Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian is expected to resign from office soon amid “extremely serious” controversies with the incumbent government.
168 Zham: The paper draws attention especially to statements by different government officials – including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – not coordinated with the minister and running counter to Armenia’s official foreign policy. The kind of rhetoric reportedly turns out controversial to an extent that it later creates problems for the entire diplomatic corps.
Aivazian, who was appointed to office on November 18, a week after the end of the second Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) war (after the his predecessor, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, handed in his resignation), is said to have been facing problems shortly after the start of his official tenure, particularly his visit to Moscow back in December (where he made very tough remarks against Turkey’s non-constructive regional policies, particularly its role in the 44-day fighting). Reports later spread that the statement angered Pashinyan, causing him to have a “serious conversation” with the minister.
The paper claims that episodes of the kind had a “repeated nature” over the recent period, especially with regard to Turkey and the prospective relations with other countries in the region. This is reported to be the cause of the repeated rumors that the foreign minister may step down soon. Aivazian, however, remains “modestly silent”, refraining from any comments on the issue, says the paper.