Why Kristine Grigoryan Was Appointed Head of the External Intelligence Service: The Prime Minister's Spokesperson Comments

The head of the External Intelligence Service is tasked with creating an intelligence service that effectively responds to modern challenges, and Kristine Grigoryan's experience in the field of public administration is adequate to address these issues. This was stated in an interview with Armenpress by the Prime Minister's spokesperson, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, in response to the question of why Kristine Grigoryan, who has no experience in the field, was appointed head of the External Intelligence Service.

We previously reported that, by the decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, former Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan was appointed as head of the External Intelligence Service.

Regarding the functions of the External Intelligence Service, Nazeli Baghdasaryan noted that the main task of the service is to predict external threats and opportunities facing the state and society, while providing intelligence information to decision-makers in political contexts.

"The service is a politically neutral body and is called to serve solely the interests of the state. The External Intelligence Service will also closely cooperate with other bodies and actors that perform intelligence functions in the Republic of Armenia, in order to strengthen the independence, sovereignty, and security of the Republic of Armenia. For this purpose, the External Intelligence Service will also establish cooperation with international partners," she said.

Nazeli Baghdasaryan assured that no models from eastern, western, northern, or southern services have been chosen to create Armenia's External Intelligence Service.

"In our discussions, we have been guided exclusively by the need to assess the security challenges of the Republic of Armenia and the needs and priorities of external intelligence, as well as the principles of forming a modern external intelligence service characteristic of a democratic regime," she stated.

The Prime Minister's spokesperson reminded that the law on the service was adopted and came into force in December 2022, and during the past nine months, the Government has consistently prepared to launch the practical establishment of the service.