Armenia’s prime minister fires top military official

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed the country's top military official over the allegation that the military has effectively staged a coup against his government, despite President Armen Sarkissian’s refusal to sign a decree calling for the general’s resignation last month.

According to reports, Pashinyan’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that the army’s Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan “is legally dismissed from his post from March 10.”

The government said that the dismissal was legally effective due to the president’s refusal to sign the decree within the given time frame.

Later in the day, the president appealed to the constitutional court to review the legality of Gasparyan’s dismissal, according to his office.

“The president hopes that a quick decision [of the Constitutional Court] will provide legal certainty and will contribute to settling the crisis,” it added.

Last month, Pashinyan sent an order for approval to the president’s office to dismiss Gasparyanm, after the military called for the prime minister’s resignation.

The Armenian PM said the military’s call for his resignation amounted to an effective coup.

Sarkissian, however, described the order as “unconstitutional.”

He said that the political crisis that had grown over the government’s handling of last year’s war with Azerbaijan “cannot be resolved through frequent personnel changes.”

Pashinyan has been facing calls for resignation amid widespread protests since he signed a ceasefire agreement with the Republic of Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Karabakh on November 6.

The truce deal, which left Azerbaijan largely in control of the territory, sparked angry protests in Armenia.

Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has been populated by ethnic Armenians.

SS