“The head of the State Security Service, Grigory Hayrapetov, was relieved from his position according to his resignation letter and my decision. Rumors spread that Hayrapetov was removed from his position because he was in an elevator with Pashinyan and Aliyev, where he heard them making agreements to conspire with one another,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a Facebook live video.
According to him, “This has been circulating very seriously. Let’s discuss this. Let’s imagine that I did conspire with Aliyev. If that were true, then am I stupid enough to conspire with Aliyev upon our first meeting, right in front of a security guard who worked with Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan for ten years? And someone I had only known for four months? Before that, Hayrapetov was in charge of Robert Kocharyan’s security for ten years and in charge of Serzh Sargsyan’s security for ten more years.”
Pashinyan continued that, if this were true, he needed to have kept Hayrapetov in his position instead of removing him. “You are well aware of who started this rumor: well-known individuals from the former administration. According to our sources, they are spending millions on this propaganda, so you can imagine the level of propaganda.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
