Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has confirmed his intention to renew his request to President Armen Sarkissian for the dismissal of Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan, whom Pashinyan accuses of attempting a coup by demanding his resignation from government.
According to a post by Pashinyan on Facebook, reported by the Russian news agency Sputnik, the President's decision to reconsider the dismissal, accompanied by objections, "does not help at all in resolving the current situation." The Prime Minister stated that he will resend the decision to the President and await his signature. Earlier on Saturday, the Armenian presidency announced that President Sarkissian had refused to approve the dismissal order for the Chief of Staff.
The political crisis in Yerevan began recently after Pashinyan's comments regarding the Russian "Iskander" system. Reports indicated that the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces mocked the Prime Minister, leading to his dismissal. Following this, a resignation proposal for the Chief of General Staff arose. On Thursday morning, the Armenian armed forces released a statement calling for Pashinyan's resignation. The Prime Minister considered this an attempted coup and urged his supporters to take to the streets. Meanwhile, the opposition set up barriers and erected tents near the parliament to express their unwillingness to negotiate with the authorities and to demand the Prime Minister's resignation.
The Russian Ministry of Defense clarified the current situation in Armenia, addressing Pashinyan's statements regarding the use of "Iskander" missiles in Nagorno-Karabakh, asserting that "Armenia did not use 'Iskander' during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, and all missile munitions are stored in the armed forces' depots." The Ministry added that it was aware of Pashinyan's claim that "the Iskander missiles used by the Armenian armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh did not explode or only exploded 10% of the time." It explained, "According to the objective and reliable information we have, confirmed by a monitoring system, none of this type of missile system were used during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, and all munitions are present in the depots of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia." The Russian Ministry of Defense suggested that Pashinyan's remarks regarding the "Iskander-M" missile system were the result of misinformation.
The Ministry concluded by stating, "It seems that Prime Minister Pashinyan has been misled, and as a result, has used inaccurate information." Earlier, Pashinyan stated in response to a comment from former President Serge Sarkissian regarding whether Armenian forces could use the "Iskander" at the beginning of military operations that the Russian "Iskander" missiles in the possession of the Armenian army "during the escalation of the conflict in Karabakh last autumn, did not work (did not explode after firing) or only worked 10% of the time."
For his part, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting on Pashinyan's statements regarding the "Iskander," stating, "We leave this without comment. Russian technology has proven effective in various parts of the world." Peskov confirmed that the Kremlin is closely monitoring the situation in Armenia and considers the events to be an internal matter.
Earlier on Saturday, the Armenian armed forces called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following his dismissal of the Deputy Chief of General Staff, Tiran Khachatryan, the previous Wednesday, warning him against using force against his people. In response, Pashinyan announced the dismissal of Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan. Media reports indicated that the dismissal of Deputy Chief of Staff Tiran Khachatryan came after he mocked Pashinyan’s comments regarding the Russian "Iskander" missiles. Pashinyan described the General Staff's request for the government to resign as a military coup attempt.
Earlier, it was reported from the Armenian presidency that President Sarkissian had indeed received Pashinyan's proposal regarding the dismissal of the Deputy Chief of General Staff but had not yet signed it. Sarkissian announced that he was taking steps to reduce tensions in the country and to find a peaceful solution to the situation.
