YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s prime minister has scored a point in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the country’s top military officer. A political crisis sparked by Armenia’s defeat in the conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region escalated last week when the military’s General Staff demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following his move to dismiss a top general. Pashinyan responded by firing the chief of the General Staff, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan. Armenia’s largely ceremonial president, Armen Sarkissian, refused to endorse the dismissal for a second time Tuesday but refrained from asking the country’s high court whether the move conforms with the constitution. It means that the dismissal order will take effect automatically.
