From 1 to 10 August, 2020, 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, 121 articles were declared, 21 of which were negative, 5 were positive and 95 were neutral.
Both negative and positive articles were published on Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The negative ones prevail.
Harut Sassounian, publisher and editor of “The California Courier” newspaper, referring to the Artsakh negotiation process, noted: “I was dissatisfied with the fact that Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan had just announced that Armenia is ready to restart negotiation process with Azerbaijan, as if the attacks in early July had not taken place. Azerbaijan will refrain from launching new attacks on Armenia and Artsakh only if it pays a high price, both militarily and diplomatically.”
Referring to the Artsakh issue and the policy pursued by the RA, Former NA deputy Armen Ashotyan wrote: “I am sure that Zohrab Mnatsakanyan is capable of making political statements that do not correspond to reality just in order to conceal Nikol Pashinyan’s two-year negotiation fiasco. The news is that these statements can be so manipulative, that they may question the foreign minister’s correspondence to his position.”
According to the press, the relations between Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and President Armen Sargsyan have been strained in relation to the issue of appointing an ambassador to the United Kingdom. “The post of ambassador to Great Britain has become a real apple of discord within the government representatives. Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan sees Tatul Margaryan in this position, about which media outlets wrote last December, but the person appointing ambassadors, that is RA President Armen Sargsyan, does not see Margaryan in the position, Sargsyan had previously held. “Apparently, he has his own candidate, and it is not Tatul Margaryan.”
The publication was prepared with the support of “Hayrenik” Development Foundation
