Armenia rocked by political crisis

It has been three months since Armenia's defeat to Azerbaijan in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The country remains politically unstable, and now high-ranking military figures such as Onik Gasparyan, chief of the armed forces general staff, are calling for  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign.

Pashinyan has said the military is attempting to stage a coup. Meanwhile, thousands of Armenians have taken to the streets of the capital Yerevan, with Western states calling on the country's military leaders to practice restraint.

How this latest conflict began

In a recent interview, Pashinyan said Armenia had used very few Russian-built short-range Iskander missiles against Azerbaijan because the weapons had "failed" or proven unreliable. Armenia's deputy chief of armed forces staff denied the claim. Russia's Defense Ministry, too, questioned the prime minister's claim, saying that no Iskander missiles had been deployed at all.

Pashinyan subsequently fired the deputy armed forces general. That prompted Gasparyan and 40 other high-ranking military figures to call for the prime minister's resignation. In response, Pashinyan called on President Armen Sarkissian to sack Gasparyan. The president is currently in talks with all parties, and details on the state of negotiations have not yet emerged.

Armenian political analyst Ruben Megrabjan told DW he shares Pashinyan's interpretation of events, agreeing that the "military is attempting a coup." He said "parts of the military leadership interfered in the country's political process, violating the constitution."

Moscow staying out of the fray

Pashinyan is holding onto power, yet he finds himself in an increasingly precarious situation. The prime minister has faced criticism since signing a November 2020 cease-fire that involved ceding large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh enclave to Azerbaijan — a move supported by Armenia but, nevertheless, not internationally recognized.

Thousands of Armenian soldiers died in the fighting, and the country's opposition consequently urged Pashinyan to resign. Now, such calls are getting louder. Opposition protests have been staged in the capital and with tents linings the streets of Yerevan, the situation remains tense.

The United States and European Union have called on Armenian military leaders to practice restraint. Moscow, which is regarded as a protector in Armenia, has peacekeepers stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, yet has kept out of the dispute. Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly spoken with Pashinyan by phone, though he has not publicly commented on the affair. 

Snap elections could provide a path out of the deadlock, yet Pashinyan's chances of winning are slim. His approval ratings have fallen from over 80% after the country's peaceful revolution in 2018, to just about 30%.

This article has been translated from German by Benjamin Restle.