The Russian Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper has played a hoax on readers by putting an “exclusive interview” with RA President Serzh Sargsyan on its official website. Talking to Panorama.am, RA Presidential Spokeman Samvel Farmanyan said that the “interview” is “a product of fevered imagination” of the “newspaper reporter” Yekaterina Sazhneva. The Armenian President did not give an interview to this “reporter” or to the newspaper, Farmanyan said.

Among other guests, the author attended a reception at the residence of the RA President as part of Days of Russian Word in Armenia. The questions contained in the “interview” were never asked, and President Sargsyan was “quoted” with gross violations of professional ethics. “The ‘reporter’ must have relied on her &‘obviously poor’ memory,” Farmanyan said. He pointed out the “interview” contains some thoughts ascribed to the President and taken out of context, which distorts the meaning of the RA President’s statements.

He added that the “reporter” did not inform the relevant service of the RA Presidential Staff, thereby violating elementary professional ethics. The fact that a respected media outlet published such an “interview” is regrettable and arouses indignation, Farmanyan said.