Maybe They Were Doing Special Missions: Shurnukh Village Head on Pashinyan's Visit

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the border village of Shurnukh in the Syunik region yesterday around 21:30 without prior notice and left rapidly. This information was confirmed to NEWS.am by the village head Hakob Arshakyan.

"Yes, Pashinyan came to the village, visited 1-2 houses, and then left. I don’t know how the villagers received him. Who knew that the Prime Minister was coming to the village? Who was informed? No one knew. When I found out that the Prime Minister was in the village, he was already walking through the village, having visited 1-2 houses and left. He visited the family of a displaced person from Artsakh and entered the homes of the villagers; I am not aware of what they talked about or the purpose of his visit," he said.

Arshakyan noted that the President and the Commissioner for the Protection of Human Rights, Arman Tatoyan, also visited the village today, but their visit had been announced two days earlier. "Today, the President visited the village; I was informed two days ago that people would be coming to the village. Initially, it was stated that there would be no meeting with the people, but later we were informed that people could approach and interact with their President. People approached, met with the President, raised their concerns, and wished him well on his journey. And today at 21:30, the village lit up with colorful lights as the Prime Minister's motorcade arrived. I was not personally informed," he added.

To the question of how he evaluates the secrecy of Pashinyan's visit as a community leader, Arshakyan responded, "Who am I to give an assessment? Let the villagers evaluate. Maybe they were doing special missions, maybe the secrecy was necessary, considering the Azerbaijanis are just a street away."