Zhoghovurd daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes as follows, in particular: Yesterday, diplomatic representatives of European Union [(EU)] member states accredited in the RA met with four high-ranking officials of the RA.

The question arises: why was it necessary for the same people to have their say on the same day at four different meetings? RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the [EU] ambassadors. On the Government’s website, however, there was no information about this, and only a reel was published on the prime minister’s Facebook page, without any accompanying information about the content of the meeting.

NA [i.e. National Assembly] President Alen Simonyan received the same ambassadors at the National Assembly. NA Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan also received the same EU ambassadors in parliament, with a separate meeting. Meanwhile, at the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan once again met with the same ambassadors.

Official statements were “meager” in this regard: “During the meeting, a number of issues were discussed concerning the expanding bilateral agenda between Armenia and the European Union, as well as between Armenia and EU member states, developments that have taken place within the framework of the visa liberalization process, in particular the implementation of the RA-EU Visa Liberalization Action Plan within the shortest possible timeframe.”

It can be said that the agenda of Armenia’s high-ranking officials was almost entirely dedicated to diplomatic contacts. These 4 meetings have raised certain concerns in [Armenia’s] public and expert circles. In particular, viewpoints are circulating that such active diplomatic contacts may be linked to a new regional tension and the fact that certain points of the Peace Declaration signed on August 8 are at risk due to Azerbaijan’s actions, and that the [Armenian] authorities had the task of voicing these alarms.

In this regard, Zhoghovurd daily contacted NA Vice President Ruben Rubinyan to find out whether the [aforesaid] multilayered meetings held on the same day were due to issues that have emerged surrounding the peace process. Rubinyan, however, dismissed the concerns circulating in the public sphere, noting that contacts with diplomatic missions are routine. “Meetings are regular, they have taken place in the past as well. There is nothing extraordinary or concerning here,” the NA vice speaker noted, emphasizing that the peace agenda remains the [Armenian] government’s priority.