Armenia President rebuffs PM’s order to appoint new army chief

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Thursday, March 11 refused to sign a prime ministerial order to appoint Lieutenant-General Artak Davtyan as the Chief of the Army General Staff, Panarmenian reports.

“The president of the republic has returned the draft decree with objections,” his office said in a statement.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday proposed to reinstate Davtyan in the post, having fired him only months ago. The decision came hours after Pashinyan fired Onik Gasparyan from the position. Davtyan served as the Chief of the General Staff from May 2018 to June 2020, when he was replaced by Gasparyan.

The decree on Gasparyan’s dismissal was first issued on February 25 when the country’s top military brass demanded Pashinyan’s resignation. And although President Armen Sarkissian did not sign Pashinyan’s proposal to sack the Chief of Army Staff, he was relieved of his post nonetheless, as the President did not send the 

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