Will Mishustin Meet with Gagik Khachatryan? 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports that an inter-agency working group has been established to coordinate the organization and preparation of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting scheduled for October 9, 2020, in Yerevan. The head of the group is Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

On the other hand, '168 Hours' reported yesterday that Russian Prime Minister Mishustin might also attend the meeting, as he has expressed a desire to meet his longtime friend Gagik Khachatryan, who is currently in detention. This is seen as a key condition for Mishustin's attendance.

We attempted to obtain an official comment from the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. Initially, we spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister's assistant, Arsen Manukyan, who stated that he was not authorized to answer such questions and was also unaware of the matter. He recommended directing our inquiry to the office manager, Sedrak Barsgyan.

Barsgyan also declined to comment, suggesting we contact the 'Ministry of Foreign Affairs or protocol'. The head of the protocol service, Vahe Hakobyan, stated, 'Please submit a written inquiry to the public relations department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.'

We also reached out to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anna Naghdalyan, who only mentioned that on September 9, official information was received confirming that all EAEU member states agreed to hold the next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Yerevan on October 8-9 at the proposal of the Armenian side. As for Mishustin's attendance and his wish to meet Khachatryan, the spokesperson added, 'We do not have such information.'