Why Are NSS Representatives in Irkutsk, Who Has the Armenian Side Sent?

The newspaper "Hraparak" writes,

"During the Soviet era, it was common to include an KGB operative in groups traveling abroad. Everyone knew that. However, it is unbelievable that 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a covert KGB officer and another low-ranking NSS representative would be included in the intergovernmental commission for Armenian-Russian military-technical cooperation, according to a decision by the Prime Minister of Armenia dated January 5, 2022.

The 15th session of this intergovernmental commission will take place in Irkutsk from January 24-28 this year. By the Prime Minister's decision, ten individuals will be sent to Russia, led by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Karen Brutyan. Among them are also the two mentioned individuals.

At this important meeting with experienced Russian generals, the Armenian side will also include a covert KGB employee, a captain by rank and a psychologist by profession, Artem Ghevondyan, who is the acting head of the defense industry committee at the Ministry of High Technology Industry of Armenia, as well as the NSS representative Robert Sargsyan, who is the son of Vanush Sargsyan, a former head of the Colonies Department and an advisor to the minister.

What business do NSS officers have in Irkutsk? Whom are they watching—our people or the Russian generals? Naturally, the Russians are aware of who the arrivals are. Either someone has given a 'patsavka' to the Prime Minister, or they have sent spies out of old inertia. However, such an important commission required serious specialists."

You can read the entire article in the "Hraparak" newspaper, issue dated 19.01.22.