What Was Ararat Mirzoyan Doing on December 23? Following Prime Minister Pashinyan's Claims

The refusal of Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to meet with the foreign ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on December 23 has sparked discussions.

On March 14, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the issue at a press conference, assuring that Mirzoyan had not traveled to the meeting, and it was postponed due to objective circumstances, emphasizing that it was vital for the minister to be in Armenia during that time.

“The cancellation of that meeting was actually related to a sharp crisis— not due to a boycott of the meeting, but because it was necessary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia to be in Yerevan to manage this newly started situation and engage in activities on international platforms,” Pashinyan stated, adding that Mirzoyan would travel to Moscow in the near future.

Azerbaijan has closed the Lachin corridor since December 12, 2022.

On December 23, Mirzoyan signed a mortgage agreement. CivilNetCheck recently reported that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan acquired a new private house in the village of Kasakh, Kotayk province, with a mortgage in December 2022. The cadastral documents of the house also contained the mortgage agreement between the bank, seller, and buyer, under which Ararat Mirzoyan personally signed. The date of the agreement is December 23, 2022, coinciding with the day of the meeting of the three foreign ministers in Moscow.

Pages from the mortgage agreement are attached below.