Why did the head of the Armenian President’s staff resign?

Why did the head of the Armenian President’s staff resign?

Karen Karapetyan left the post of Armenian Presidential Staff Head on September the 9th, "of his own accord", after 3 years of successful work. President Serge Sarksyan temporarily appointed Vigen Sarksyan to the position. According to sources close to the President, he himself was surprised by Karapetyan’s decision. Political experts have two different versions explaining this unexpected retirement of the high-ranking official.

Version 1.

Some experts point out that Karapetyan had ambitions to become Armenian PM after the elections of 2008, and when it became clear that this ambition is not going to be fulfilled, he decided to explore other career options. This version is based on as yet uncontradicted information provided by the opposition. According to this information, Karen Karapetyan’s brother, a successful Russian businessmen, invested 60 million dollars into Sarksyan’s election campaign in return for the future President’s promise to appoint Karen head of the government. However, after the elections, the President appointed Tigran Sarkisyan as ‘temporary’ PM.

The head of the Armenian opposition party ‘Gnchak’, Ludmila Sarkisyan, explains that Karapetyan understood that the President isn’t going to dismiss Sarkisyan, despite all his mistakes and general incompetence.

In 2008, Karen’s brother Samvel Karapetyan promised to invest some 250 million dollars into the Armenian economy, however, there are no reports that the investment has actually been made. According to ‘Forbes’, Samvel possesses a 1.4 billion dollar fortune and is 12th on the list of major Russian real estate owners.

Version 2.

 

This version deals with the protracted conflict between Karapetyan and the President’s brother-in-law, Mikhail Minasyan, and his partisans, who prevent Karapetyan from taking any real part in the process of making important decisions concerning the country’s politics.  Mikhail Minasyan, however, denied these allegations, adding that he regrets Karapetyan’s decision.

Representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia confirm that Karapetyan, who is still a member of the party’s council, left his post of his own free will. According to the Armenian Parliament’s speaker, Ovik Abramyan, Karapetyan decided to apply his abilities to the field of economics.

Ex-MP Karapetyan is perceived as a pro-Russian politician because of his brother’s business connections, so his resignation may damage Russian-Armenian business relations. Today’s Armenia finds itself in a difficult geo-political situation, so any change in the existing fragile balance is undesirable. Karapetyan’s resignation tipped this balance in favor of the pro-Western group in the Armenian government. However, it’s too early to make any final conclusions, as Karapetyan’s replacement figure hasn’t been announced yet.

 

Susanna Petrosyan, exclusively to VK

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