Onik Gasparyan Cursed and Stormed Out After Pashinyan's Remarks; Prime Minister's Spokesperson Refuses to Comment on Media's 'Revelations'

On January 28, on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense, where he met with the top military leadership. This was reported by the media, citing Pashinyan's speech in full, according to "Hraparak."

"Our sources in the Ministry of Defense report that the meeting was far from smooth. Quite the opposite. After the main meeting, they sat in the office of one of the leaders, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made accusations directed at the high-ranking military, related to the defeat in the war, which outraged the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan. He cursed, slammed the door, and stormed out of the room. They went after him, persuaded him to return. At that time, Minister Vahe Hakobyan began to make a 'speech' before the Prime Minister, trying to show that he was in control of the situation. He started threatening that he would punish for such actions. The senior officers present had to intervene, making it clear to him that he should sit quietly, as he did not decide anything. The conversation escalated so much that Nikol Pashinyan took on the role of a mediator, calming and smoothing over the conflict he had himself ignited.

However, Pashinyan did not let this incident go. Immediately after, he instructed to initiate criminal cases against the military and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. The first case is regarding the weapons, currently related to Davit Galstyan, with potential investigations against other senior officials in the Ministry of Defense in the future," the media outlet reported.

Auroranews contacted Prime Minister Pashinyan's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan to verify the accuracy of this information. In our conversation, she stated that on January 28, the Prime Minister visited the Ministry of Defense and sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the Armed Forces, and that concluded the meeting. When asked if she would like to comment on the publication, Gevorgyan said, "I do not wish to comment on the media's 'revelations.'"

We also tried to confirm the information with the Ministry of Defense, but to this point, our phone calls have gone unanswered.