WASHINGTON – A few hours before departing to the airport to fly back to Yerevan, prominent journalist from Armenia Tatul Hakobyan met community representatives at Washington’s St. Mary Armenian Church on July 11.
Briefing about the post-war situation in Armenia, he reflected on the challenging circumstances in which the foreign diplomacy of Armenia found itself following the most recent aggression by Turkey and Azerbaijan. The new foreign minister of Armenia will have to negotiate an onerous agreement with Ankara and Baku that may touch upon delimitation of the borders, recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and possibly that of Turkey. That’s why no high-ranking diplomat or politician from the ruling party’s inner circle is willing to become the minister of foreign affairs. “I know that ten people have already rejected assuming this high position,” the journalist noted.
Hakobyan believes he found the best solution to the problem: he thinks that Prime Minister Pashinyan needs to take full responsibility for the situation and assume the position of foreign minister of Armenia in addition to that of prime minister in order to be fully in charge of the upcoming difficult talks. He cited the precedent of Israel where about ten years ago Benjamin Netanyahu occupied the two key positions of prime minister and foreign minister of the country simultaneously.
However, soon after the event media reports surfaced that Armen Grigoryan, the former director of the National Security Council, will be appointed to the vital position of the top diplomat of Armenia. Subsequently, this rumor was also refuted, keeping the question of the top diplomat in total uncertainty.
Hakobyan thinks that Azerbaijan will continue to hold the Armenian POWs to use them as trump cards in the upcoming complex negotiations. He rejected the news that France was ready to deploy troops in Armenia after the most recent aggression by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
After concluding his remarks, Hakobyan sold copies of his books that covered both the Karabakh conflict and Armenian-Turkish relations.
