amaryan, the head of the Center for Rehabilitation and Assistance to Victims of Destructive Cults, told reporters on Wednesday that all the parties, except the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), the Communist Party and Rule of Law, were in active negotiations.

“All the religious organizations are funded by abroad, which is illegal. But for some reason, sectarians do not receive any sanctions,” he said. “I have informed competent bodies of that. They, in turn, sent a letter to the party’s leader and said they are aware of everything.”

Referring to a report by the US Department of State, Amaryan noted that 90% of the Armenia’s population are followers of the Armenian Apostolic church and only 10% - around 360,000 people – are affiliated with other religions.

Amaryan added that the importers of different make-up products are members of different religious organizations.

“For instance, well-known brands such as Mary Cay Cosmetics and Faberlic work thanks to network marketing implemented though church organizations. Many of their leaders are representatives of different religious movements,” he added.

The expert stressed the importance of elaborating laws and preparing specialists to prevent the activities of destructive cults. As for their organization, he said they do not receive and are not going to receive any funding from anyone.

“People in our [organization] work for their ideas, seeking to relieve others from the network of destructive sects by their own will. I wouldn’t like to be a monopolist in this field. I would wish other organizations to work and help us in our efforts,” he noted.