  Armenia President rebuffs PM's order to appoint new army chief March 11, 2021 - 13:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - 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. "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 draft decree to the Constitutional Court either, thus paving the way for his dismissal.   Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18.   Partner news |  Related sections Latest news Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan  A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia.U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel.Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. |
