The Mystery of the French Doctors' Visit: New Details

Days ago, the newspaper "Hraparak" published an article from the magazine "France Arménie" titled "Hair Found in Soup," which detailed the visit of doctors to Armenia in the context of the fight against coronavirus. The article stated that the value of the mission exceeded 200,000 euros, which included travel expenses and accommodation at the 5-star "Marriott" hotel, plus salaries of around 1,800 euros each.

ArmDaily.am has obtained certain documents and information regarding the organization of these trips, according to which David Papazyan, Director of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF), personally paid 67,200 euros for the organization of charter flights.

To verify the authenticity of the documents, ArmDaily.am interviewed David Papazyan. Below are notable excerpts from the interview:

Q: Do you confirm the authenticity of the documents and your signature?
A: Yes.

Q: Why did you pay 67,200 euros from your personal funds for the charter flights of two airplanes?
A: If I hadn't paid, the airplanes wouldn't have flown, and the doctors wouldn't have come to Armenia, and given the tense atmosphere in Armenian medical institutions during these days, our support to the doctors was necessary.

Q: Official websites and a letter from President Macron to Prime Minister Pashinyan state that the French Government financed the doctors' visit. Is that not the case?
A: That is true for the second group. Before making a payment, the French MFA is obligated to go through certain bureaucratic stages. Since there wasn’t time to wait, my friends working at the French MFA suggested that I take on the expenses, which would later be reimbursed.

Q: The published article also mentioned that the doctors had no experience in treating COVID-19 and were compensated for their mission.
A: There are many rumors, both in France and Armenia and everywhere. The part about the doctors being inexperienced is the most annoying part of the story. Our French colleagues are currently discussing how to be consistent on the issue and proportionally punish whoever spreads false information, no matter who it is.

Q: Why would French doctors come to support their Armenian counterparts without any payment?
A: The answer to that question is also straightforward; there are also qualified people in France, Armenia, and everywhere.

Q: In any case, have any expenses been incurred from the Armenian state budget regarding the visit of the French doctors?
A: 5,000 AMD, which was an unforeseen expense for translation because some materials from the first group of doctors accidentally ended up mixed with other documents sent for translation.

Q: Have you talked to Armenian doctor Jean-Michel Ekheryan about the purpose of coming to Armenia?
A: Yes, I talked with the French doctor with an Armenian surname Ekheryan. The doctor informed me that after a lengthy fight against COVID-19 in France, he is tired and thus does not wish to come to Armenia. I thanked him for his time and wished him a glorious rest on one of France's many beautiful beaches. I also sent him a photo before flying to Yerevan with the two Armenian doctors, sharing the good news that we managed to bring another nine professional volunteer doctors to Armenia. I will send you the photo as well. It's posted on the website.

Q: Do you consider it normal that we have to invite specialists from other countries to Armenia?
A: This is my first pandemic experience, I won’t say what is normal or not. But, Germany was receiving patients from France, and Russia was sending doctors to Italy. It is certainly normal for friends to help each other in tough times. Don’t doubt that Armenians and French are friendly nations. Conversely, it is natural that the enemies of the Republic of Armenia attack Arsen Torosyan, just as they would attack the Minister of Defense in conventional warfare.

Q: Are you planning to bring new medical teams to Armenia?
A: Wear masks, maintain social distance, follow all the regulations of the crisis center; in this case, the next teams coming from France will be investors, not doctors.

The complete interview can be found in the original source.