PRESIDENT NEVER GAVE ALLEGED INTERVIEW – SPOKESMAN

Interfax
Sept 23 2009
Russia

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan never gave an alleged interview the
text of which was published in Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets
recently, his spokesman said.

"The Armenian president gave no interview either to that correspondent
or to Moskovsky Komsomolets," Samvel Farmanyan told Interfax.

The reporter who claimed to have interviewed Sargsyan was at an
event in Yerevan that was part of a Russian language festival and
the president was there at the same time, Farmanyan said.

The journalist never asked the questions she claimed to have asked
Sargsyan, "and the Armenian president’s words were completely
distorted," the spokesman said.

The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets has acknowledged it made an error
in the story, titled "Yerevan, Kinship Remembered"", published on
September 21 on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence and passed off as an exclusive interview allegedly
granted by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

"In fact, Sargsyan did not give an interview to Moskovsky
Komsomolets. An unprepared article was published through the fault of
the editor on duty. The article carried wrongly interpreted excerpts
from the Armenian president’s statements, with hypothetical questions
he was never asked," Moskovsky Komsomolets’ Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Vadim Poegli told Interfax.

"The newspaper editors have offered their apology and those responsible
were disciplined. The newspaper staff again congratulates the president
and the Armenian people on independence. We hope our regrettable
mistake will not spoil anyone’s holiday," Poegli said.