Why Samvel Babayan is Anxious: 'Hraparak'

The newspaper 'Hraparak' reports that Samvel Babayan, the former Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, released a statement yesterday denying rumors that he had abandoned Artsakh during the 44-day war while holding the position of Secretary of the Security Council.

Babayan also informed that, 'On November 6, 2020, after the meeting of the Artsakh Security Council, I was officially sent on a business trip to the city of Yerevan at the special instruction of the President (the details of the purpose and outcomes of the trip are state and service secrets, therefore cannot be publicly disclosed by me).'

We were unable to obtain an official comment from the Artsakh Presidential Office regarding this matter.

Our sources indicate that Babayan’s concerns are connected to the recent arrests, particularly concerning former commander of the Armed Forces Jalal Harutyunyan, around whom allegations have emerged related to the failed operation at Lele-Tepe. Numerous publications in the media suggest that this operation was conceived by Samvel Babayan himself, who proposed it to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and justified its necessity. Pashinyan, encouraged by the notion that he could reclaim the heights lost by Serzh Sargsyan, was eager to take on this operation to establish himself as a hero.

Now, Babayan is anxious that he could become the next target of the authorities, which is linked to the various pieces of information circulating on the internet and his emotional reaction to these events. Pashinyan had also mentioned the Lele-Tepe operation during a video conference consultation with the Ministry of Defense and General Staff during the war.

For more details, refer to today's edition of the newspaper.