How Mirzoyan Evaluated the Work of Recently Appointed Non-Diplomat Ambassadors

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan assures that political appointments in the role of Foreign Minister is a globally accepted practice, and not all ministers are career diplomats.

He made this statement in the Parliament while responding to MP Hripsime Grigoryan's question. The MP had inquired about the minister's stance on the appointment of political figures within the diplomatic corps.

Mirzoyan responded that similar practices exist in several countries regarding the appointment of ambassadors as well. “This has been the case before the 2018 revolution, also after the revolution, before the war, after the war, and it will continue in the future. If you are asking about the last few political appointments, I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that those ambassadors are among our best ambassadors,” he stated.

It is noteworthy that among the political appointments in the diplomatic corps are former MP Lilit Makunts in the United States, former MP Viktor Yengibaryan in Germany, former MP Sos Avetisyan in Spain, and former Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan in Russia.

The chairman of the Standing Committee on Financial and Budgetary Issues, Gevorg Papoyan, also reminded that in several countries, Armenia rents areas for embassy operations, and he inquired whether there are calculations as to whether acquiring areas would be more beneficial.

“You don’t need to be a very serious financier to understand that if you manage your own property, it is much more profitable than renting. We have adopted a policy to gradually try to shift towards that, according to priorities, little by little; this is still being done,” said Mirzoyan.