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February 25, 2021 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan denounced an attempted military coup after 40 senior army officers, including Chief of Staff, Onik Gasparyan, called for his resignation.



"I believe that the statement of the general staff is an attempted military coup", wrote the premier on Facebook, "I invite all our supporters to gather in Republic Square" in Yerevan.

The note signed by Gasparyan expresses a "strong protest" against the dismissal of the deputy chief of staff, Tiran Khachatryan, for reasons defined as "superficial and unfounded".



Yesterday the Armenian president, Armen Sarkissian, had signed the decree removing Khachatryan following a clash with the government, who had complained about the inefficiency shown by the Russian-made Iskander missiles in the recent conflict with Azerbaijan for control of Nagorno- Karabakh.

The outcome of the war, which ended with a consolidation of Azerbaijani territorial claims, sparked a wave of popular anger against the executive led by Pashinyan.



Tired of feeling full responsibility for the outcome of the conflict, Pashinyan and members of his government then went on the attack, complaining about the inefficiency of Russian armaments supplied to the army.

Khachatryan had recently commented with a scornful laugh on a comment by Pashinyan about Iskanders "not exploding" or "exploding 10%", stating that such claims "could not be serious".



Shortly thereafter, the number two of the armed forces would be fired, a decision that, according to the military note, "was taken without taking into account the national and state interests of Armenia but only on the basis of personal feelings and ambitions".



"The decision, taken in difficult circumstances for Armenia, is anti-state and irresponsible", continues the statement, according to which the Armenian premier and his government "are no longer able to make adequate decisions in this critical situation, crucial for the Armenian people ".



"The Armenian armed forces have long tolerated attacks by the authorities aimed at discrediting the armed forces but everything has its limit", the note concludes, "given the circumstances, the Armenian armed forces are demanding the immediate resignation of the prime minister and the government and warn them not to use force against the people whose children have died defending the motherland ".



Prime Minister in the square

The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, is marching along with thousands of his supporters in Yerevan after mobilizing them in an appeal in which he denounced an attempted military coup.

Meanwhile, the opposition party 'Armenia Prospera' has called for the "immediate" resignation of the head of government.

"The declaration of the armed forces and the General Staff is a turning point. We ask Nikol Pashinyan not to go towards a civil war, not to shed Armenian blood inside the country and not to sow discord among the Armenians. Nikol Pashinyan has the last chance to resign politically without trauma ", reads a party statement.



Pashynian will speak to the nation

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is meeting with his supporters outside the seat of government and has announced that he will speak to the nation in Republic Square, in the capital Yerevan, at 4 pm local time, 1 pm Italian time. 



Kremlin: "Concern, but it's internal affairs"

The Kremlin is following political developments in Armenia with concern, but believes that the current situation is an internal affair of the country.

This was stated by the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, according to reports from RIA Novosti and the Armenian media reported.

"We are following developments in Armenia with concern. We see this as an internal matter of Armenia, our important and close ally in the Caucasus," Peskov said.