Armenia's PM Pashinyan pushes for former US envoy as Parliament Speaker

Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, wants former Armenian ambassador to the U.S., Lilit Makunts, to become the next Speaker of the National Assembly.

Pashinyan's ruling Civil Contract Party will form its pre-election list in stages, Hraparak reports.

It says a party congress is expected on 15 February, when 1,000 delegates will select 50 candidates from a list of 280.

A second congress, likely in mid-March, would then narrow the choice among those 50 to decide key roles, including the prime ministerial candidate.

Lilit Makunts served as Armenia’s ambassador to the United States from 2 August 2021 until August 2025, after previously serving as Culture Minister.

The current speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly is Alen Simonyan, who has held the post since August 2021.

Copied