YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: The tie between [PM] Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church has been irretrievably broken after the [Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war [in the fall of 2020].

Pashinyan, in fact, views the valorization of state institutions, their role through his own, narrow personal prism. This year as well he did not congratulate Catholicos Karekin II on his birthday, which was celebrated on August 21, whereas Pashinyan was "warmly" congratulating His Holiness for three consecutive years after coming to power (…).

After the war, when the Catholicos publicly started criticizing the [incumbent Armenian] authorities, he became a thorn in Pashinyan's side. According to some information, media under the authorities’ control, even the Public [TV], have been instructed not to cover the activities of the Catholicos in any way.