Nikol Pashinyan explains how luxury Mercedes holds Armenian foreign minister from fulfilling his responsibilities

• Thursday, October 4, 17:37

 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian's luxury Mercedes holds him from fulfilling his responsibilities, Nikol Pashinyan, MP representing the Armenian National Congress, said during discussions on fulfillment of the state budget for 2011 in the parliament, Thursday.

"A few weeks ago we became witnesses of heated emotions of the Government and the parliamentary majority serving its interests in response to extradition and pardon of Ramil Safarov. Nevertheless, during discussions on fulfillment of the state budget for 2011 by the Foreign Ministry, a flagrant fact was revealed.  Shavarsh Kocharyan declared that the state budget allocated no funds for activity of the Armenian Ambassador to Hungary in 2011. This means that in 2011 Armenia de-facto had no ambassador to Hungary. In the period from October 2011 up to the moment of Safarov's extradition by Hungary Armenia had no ambassador to that country because the ambassador was appointed deputy foreign minister without accreditation of a new
ambassador," Pashinyan said.

It turns out, he said, that intensive talks for extradition of Safarov were held just in the period when Armenia had no ambassador to Hungary. "These terrible realities make the patriotic speeches of the authorities at least silly," he said.

Pashinyan blames for such situation the president of Armenia, first of all, because in compliance with the Constitution, it is the president who determines the foreign policy of the country. "Let's don't forget about the big fan of Mercedes Edward Nalbandian who received a luxury Mercedes from  'certain German'. At least it is the opinion of Shavarash Kocharyan. It turns out that the ex-foreign minister receives 2 million dollars from a U.S. philanthropist, the
foreign minister in office receives a luxury car from Germany. In this light, the failures in the foreign political arena are taking shape," he said.