Situation has been papered over, new chief of army staff says
YEREVAN, March 22. /ARKA/. The new chief of Armenia's army's staff Lieutenant General Artak Davtyan said in a statement today that the country's armed forces will continue to strengthen the security system of the country and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) after 44 days of heroic and selfless war (in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone) and to neutralize external threats.
He stressed that the situation that emerged after the previous chief of staff Onik Gasparyan and more than 40 other top ranking army officers demanded in a statement that Prime Minister Pashinyan resign was resolved, and the current disagreements have passed into the legal field.
"The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, having the constitutional status of a structure subordinate to the government and being under civilian control, will remain neutral in political issues, being guided only by the exclusive obligation to ensure defense, security, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders," Davtyan said in a statement.
On Monday, March 22, Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense and introduced Artak Davtyan to the senior officers of the Armed Forces as the newly appointed head of the General Staff.
Artak Davtyan, who held the position earlier, was sacked last summer because of hosting his son’s wedding party despite the state of emergency announced earlier last year to contain the spread of the virus.
According to mass media reports, the wedding was attended by about 100 guests in violation of social distancing rules set by the government.
On July 16, 2020, Nikol Pashinyan appointed Davtyan as head of the Military-Industrial Committee. On November Pashinyan dismissed him. -0-
