Armenia’s president refuses order to dismiss military chief

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Pressure on Armenia’s prime minister has intensified after the country’s president rejected his order to dismiss the chief of the military general staff. Top military officers this week joined in demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, a move that he called an attempted coup. Pashinyan ordered the dismissal of the chief of the general staff, but the order was subject to approval by Armenia’s largely ceremonial president. President Armen Sarkissian sent the order back to Pashinyan on Saturday, saying he could not give approval because he considered parts of the decree to be in violation of the constitution. It was not immediately clear if Pashinyan would try to revise it.