Members of the Civil Contract Party Depart Madrid Early on State Expenses

According to the newspaper 'Zhoghovurd', the members of the National Assembly's 'Civil Contract' faction departed on yet another 'voyage' yesterday, November 16. It has been revealed that the Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defense and Security, Andranik Kocharyan, and MP Vahagn Alexanderan have traveled to Spain—all the way to Madrid—to participate in the annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Also on this same trip is Anna Grigoryan, an MP from the 'Armenia' faction and a member of the committee. However, unlike the members from the Civil Contract party, Grigoryan will be departing for Madrid tomorrow, November 18. While both Grigoryan, Kocharyan, and Alexanderan will attend the same sessions, a logical question arises as to why they are traveling on different days.

According to the newspaper, the parliamentary sessions involving NATO will not start until November 19, and prior to that, only organizational work will take place, during which there is no substantive agenda for the lawmakers. What it appears to be is that the representatives of the Civil Contract party have headed to Madrid early simply for leisure and 'to see the world', while receiving per diem allowances for this trip—all on the state's account, as mandated by President Alen Simonyan, according to the National Assembly's website, which states that the government will cover all expenses related to the trip.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.