Given the current situation and the fact that we have an officer in the hospital today who is struggling for life in the aftermath of the incident, the governor has made a decision that he no longer considers his further tenure expedient, no matter what the investigation will reveal and what the outcome will be, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan told reporters on Thursday.

“Now the life of our officer is very important,” he noted.

According to him, the governor has announced that as there are drills now, he will resign after the end of the process. When we have a governor vacancy, the Prime Minister will naturally decide who will be the governor of Vayots Dzor.

Trdat Sargsyan, the Governor of Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia, has made a decision to resign from his office as governor—and after the completion of the large-scale strategic military exercises that will get underway Tuesday.

Sargsyan informed about this in a Facebook post, stating that he had come to this decision by “underscoring the establishment of political ethics and political accountability in New Armenia.”

As reported earlier, on September 17, at about 11:40pm, a scuffle took place at the courtyard of a building in Yeghegnadzor town—and involving Lieutenant Colonel Ara Mkhitaryan and Harutyun Grigoryan, assistant to the governor of Vayots Dzor Province.

The suspect, a 28-year-old resident of Yeghegnadzor, and three to four people who had come there upon a telephone call, attempted to get clarification, and they beat the military officer during the ensuing fight.

The suspect punched Lieutenant Colonel Mkhitaryan once in the head, causing him to fall.

Charges were filed against Grigoryan, and he was arrested.

There are reports that Vayots Dzor Governor Trdat Sargsyan also was involved in the incident, these reports are being checked, but Sargsyan denies any involvement.

Lieutenant Colonel Ara Mkhitaryan was taken to hospital, where he underwent an emergency operation. He is in very critical condition.