ArmInfo. The Deputy Foreign Minister expresses his personal opinion on the fact of the meeting of the Russian Ambassador in Armenia with the former President Kocharyan, my opinion on this matter differs from his point of view. President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan stated this on June 17 in an interview with journalists.
He noted that he does not welcome the meeting of foreign diplomats with the second president of Armenia. The Speaker stressed that he certainly agrees that Ambassadors of any countries have the right to meet with representatives of the political field. "But, as we all know, criminal charges are brought against Kocharyan. Thus, the second president of Armenia is somewhat outside the political sector. In my opinion, he is not a political figure," Mirzoyan said.
According to President of the National Assembly, the authorities of the Russian Federation, as well as other countries, respect the sovereignty of Armenia, and will not put forward any conditions on this case.
In turn, in a conversation with the ArmInfo correspondent, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary External Relations Commission Hovhannes Igityan said: "I believe that this meeting is a manifestation of unfriendly actions of a friendly country. The fact is that the Deputy Foreign Minister is the representative of the executive power, and therefore is more constrained in his comments. And I am, as a representative of the legislature, freer in my statements. I must note that this meeting is not part of the general logic of events, because Robert Kocharyan is accused of overthrowing the Constitutional order. Against this background, in the influential Russian media, including those patronized by the Kremlin, there are articles about supporting Kocharyan, and Putin himself is silent. In addition to this, the Ambassador's meeting with Kocharyan took place directly, bypassing the accepted format of organizing meetings through the Foreign Ministry. Such a meeting adds fuel to the fire in the current situation. I do not think that this contributes to the strengthening of friendly relations between Russia and Armenia, " Igityan concluded.
To note, on June 17, during the meeting of the parliamentary commission on foreign relations, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigor Hovhannisyan stated that the Armenian Foreign Ministry does not have any complaints against Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin in connection with his meeting with second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan. According to Hovhannisyan, this meeting was entirely within the framework of the protocol, and there was no violation of diplomatic norms. To recall last week the Russian Ambassador to Armenia met with the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan. The meeting lasted more than an hour.