10:37, 31 May 2021

Pashinyan blames General Staff for situation on the border

Nikol Pashinyan. Photo: Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via REUTERS

After the war, instead of strengthening the borders, Onik Gasparyan, a former Armenian General Staff Commander, of was engaged in political intrigues, Nikol Pashinyan, the acting Prime Minister, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Gasparyan's dismissal was preceded by a General Staff's statement, which on February 25, 2021, called on Pashinyan to resign. The Premier treated it as an attempt of a coup d'etat and signed a decree on the dismissal of the General Staff's Commander.

The current situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border stems from the fact that after the war, the General Staff made nothing for border protection, Mr Pashinyan is sure. According to his version, Gasparyan and his deputy Tiran Khachatryan sabotaged the order by doing "not their duties, but politics, now with one party, then – with the other," the "News.Am" reports.

In March, Onik Gasparyan, dissatisfied with Pashinyan's decision to dismiss him, asked the head of the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) to open a criminal case against the Prime Minister, however, the Special Investigation Service (SIS) and the GPO refused to do it.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 30, 2021 at 09:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.