YEREVAN (azatutyun.am) – Former Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan has been appointed foreign minister by a decree signed today by President Armen Sarkissian upon the proposal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The post of Armenia’s foreign minister remained vacant since late May when Ara Ayvazian resigned over apparent policy disagreements with Pashinyan. All of Ayvazian’s four deputies followed suit.
At a May 31 farewell meeting with the Armenian Foreign Ministry staff, Ayvazian signaled strong objections to Pashinyan’s policies relating to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and national security.
In mid-July Pashinyan relieved Armen Grigoryan of his duties as secretary of the Security Council. Grigoryan was later appointed first deputy foreign minister acting as foreign minister.
Pashinyan signed a decree on August 19 reappointing Grigoryan as secretary of the Security Council.
The government has not yet given any reasons for the reshuffle.