YEREVAN. – Solely Armenian National Assembly (NA) Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan and head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), David Harutyunyan, were on hand at the diner reception which was held for the PACE election observation mission delegation on behalf of the NA leader, Zhoghovurd writes.   

“This fact is noteworthy in the sense that, according to protocol, members of at least the main composition of Armenia’s delegation [to PACE] should have been there. [But] Harutyunyan saw to it, at all cost, that especially members of the non-coalition[-government] forces do not attend the dinner, probably not to hamper; they simply were not invited.

But this fact did not go unnoticed by the Europeans, who asked about the absence of the other [Armenian] delegation [to PACE] members. Harutyunyan, who was caught off guard, did not give a clear answer, [and] he changed the subject.    

To Zhoghovurd’s query as to why were other members of the [Armenian] delegation [to PACE] not invited, Harutyunyan responded that this was not a delegation dinner,” Zhoghovurd writes.