Armenian president rejects prime minister’s proposal for sacking army chief

President Armen Sarkissian has turned down, for the second time, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s proposal for sacking the chief of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

Instead of signing the draft decree, he has decided to dispute the constitutionality of the law “On Military Service and the Status of Serviceman”, the presidential press service reports.

An official statement released on Tuesday afternoon also reflects the president’s willingness to achieve an urgent solution to the political crisis in the country. It says that Sarkissian earlier held meetings with the prime minister and Colonel General Onik Gasparyan himself, as well as the top military command to discuss the existing situation. All the justifications presented by Pashinyan on not accepting the president’s objections were properly considered, according to the document.

“The current situation is obviously the result of disagreements among political figures and the military in both the war and the post-war periods, at times with strictly personalized approaches. The legally controversial objections, the applicable legal practice and the possible legal gap underlying the objections behind signing the decree could not be ignored either.

“The President of the Republic underscored, in his previous statement, that the rapid solution to the problem within the scope of the Constitution is of primary importance for the security of Armenia and Artsakh and is an absolute necessity for preserving the statehood, preventing future splits, re-establishing people’s unity and public solidarity, finding a way out of the current uncertainties and reaching a final solution.

“The president of the Republic has decided not to sign the draft decree. Meantime guiding himself by Clause 4, Section 1 of Article 169 of the Constitution [outlining the procedures for the president to apply to the high court], the President of the Republic will file separate applications with the Constitutional Court with a request for determining the constitutionality of the November 15, 2017 law ‘On Military Service and the Status of Serviceman’.

“Dedicated to his commitment, the President of the Republic will continue his steps towards the further stabilization of the situation, and calls upon all the sides to negotiate - by using the presidential institute as a platform – over [possible ways] to find the comprehensive solution to the problems,” reads the statement.