Foreign Intelligence Service (Armenia)

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Foreign Intelligence Service of the Republic of Armenia
Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Արտաքին Հետախուզության Ծառայություն
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Seal of the FIS
Agency overview
Formed4 October 2023 [1]
Preceding agency
Jurisdiction Government of Armenia
Headquarters Yerevan
Employeesclassified
Annual budgetclassified
Minister responsible
Agency executives
  • Kristinne Grigoryan, Director of the FIS
  • Hrant Gilavyan, Deputy Director
  • Arman Boshyan, Deputy Director

The Foreign Intelligence Service [a] (FIS) is Armenia's principal foreign intelligence agency. A mostly civilian agency, the FIS falls under the direct supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia. [2] It is headquartered in Yerevan.

Contents

Established in October 2023, the FIS was created to replace the incumbent National Security Service (NSS), a mostly uniformed military intelligence organization which lost the trust of the country's leadership after the agency's loyalty came into question amidst frayed relations between Armenia and Russia. While the NSS is a direct successor to the KGB of Soviet Armenia, the FIS is intended to break with past institutional influences and has been established with input and assistance from western intelligence services, including the American CIA and British MI6. [3]

History

In late 2022, the National Assembly of Armenia announced the intent to create a civilian foreign intelligence service to replace the National Security Service and intelligence components within the Armed Forces of Armenia. [4] [5] Armen Grigorian, the secretary of the Security Council, announced it will be tasked with "collecting information about the security situation around Armenia." [4] Opposition lawmakers criticized the government, with Gegham Manukian of the opposition Armenia Alliance saying that it will "only weaken the existing structures within the NSS and the Defense Ministry." [5] In October 2023, Kristinne Grigoryan, a human rights lawyer, was appointed as the FIS's first director. [6] [7]

Publications

In January 2025, the FIS published its first public assessment, the Annual Report on External SecurityRisks of the Republic of Armenia for 2025, which highlighted a need to prioritize "Armenia's resilience in combating hybrid warfare." While the report did not directly indict Russian activities, it sharply criticized the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which Armenia froze its membership in 2024. The report concluded that the organization's "incapacity (non-viability) to respond to the issues in the South Caucasus that are within CSTO statutory objectives, highly likely will not change." [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Armenian authorities "don't trust the National Security Service, the KGB's successor"
  2. ↑ "The Government proposes to establish Foreign Intelligence Service as a state administration body under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia". www.primeminister.am. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  3. ↑ "Armenia Expands Powers of Foreign Intelligence Service to Counteract Russian Subversive Activities". Robert Lansing Institute. 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
  4. 1 2 Stepanian, Ruzanna (2022-12-20). "Armenia To Set Up Foreign Intelligence Agency". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան (in Armenian). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  5. 1 2 "A NEW FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY IN ARMENIA". avim.org.tr. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  6. ↑ MassisPost (2023-10-06). "Kristine Grigoryan Named Armenia's First Foreign Intelligence Chief • MassisPost". MassisPost. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  7. ↑ "Foreign Intelligence Service mission is to effectively respond to modern-day threats, challenges - PM's spokesperson". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  8. ↑ Tashjian, Yeghia (2025-01-28). "A reflection on Armenia's Foreign Intelligence Service annual report". The Armenian Weekly . Retrieved 2025-04-12.

Notes

  1. ↑ Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Արտաքին Հետախուզության Ծառայություն, romanized: Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan Artak’in Hetakhuzut’yan Tsarrayut’yunp
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