Armenian PM orders “revenge interview” after Karapetyan's gov't criticism in US broadcast

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was dissatisfied with the outcome of an interview given by Narek Karapetyan — coordinator of the “Po-nashhemu” movement and nephew of arrested Russian oligarch Samvel Karapetyan — to American journalist Tucker Carlson.

Pashinyan has instructed officials to organise a “revenge interview” with Time magazine correspondent Simon Shuster, Caliber.Az reports, citing Hraparak newspaper.

According to the report, the prime minister tasked his press secretary Nazeli Bagdasaryan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan with arranging the interview, emphasising that “financial costs should not be a concern.”

The interview in question aired on November 7, 2025, as part of Tucker Carlson's independent show. It featured Narek Karapetyan—nephew of detained businessman Samvel Karapetyan and coordinator of the opposition "Our Way" (Mer Dzevov) movement—alongside Samvel's international lawyer, Bob Amsterdam. The 78-80 minute episode framed Armenia's crises as part of an alleged government repression of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Karapetyan accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of authoritarianism, including jailing three archbishops (one for a 2021 protest comment, another for attending a rally) and attempting to dethrone Catholicos Garegin II to "make Armenia less Christian."

Armenian pro-government outlets dismissed it as paid propaganda, alleging a $400,000 fee to Carlson and framing it as part of Karapetyan's U.S. lobbying efforts.

By Khagan Isayev