Hayk Konjoryan Criticized for 'Business Class' Flight. Message from Pashinyan.

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that Hayk Konjoryan, the leader of the "Civil Contract" faction in the National Assembly, has drawn criticism from the ruling elite for his "business class" flight. According to the newspaper, Konjoryan was seated in the "Business" class section of the plane while returning from France to Armenia, which has become a real and serious topic of discussion among both executive and legislative members.

Specifically, the ruling officials did not appreciate that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's wife, Anna Hakobyan, sat in "Economy" class alongside security personnel, while Konjoryan, in a display of flamboyance, settled into "Business" class. "The members of the ruling party reprimanded Konjoryan, suggesting he should have offered his seat to Mrs. Hakobyan. Why did he have to sit in 'Business' class?" a source close to the newspaper revealed.

According to our information, the leadership of the National Assembly had a serious discussion with the leader of the ruling faction regarding this matter. The source mentioned that reprimanding "messages" had also come from the government cabinet, personally in the name of Nikol Pashinyan.

Sources tell "Zhoghovurd" that Konjoryan defended himself by claiming that the airplane's "VIP" ticket was cheaper, costing around 400,000 drams, while the economy ticket would be 600,000 drams, although it is usually the opposite. The newspaper also attempted to get a comment from Hayk Konjoryan regarding the incident. We informed his assistant that we would prefer not to publish the news without Konjoryan's comments. The assistant stated that they would pass our question along, but Konjoryan did not establish contact with us.

So, what does this mean? Armenia is facing serious challenges to its statehood and sovereignty these days, while the ruling elite is fighting among themselves over who gets to sit in the cushy seats of the airplane.

For more details, see today’s edition of the newspaper.