VIDEO. "Our Diplomacy is Like a Squirrel Sitting on a Nut in a Park," Says Pashinyan

During today’s government meeting, the issue of budget reallocation and funding for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was discussed. Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan stated that the Armenian Embassy in the United Kingdom is located in a building provided by the Armenian House in London, but the embassy must vacate the premises next year.

The deputy minister also noted that the space is insufficient for the embassy to carry out its activities properly. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded by stating that they have wanted to move from the current location of the embassy for a long time. “The photographs I have seen, I’m sorry, but a state that respects itself cannot consider that space as an embassy. Unfortunately, we have this problem in many places. We ask, ‘Where is our diplomacy?’ Our diplomacy is like a squirrel sitting on a nut in a park, with a flag hanging above, and we say, ‘This is our embassy.’ My personal stance has been that we should have proper embassies everywhere. In one place, the roof is leaking, in another, the floor is cracked, in another, there’s no window; it’s unacceptable,” stated the Prime Minister.

He informed that Armenia is purchasing an embassy in London for £17 million. It is noted that the government will allocate approximately 8 billion 388 million drams for acquiring a five-story building in the center of London.