Pashinyan prepares personnel changes in the army

Personnel changes will take place in the Armed Forces of Armenia in connection with yet another death of a serviceman.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this today at a briefing for journalists after a government session. He noted that earlier in the morning he had discussed the situation with Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and that personnel decisions regarding those responsible will be made in the near future, Sputnik Armenia reports.

"I have already made a decision: there will be changes in the Military Police, and the changes will also affect the Directorate of Moral and Psychological Support. We will analyze in detail why the efforts made in this direction are not producing the desired results. Conclusions will be drawn, and, yes, there must be personal responsibility," Pashinyan stated.

However, the prime minister stated that responsibility for the deaths of people in the army does not lie with the top leadership of the Armed Forces.

"I do not believe that the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense are making insufficient efforts to resolve this issue," Pashinyan continued.

Today the Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that on August 13 the body of a serviceman of one of the ministry's units — Grigor Edgarovich Zakaryan — was found with a gunshot wound. This is already the second case of a serviceman's death in peacetime in the past month. In July, the death of conscript soldier Narek Torosyan was reported.