Statement of General Staff of Armenia on PM Nikol Pashinyan's resignation is a result of authorities inaction, Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia Artak Zakaryan told reporters on Thursday, commenting on the recent statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister.

According to a former senior military officer, this is a concern that many have seen as a protest. 

“This is a civil step since it is not military people who, by definition, are supposed to speak in a certain form,” Zakaryan noted, adding that the actions of the General Staff of Armenia cannot be considered an attempt at a coup. This, according to the former deputy minister, is an alarming signal of corrosion and the collapse of the state, which is on the way to the abyss. 

This process, according to Zakaryan, has already penetrated the ranks of the Armed Forces. At the same time, he noted that the state, represented by the current government, shows indifference to those negative processes that take place in the army, and which can lead to its final collapse. 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia on Thursday demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, saying that the political leadership is leading the state to a dangerous brink. This happened after the head of the government dismissed the first deputy chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan. In response, Pashinyan announced an attempted coup and called on citizens to gather in Republic Square to defend the revolution. He also said that he had signed a decision to dismiss Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan from his post.