The Person Holding the Position of Supreme Commander Has Two Options: Vigen Sargsyan

Former Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan wrote on his Facebook page: "When the entire leadership of the country’s Armed Forces publicly expresses its lack of confidence in the person holding the position of Supreme Commander during wartime, there are two options: either replace the entire senior officer corps or leave quietly. There is no third option. Especially in the case of a state facing real military threats.

The first option would mean leaving the army without command, thus exposing the country to inevitable defeat. Furthermore, I would struggle to recall a similar experience in the history of any democratic country.

At this time, it is no longer relevant why it turned out that the entire general staff had to speak out publicly alongside the traitor. I am confident that far more restrained forms of communication preceded this, which the Prime Minister either did not understand or, more likely, chose to disregard. How he attempted to disregard the multiple appeals and messages from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Catholicos of Cilicia, the National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan State University, the President of the country, and various political forces.

By the way, there is not a hint of a coup in the statement from the military elite. Those planning a coup issue lengthy statements after isolating the country’s leader, not before.

In this case, there is a clear articulation of a lack of confidence and respect, which has already led to a distortion of the logic of the chain of command, something that cannot be tolerated for even a moment. A vivid example of this is the pitiful attempts to issue orders to the army personnel from the square."