Why Mkhitar? His Appointment Surprises Some: 'Hraparak'

‘Hraparak’ newspaper writes: ‘The appointment of Mkhitar Hayrapetyan as the head of the Armenian-Iranian friendship group has surprised some. One of our interlocutors noted, “A person who couldn't work in Euronews due to claiming party overload should coordinate the relations with Iran in parliament.” It was mentioned that Varazdat Karapetyan was not trusted for the position as he is on the “black list.” “However, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan has a reputation as a Western ‘operator’,” they added.

Hayrapetyan and Karapetyan did not respond to our calls, so we reached out to My Step representative Tatev Hayrapetyan for clarification on this transfer. She responded, “I will find it a bit difficult to say, but during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Iran, Varazdat Karapetyan was with us, and everything was normal. As far as I know, Mr. Karapetyan refused himself, citing his busy schedule.”

Mkhitar is considered a pro-Western figure; how can this choice be explained? “His connection to Iran is that he is an orientalist and is in touch with the relevant specialists.” “Who are the ‘relevant specialists’?” “His colleagues, teachers.”

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.