Did Arshak Karapetyan Deceive Pashinyan? What Was the Reason for His Dismissal

Today, Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan was dismissed. Following the dismissal, an official statement was issued, indicating that a Security Council meeting took place, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, where he addressed the reasons for the dismissal of Arshak Karapetyan: "I have made the decision to dismiss Arshak Karapetyan from the position of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia and appoint Suren Papikyan, who currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, to that position. This decision was made as a result of an analysis of the events unfolding since yesterday. I summoned Mr. Karapetyan this morning and thanked him for his work as Minister of Defense, stating that I appreciate the work done. However, the current situation has led me to the decision that a change in the Minister of Defense must take place."

What happened at the Ministry of Defense following Arshak Karapetyan's dismissal? According to information received by ArmLur.am, this decision by Arshak Karapetyan came as a surprise to the entire personnel of the Armed Forces. Specifically, after the information was disseminated, personnel started calling each other one after another to understand what this decision was and why Arshak Karapetyan took such a step.

Moreover, according to reports circulating within the Ministry of Defense, when Arshak Karapetyan traveled to Moscow and returned to Armenia, there was a consultation at the Ministry of Defense during which he discussed future plans. It was stated that the dismissal of Arshak Karapetyan was not linked to his visit to Moscow. Additionally, information reached the news outlet suggesting that comments were made within the Ministry of Defense questioning how a minister could be dismissed before 100 days had even passed since his appointment.

What do government sources report? According to sources from the Armenian government, Arshak Karapetyan's dismissal is linked to the fact that he did not accurately report the situation at the border to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, resulting in the events escalating to such an extent that the government decided to take this step by dismissing Karapetyan from his position. In this situation, a question arises: what responsibility does the minister have concerning the situation at the border when there exists a Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, namely the Chief of Staff Artak Davtyan? The only person responsible for the situation at the border is the Chief of Staff, as he is accountable for the conditions prevailing there.

Notably, Arshak Karapetyan is the only Minister of Defense who, following the end of the war, undertook a two-day working visit to Artsakh on November 6, and just nine days after this visit, he was dismissed from his ministerial position.