How the Newly Appointed Deputy Minister Avoided Military Service

Earlier, we reported that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a decision to appoint Vahan Kostanyan as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Irakanum.am, commenting on this decision, noted: “By the way, Vahan Kostanyan did not serve in the army. As one of the leaders of the student movement in 2017 demanding exemption from conscription, Kostanyan enrolled in the postgraduate program at Yerevan State University’s Faculty of Oriental Studies after the legislative changes made in a hurry following the regime change in 2018, receiving a three-year deferral from military service. However, during this time, he held several positions, first as the press secretary of the Civil Contract party, then from May 2018 as the assistant to the Vice Prime Minister of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, and from December 2018, he was the assistant to the Speaker of the Parliament, Mirzoyan, later becoming an advisor. He then moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Mirzoyan. Throughout this period, he has not published any scientific articles and has not passed any exams, which led him to submit a request in May of this year to withdraw from the postgraduate program at YSU’s Faculty of Oriental Studies, therefore he no longer benefits from the deferral right and should have been drafted for mandatory military service, yet he continues to hold a public position.”

Auroranews contacted Mr. Kostanyan to verify the information. The deputy minister requested to direct inquiries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press service. In response to the observation that press secretary Vahan Hunanian does not maintain contact with the media, it appears that those media outlets seeking accurate and comprehensive information regarding this and other matters related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are deprived of that opportunity, the deputy minister urged to send written inquiries.