There is Convincing Evidence that Russian Pressure Was Applied on Onik Gasparyan

Yesterday, early in the morning, Armenia's political landscape was shaken up following statements made by Chief of Staff Onik Gasparyan. He noted: “Due to the situation, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and the government, while at the same time warning against using force against the people, whose children have died defending the homeland and Artsakh. The army has always been with the people, just as the people have been with the army.”

This was followed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's response: “I consider the Chief of Staff's statement an attempt at a military coup... Onik Gasparyan should either resign voluntarily, or the President of Armenia should sign his dismissal.”

Before the gathering called by Nikol Pashinyan, several members of the “My Step” faction in parliament were summoned, including Speaker of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan, Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan, and faction leader Lilit Makunts, to discuss both the possibility of early elections and the reasons behind Onik Gasparyan's dissent against the Armenian authorities.

The ruling party is convinced that there was Russian pressure applied on Onik Gasparyan, which led to these developments, but they believe they should not succumb to Russian pressure.

In a notable coincidence, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded, stating: “Turkey opposes any attempt to seize power in any country. This also pertains to the events occurring in Armenia.”

Meanwhile, the opposition has blocked Baghramyan Avenue since yesterday in support of the Armenian army, initiating a round-the-clock sit-in demanding Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. While political battles rage in our country, the government shows no inclination to either resign or call for early elections to ease the current tensions. In the meantime, an agreement has been reached between the neighboring, yet unfriendly Azerbaijan government and the company “Anglo Asian Mining plc” for the British company to start exploiting the Sotski, Kasheni, and Vejnali (Zangelan) mines. These had previously been operated by Armenian companies “Geopromining Gold” (Sotsk) and “Vallex Group” (Kashen), which had made significant investments (about 250 million USD) in these areas before the war that began last September.

However, three months after our disgraceful defeat in the war and in the absence of our claim to those territories, Azerbaijan has granted the British company the necessary permissions for underground exploitation. Well, we can only wait for further setbacks.

This was reported by the newspaper “Zhoghavor.”