“Any accredited ambassador to Armenia could have his own assessment, over which there could be different opinions”, said the Chairman of Standing Committee for NA Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, Koryun Nahapetyan, in an interview with Aravot.am. Note that on November 11, the US Ambassador Richard Mills delivered a speech to the audience at the Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce. In his speech, the Ambassador also referred to the existence of corruption in Armenia. “I must be frank with our Armenian friends about the very real toll that corruption exacts on Armenia. I hear about that toll from potential U.S. business investors and from average Armenians as I travel the country. When competition among businesses is not fair and not based on objective commercial criteria, when there are powerful interests that have disproportionate economic and political influence, it limits economic growth. The whole economy – indeed the whole country –suffers. Foreign businesses vote with their investment dollars; if they see a country suffering the ills of corruption they either don’t invest at all, or may decide to pull their money out. Among Armenians, the burden of corruption falls on the most vulnerable, the small business owners struggling to start and maintain their operations.”
Koryun Nahapetyan considers that it is necessary to note that every diplomat has his own interpretations on this or that matter. “If we try to bring the opinions of different ambassadors to a political dimension, voicing comments and giving assessments, I think we are entering a non-serious discussion field, and I do not think that in this case it is appropriate to assess the Ambassador’s words meeting your request.” According to him, the diplomatic mission mandate has some logic, and the representatives of foreign countries have no right to interfere in the internal affairs. “Certainly, they can voice opinions on different phenomena and events, but to have intervention and guide, I think it is wrong, no matter which country’s ambassador he is.”
Ami CHICHAKYAN
