A politician on thin ice Who’s really pulling Tatoyan’s strings?

Against the backdrop of statements by officials in Yerevan emphasising the importance of steps leading to the final signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as visits by civil society representatives to the capitals of both countries, one figure, known for the excessive versatility of his personas, has decided to make himself remembered.

We are talking about Arman Tatoyan, who previously took on the role of Armenia’s Ombudsman, later established the Center for Law and Justice under his eponymous foundation, and now appears in the guise of the leader of the “Wings of Unity” movement.

So, this many-faced Arman organised a press conference aimed at gratifying his vanity and ambitions, during which he babbled, as the saying goes, endlessly. Essentially a political nonentity—having no representation in the Armenian parliament and not being someone whose rating is even measured by Armenian pollsters—he pronounced with a solemn air that he was “ready to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.”

Of course, we have already grown accustomed to the occasional appearance of truly grotesque figures on the Armenian political scene, yet Tatoyan somehow managed to outshine them in a snap. Continuing this carnival of unprecedented foolishness, he proceeded to discuss the “Trump Route” project. Naturally, one might not pay it any attention—if only he were doing it in his own kitchen as a handyman who might one day help build that road.

But Arman fancies himself in yet another role, and seriously dispenses advice… to the U.S. leadership. And here, one immediately recalls a character from a famous French author’s work, who claimed that “one word from him saved France! The haberdasher and the cardinal—that’s power!” His name was Monsieur Bonacieux.

Remaining in the guise of this snooping haberdasher, Tatoyan decided to trivially “expose” the Armenian Prime Minister, declaring: “Our colleagues in America should know that Pashinyan is nullifying their mediation efforts.”

May I ask—who exactly did he call his colleagues? Representatives of the leadership of a leading world power?! One can easily imagine the Homeric laughter that would shake the walls of the White House if someone with a sense of humour brought them a translated text of the flights of fancy of Arman Tatoyan.

This bizarre fusion of Ellochka the Cannibal and Bonacieux managed to turn even himself against his own “colleagues.” In theory, these could—and arguably should—have been representatives of the ARFD (Armenian Revolutionary Federation - ed.), who hold similar revanchist positions toward Azerbaijan. Yet even here, Arman messed up, as pointed out by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a deputy from the “Armenia” bloc.

“Talks about the non-participation of the ‘former’ or ‘current’ [figures] are Nikolosian nonsense,” he said, commenting on the former Armenian Ombudsman’s statement that Nikol Pashinyan feeds off former presidents and that they should not participate in elections but step aside so that Pashinyan can be defeated.

“I regret that a new political force entering the scene is taking its first steps using Nikolosian terminology. I believe this is by no means a path to success,” added Saghatelyan. In this way, Tatoyan, barely stepping onto the slippery ice of Armenian politics, has already earned the status of an outsider among his own.

However, despite all the disproportionate foolishness Tatoyan has put on display, a reasonable question arises: “So, who’s really pulling the strings of this comedian?” This brings to mind an event last October, when he—already the former Armenian Ombudsman but now director of the Tatoyan Foundation’s Center for Law and Justice—together with Artak Beglaryan and Garnik Kerkonyan, met in Paris with a group of deputies from the French National Assembly and members of the Senate. The “event” was organised with the support of the Armenian Committee of France and its representative, Anahit Hakobyan. Tatoyan, Beglaryan, and Kerkonyan met with Deputy Isabelle Santiago, Chairman of the Armenian-French Friendship Group in the Senate Gilbert-Luc Devinaz, Senator Valérie Boyer, and other legislators.

In light of this, it becomes clear who is really sponsoring Tatoyan’s festival of unchecked ambition and folly—a festival that, in truth, collapsed at the very start and provokes nothing but laughter.