British Foreign Office accused of appointing spouses ambassadors to Armenia

Britain's Foreign Office has been accused of making the country a laughing stock by appointing a married couple to share a senior diplomatic appointment, Tert.am reported.

Jonathan Aves and his wife Katherine Leach will take turns to be the ambassador to Armenia, each doing the job for four months while the other spends that time looking after their children, the Daily Mail reported.

According to the British publication, critics in Armenia have said that the unusual arrangement means Britain is displaying a ‘lack of seriousness’ towards the country.

The controversy comes after it was revealed that the current ambassador recently married an Armenian woman working at the British Embassy.

The two developments have led to local politicians nicknaming the British mission the "love embassy".

Mr Aves, 51, and his 41-year-old wife will both have the title of ambassador when they move to Yerevan, next January with their children Maddie, seven, Mimi, four, and Joe, two.

With the announcement surprising many Armenians, there is concern that it could reduce Britain’s standing in the country, an important ally in the strategically sensitive Caucasus region between Europe and Asia.

‘The British do not take us Armenians seriously. I doubt whether they would send a couple to the United States or many other countries,’ a former deputy foreign minister of Armenia, Arman Navasardyan, was quoted as saying.

"Ambassadors normally spend their first two years getting to know the country and only the third year brings real returns. Yet here we have a wife as ambassador for a few months, then her husband. Then what? Madam again?

"The attitude here is predictable - raised eyebrows and laughter. We don’t understand why Armenia should be treated in this manner."

An unnamed Armenian source has told the paper that the appointment came as a surprise.

"There was some surprise but we were told this was the latest trend in the Foreign Office and that a similar scheme worked well in Zambia," the source was quoted as saying.

"Now the British have the letters A to Z covered by this arrangement, no doubt more will follow. My question is whether they would foist such a self-indulgent plan on a country they think of as important."


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