Former president Robert Kocharian during an interview last month with Yerkir Media
In order to bolster his image, Armenia’s embattled former president Robert Kocharian, through his attorney, reportedly has hired a Western lobbyist, whose previous work included representing Azerbaijan, published on Medium.
Kocharian is currently facing charges of breaching Armenia’s constitutional order in relation with the March 1, 2008 post-election events, during which eight civilians and two police officers were killed in a standoff with security personnel. He was remanded into custody but later released when an appellate court overturned a decision of a lower court in Yerevan. Since his return to Armenia on July 26, Kocharian has mounted a campaign in both the local Armenian media, as well as the Western press to advance “his side” of the story and to attack Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government.
An email written by Kocharian’s lobbyist;s aide to the Medium reporter
The dubious pieces that have been appearing in the Western press with a distinct pro-Kocharian and anti-Pashinyan slant are being authored by Michael Burrell, a British lobbyist and for vice-president of Edelman and APCO Worldwide, who is not a senior adviser for the Eurasia Advisory, a pro-Russia firm headquartered in London and run by Alexander “Alex” Andreev, a Russian citizen representing Russian coal mogul Andrey Melnichenko. Among other clients, Burrell boasts Russia’s state gas company Gazprom. While the company is based in London, its ties to Moscow are quite evident.
Another email by Burrell’s aide to the Medium reporter
While Burrell was working at APCO Worldwide, the firm was representing Azerbaijan in the United Stated States through a non-profit funded by Anar Mammadov, the son the Azerbaijan’s former transport minister, according to Medium. Mammadov played key role in the vast money laundering operation linked to Azerbaijan’s wealthy families, including Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president. The operation is commonly known as the Azerbaijani Laundromat.
Grigor Atanessian, a Fulbright fellow at the Missouri School of Journalism, who reported the news, also presents facsimiles of email communications with Burrell’s aide, Daria Eishiner, whose emails are signed off “on behalf of Aram Orbelyan,” who is one of Kocharian’s attorneys.
When on Tuesday, a recording of a phone conversation between the heads of Armenia’s National Security Service and Special Investigative Service, talking about the Kocharian case was leaked, Burrell authored an op-ed entitled, “Armenia’s ‘Watergate’ – Time for the West to act,” which was published on Wednesday in some Western media. Similarly, another op-ed authored by Burrell entitled “Democracy and the rule of law in Armenia — what President Macron should discuss with Prime Minister Pashinian,” was published one day before Pashinyan’s meeting with French President Emanuel Macron.
Source: Asbarez
Link: Kocharian Hires Lobbyist who Worked for Azeri Interests
