YEREVAN. – Karen Karapetyan will be appointed Prime Minister of Armenia from Moscow, political scientist Aghasi Yenokyan said at a press conference on Friday.
He noted this commenting on PM Hovik Abrahamyan’s resignation, and Karapetyan’s likely designation in his place.
“Karen Karapetyan is noteworthy because he is coming to Armenia’s political arena from outside, and he doesn’t belong to any group of the party in power [in the country],” added Yenokyan. “So, his [expected] appointment can’t be described as a compromise between them.
“Since he previously held the position of deputy director of one of [Russia’s] Gazprom companies, now, they [i.e. the Armenian authorities] have just invited him from Moscow to appoint him Prime Minister.”
At the end of Thursday’s Cabinet session, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan issued a statement informing that he is stepping down.
And during the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Board meeting later in the evening, President of Armenia and RPA Chairman Sargsyan announced that he has decided to nominate Karen Karapetyan as the next Prime Minister of Armenia.
Karapetyan is the former mayor of capital city Yerevan, and former general director of ArmRosGazprom natural gas company.