Less than a month after his unexpected dismissal as Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian has joined an international consulting company involved in work related to the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), raising questions about the revolving door between Pashinyan’s government and organizations working on the controversial project.
The Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) announced Wednesday that the former senior government official had joined the company as a senior advisor and is already participating in a feasibility assessment of TRIPP.
The U.S. backed project is intended to establish a transit connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan through Armenia’s strategically sensitive Syunik Province.
Grigorian served as Secretary of the Security Council from 2018 until his dismissal by Nikol Pashinyan in August. During those years, he was one of the government’s most prominent officials dealing with national security and was closely involved in negotiations with Azerbaijan.
PMCG has presented that background as extensive experience in diplomacy, regional security, conflict resolution and efforts to advance peace and stability. But Grigorian’s years at the center of Armenian security policy also coincided with some of the most devastating setbacks in Armenia’s recent history.
During his tenure, Armenia suffered defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War, Azerbaijan captured large parts of Artsakh, Azerbaijani forces advanced into internationally recognized Armenian territory beginning in 2021, and the Armenian population of Artsakh endured a months long blockade before Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive resulted in the displacement of virtually the entire Armenian population and Azerbaijani control over Artsakh.
Grigorian was also a senior figure in Pashinyan’s foreign policy establishment throughout years of negotiations with Azerbaijan that critics have characterized as a succession of Armenian concessions without corresponding guarantees on the security of Artsakh’s Armenians, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenian territory, or the release of Armenian prisoners held by Baku.
In that context, PMCG’s portrayal of Grigorian’s record as one centered on “regional security,” “conflict resolution” and advancing “peace and stability” stands in stark contrast to the outcomes Armenia experienced while he occupied one of the country’s most powerful national security positions.
Despite the significance of his position and his years of involvement in sensitive Armenian Azerbaijani negotiations, Pashinyan’s government did not provide a clear public explanation for Grigorian’s removal.
Now, only weeks after leaving office, Grigorian has moved directly into private consulting work connected to one of the most consequential regional projects he dealt with while serving at the highest levels of Armenia’s security establishment.
“Mr. Grigorian joins us with extensive experience at the highest levels of government and a career spanning strategic governance, diplomacy, international relations, institutional reform, crisis management, and regional security,” PMCG said in announcing his appointment.
His rapid transition raises questions over whether knowledge and experience acquired while serving as Armenia’s top security official, including his involvement in negotiations concerning Azerbaijan and regional transit arrangements, will now be employed by a private company participating in work related to TRIPP.
PMCG describes itself as an international development consulting company operating through affiliated offices in the United States, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Poland and Ireland.
The company is also implementing a U.S. State Department funded Trans Caspian Trade Route project covering Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. That project was commissioned by AECOM, which is conducting the site study for TRIPP in Armenia.
PMCG has previously worked directly with the Armenian government as well, implementing a project last year aimed at strengthening agricultural value chains that was commissioned by Armenia’s Ministry of Environment.
Grigorian’s appointment therefore places a former senior Pashinyan administration official, whose tenure encompassed military defeat, the loss of Artsakh, Azerbaijani incursions into Armenia and years of heavily criticized diplomacy with Baku, inside a consulting network now involved in assessing a project designed to provide Azerbaijan with a transit connection through Armenian territory.
The timing, coming less than a month after his unexplained dismissal, is likely to fuel further scrutiny over Grigorian’s role in the negotiations while in government and his swift transition to private sector work connected to TRIPP.
