From 1 to 10 December, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s personality and activities.
35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 682 articles were declared, 72 of which were negative, 25 were positive and 585 were neutral.
Critical articles on Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan prevail during this monitoring period.
“Armenian National Congress” (ANC) Vice President Levon Zurabyan, referring to Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s statement, said that it was not a vision for the future, but merely a listing of mandatory security measures. According to the ANC Vice President, the current government has not presented any vision on the Artsakh Issue.
Commenting on the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov in Bratislava, expert on Azerbaijani studies, Angela Elibegova said that it raised many questions, for example: “Why some important lines were excluded from the text of the Armenian Foreign Minister, for instance, whether the thesis on Azerbaijani refugees is currently relevant, and can this question claim to have an equal status with the Stepanakert status issue?”
According to Ara Hakobyan, Chairman of the “National Agenda Party” Council, after the meeting in Bratislava, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, recalled what was being negotiated during the previous government and presented it as an initiative of this government. He also notes that no working consultation took place in Bratislava, despite the fact that the Foreign Minister’s meeting is defined as a working consultation by Mnatsakanyan. According to Hakobyan, it was a negotiation. He also added: “The negotiations are taken place based on a document and agreed principles, but it is unclear what those agreed points are. The Azerbaijani side has clearly stated that based on their negotiating stance, they try to change the results of the Artsakh war, as a result of which we won, and return us to the pre-war situation. The impression is that the Armenian side is also talking about these same principles, as any other package than Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s latest speech, is not presented.”
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and his team were also criticized for posting results and details of the meeting late. The thesis that our present hope is David Tonoyan, as the negotiations have failed and war preparations must begin, is also being discussed on the Facebook platform. Particularly, Expert on American Studies, Suren Sargsyan has repeatedly raised this thesis.
In addition to the criticism on Facebook and online media, there were also publications and opinions that the Foreign Minister’s message in Bratislava was on point and he delivered a decent speech.
In fact, during this ten-day period, the media referred to the foreign minister mainly in the context of the meeting in Bratislava.
