Did you think tanks should come and crush an Armenian citizen? Vahagn Aleksanyan to Artur Ghazinyan

During a special meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security, the issue of appointing a deputy was addressed, with the candidate being Artur Ghazinyan from the "Hayastan" faction. Lawmaker Vahagn Aleksanyan from the "Civil Contract" party directed a question to the candidate:

"When the Chief of Staff stepped outside constitutional powers with his superior, intervened in Armenia's affairs, demanded the resignation of the government, you and your team welcomed that, some of your teammates called for the General Staff to take tanks and come to the center of Yerevan: how do you assess your anti-state behavior? Did your teammates fall into the pitfalls of Kemalism, viewing themselves through the pillars established by Atatürk in Turkey, and did you find that tanks should indeed come and crush an Armenian citizen?"

In response to Vahagn Aleksanyan's question, Artur Ghazinyan stated that the Armed Forces of Armenia are directly responsible for the country's external security, border protection, and territorial integrity. "If the actions of the political authority endanger the life of a soldier, if the political authority does not adequately respond to the situation and puts the lives and health of soldiers at risk, when it does not realize the seriousness and consistency of its steps, they urge and say—please stop the war; proposals are made and rejected. In that case, the General Staff may, if necessary, demand the resignation of the political authority to ensure the complete implementation of its constitutional and legislative functions because our soldiers are shot and die as a result of the serious political and geopolitical mistakes made, and the soldier shoots when political figures and diplomats fail," he said.

He noted that there was no intention to crush anyone under the tanks because the opposition was present in the streets at that time. Vahagn Aleksanyan responded to Ghazinyan, stating that the General Staff could not provide political assessments and was obliged to obey the Ministry of Defense. "Kemalism, which you seek to implement, has no place in Armenia. The armed forces in Armenia have been, are, and will remain apolitical," he said.