On 25 February, the Armenian military demanded the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after the dismissal of the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces Tigran Khachataryan.  

“The general staff of the armed forces expresses its resolute protest in connection with the dismissal of the first deputy chief of the general staff of the armed forces for short-sighted and unjustified reasons, which was done without taking into account the national and state interests of the Republic of Armenia, and was based only on personal and ambitious feelings,” the statement read. 

“From now on, the prime minister and the government of Armenia are unable to make adequate decisions in this crisis and fateful situation for the Armenian people. For a long time, the Armenian armed forces have patiently endured "attacks" aimed at… discrediting [them] by the current government, but everything has its limits. The armed forces of Armenia honourably fulfilled their duty, fought shoulder to shoulder with their people against the enemy. In connection with the current situation, the armed forces of Armenia demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Government of the Republic of Armenia, at the same time warning to refrain from using force against the people, whose children died defending the Motherland and Nagorno-Karabakh. The army has always been with the people, as well as the people with the army,” the statement emphasised.

Pashinyan responded to this statement through a Facebook broadcast condemning the statement as an attempt to stage a coup d’etat and urged his supporters to gather at Yerevan’s Republic Square to “decide further actions.” "It is unacceptable for the armed forces, the army to engage in politics and make political assessments. I do not mean all of our military, most of whom fulfilled the orders of their superiors, but I want to emphasise that their superiors are also the minister of defence and the prime minister-  and the military are obliged to obey those legal commands that are given by the superior," Pashinyan said.

He also stressed that at the moment, the First Deputy head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Tigran Khachatryan “de jure has been relieved of his job and has no right to speak.” He also said that he has already signed the necessary documents for the dismissal of the head of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan and set in motion this process. According to him, “we have entered a stage when, unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid questions to some high-ranking military personnel if we want the whole truth about the war to become known.”

According to the prime minister, some of the army generals did not like the fact that the Armenian society, civil authorities, and the government might have questions to them on several episodes, emphasising that such a process was “inevitable”. “We need to understand what contacts there were between some high-ranking officers and some political circles. Who during the war contacted the army and instead of instructing to fight, constantly called for the need to force the government to resign? Not to mention the coup attempt on 9 November when it turned out that there are circles that want to attack high-ranking government officials, to settle scores, so that the whole truth about the war does not come to light,” he said.

The army was quick to respond by issuing another statement, which emphasised that the first statement was neither directed by anyone nor made under pressure. “It is a clear conviction and position of generals and officers having just one aim – serve the salvation of the homeland at this critical moment. We once again reiterate our clear position,” the second statement read. 

Afterwards, Pashinyan called on the army to protect the borders and the territorial integrity of the country in his speech at the Republic Square in Yerevan. “As prime minister of Armenia elected by the people, I order that all soldiers, officers and generals of the armed forces engage in protection of the borders and territorial integrity of Armenia. This is my order, and no one can dare to disobey,” he said. He also called all political forces to stop the rallies, disobedience acts and invited them to consultations on solving the current situation. He said that Armenia is a democracy country, and the people’s will should be implemented. “The change in power must take place only through election, but we will together decide whether it will be an early election or regular. We do not have an enemy in the Republic of Armenia, all are our brothers. Some are trying to provoke clashes, but no clash will take place”, he stressed.

The harsh correspondence between Pashinyan and the army has set up Armenia in a state of political turmoil. The country’s President Armen Sarkissian urged all parties to show restraint in the current situation. “Martial law is declared in the country. The external danger is real – the statement on ceasefire is not a peace treaty. The challenges Armenia and Karabakh are facing are numerous. I urge everyone - state bodies, power structures, political forces, all the citizens show restraint and common sense – every unbalanced word or action raises the tension and deepens the crisis more, not yield to provocations and refrain from hate and intolerance speech. Our people cannot allow ourselves to split, we must deny any attempts of destabilisation of the state endangering the statehood, unconditionally act on the side lines of the constitution,” he said, adding that he is undertaking urgent steps to ease the tension and find peaceful ways of solution to the situation.

The Armenian Church called on the people not to give in to provocations and refrain from clashes. "Being informed about the statement of the top leadership of the army and the subsequent statement of the prime minister, we are following the development of events with deep concern. In the midst of a post-war crisis, ongoing accusations and calls for political revenge threaten national unity and security. The Mother See calls on the president of Armenia, prime minister, chairman of the national assembly, members of the government, leaders of all political forces to seek ways out of the situation at the negotiating table," the statement further read.

The de facto President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutunyan also offered to broker a deal between Pashinyan and the Army. “The latest political developments in Armenia are of very serious concern. I call on all the sides to display restraint and prudence, otherwise our defeat will be much deeper and more fateful. We have shed enough blood, now is the time to overcome crises and take the path of long-term development and strengthening. Being in Yerevan at the moment, I am ready to take on a mediating mission in order to help overcome this political crisis with honour,” he stated. 

Meanwhile, the parliamentary and outer parliamentary opposition forces in the country declared themselves on the side of the military. “We urge Nikol Pashinyan not to lead the country to civil war, not shed blood of Armenians inside Armenia, not make an Armenian an enemy of the Armenians, because our real enemy is on the other side of the border. Nikol Pashinyan has the last chance to leave without shocks in a political way not to finally endangering our war-torn statehood.” “We are losing statehood. We urge the national security service, police and other power structures not to go against own people and not become a tool for keeping the power of one person,” read the statement of the parliamentary opposition party Prosperous Armenia (BHK), adding that the created situation must be resolved exclusively in a political way.

“The political crisis deepens in the country, and there is an urgent need of bringing the processes back to the political path. In the opposite case the danger of new clashes and March 1 is big. We should never forget this lesson and let an Armenian raise hand [towards] another Armenian in Armenia. The processes must remain in the side lines of the constitution and the power must change without shocks. The resolution of the crisis without resignation of the prime minister is hence impossible,” read the statement of the second-largest parliamentary opposition party Bright Armenia (LHK). 

The two parliamentary opposition parties submitted a motion to convene extraordinary sitting of the parliament to discuss lifting the state of emergency and the discussion of the current situation in the country without the deputies of the ruling My Step faction, who joined Pashinyan's call and went out to Republic Square.

The prime minister candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement Vazgen Manukyan stated that Pashinyan was leading Armenia into a civil war. “Pashinyan is trying to provoke our people to civil war, clashes and bloodshed. We urge all the citizens not to yield to the provocations of the regime, exercise restraint,  consolidate over the security of our country – the armed forces and army’s commandership,” he stated. Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan (whose Republican party is also a member of the Movement) also called for the people to stay on the side of the military. “The defeated authorities who handed over the lands must leave. This is the first necessary guarantee of our national revival, this is today’s imperative,” he further stressed. 

Armenia’s Former Deputy Chief of Police Major General Gagik Hambardzumyan and Major General of Justice Tatul Petrosyan issued a statement to the police officers and urged Armenian police to follow the Armed Forces' example. "The historic moment has come to free ourselves from the traitor to the Motherland and put an end to the bonds of the pro-Turkish authorities. The time has come for you to realise your historical opportunity, to abandon blind obedience and not follow the orders of your criminal and clown leaders, the henchmen of the state traitor. Take the example of the Armed Forces, go over to the side of the people, saving the honour and dignity of the police officer," their statement read.  

Reactions from Russia, Turkey and the USA also came in regarding the situation. “We are watching the situation in Armenia with alarm,” the TASS news agency quoted the spokesperson of Russia’s President Dmitry Peskov. “And we regard that as an exclusively internal affair of Armenia, our very important and close ally in the Caucasus,” he added.  

Peskov also said that Moscow has not yet initiated contacts with Armenian leaders in connection with the dramatic developments in Yerevan and that it is an internal affair for Armenia. He added that political stability in Armenia is essential for a continued implementation of trilateral statement on Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazyan by phone. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two men “stressed the need to maintain regional security and stability.” The ministry gave no other details. 

“We agreed on Karabakh within the framework of three countries, and stability in these countries is very important in order to manage the process. We follow the events in Armenia according to media reports, and also try to get more detailed information from there through our channels,” stated Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.  

The US embassy in Armenia issued a statement urging to resolve a political situation through dialogue. “The United States while promoting democratic reforms in Armenia, underlines the importance of democratic institutions and processes in resolving political differences through dialogue,” the statement added.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev also reacted to the situation in Armenia. He noted that earlier foreign leaders used Armenia as an example, stating that they have “national unity.” “Now we see where this national unity is,” Aliyev said ironically. “Armenia has never been in such a deplorable situation. It was their leaders who put them in this position. And the leaders of the junta that ruled Armenia for 20 years - the Robert Kocharyan-Serzh Sargsyan junta, and the government that came after it,” he added.

The MediaPort Telegram channel reported that military fighters were seen in Yerevan’s airspace while the Homeland Salvation Movement was holding a rally on Freedom Square.

It should be noted that under the laws of Armenia’s Constitution, the country’s President (Armen Sarkissian) needs to sign Pashinyan’s decision to relieve the head of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan within three days. If Sarkissian doesn’t sign the decision within the three days, the case goes to the Constitutional Court which in turn has only five days to decide before the country’s Prime Minister (Pashinyan) makes the decision final.