Pashinyan dismisses concerns on Artsakh top brass shakeup affecting combat-readiness
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reacted to concerns that the replacement of Artsakh’s army commander might affect the military’s combat-readiness.
Lt. General Levon Mnatsakanyan, Artsakh’s Defense Minister – Commander of the Defense Army, was dismissed and replaced with Major General Karen Abrahamyan on December 14. A new chief of the general staff was also appointed.
Speaking to reporters in Dilijan today, Pashinyan noted that these types of rumors are bad commentaries addressed to the Artsakh army because the new army leaders are professional veterans. “People who have served in the military their entire lives and stand in the origins of the Artsakh Liberation War have been appointed to these positions,” Pashinyan said.
But Nikol Pashinyan declined to comment on Mnatsakanyan’s dismissal. “I cannot comment on the dismissal of Mr. Mnatsakanyan due to circumstances known to you,” he told reporters.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan