Sarkissian added that he was not supporting either of the political forces, but the decree dismissing the chief of the General Staff, according to lawyers, was unconstitutional
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Sputnik International
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has refused to sign a prime ministerial order to dismiss the army’s chief of staff, deepening a national political crisis.
The country has faced turmoil since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a Russian-brokered peace accord in November, sealing a humiliating defeat to Azerbaijan after six weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Divisions widened on Thursday when Pashinyan defied a call by the military to resign, accusing it of an attempted coup and ordering the chief of the general staff, Onik Gasparyan, to be fired.
On Saturday, Sarkissian said in a statement he would not back the sacking.
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Saturday refused to sign an order from Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian dismissing the head of the army, further aggravating the political crisis in the country, where several thousand people again took to the streets. The president, within the framework of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution, has returned the text (ordering the dismissal of the head of the army) with objections, the presidency explained in a statement.
The political crisis cannot be resolved by frequent changes of officials, it added.
Shortly afterwards, Pachinian said on Facebook that he would refer the order back to the presidency, stressing that the decision had not at all defused the crisis.