Armenian defence chief fears being "sacrificed" for Pashinyan’s ratings Hraparak newspaper claims

Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan has expressed concern that he could be “sacrificed” to protect Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political standing, while complaining that his work has not received sufficient recognition from the ruling political team, Armenian media reports, citing Hraparak newspaper.

The claims come amid repeated reports of deaths and other incidents involving Armenian servicemen. Papikyan has recently made a series of surprise visits to military units, with the Defence Ministry saying such inspections are intended to identify problems that may not emerge during scheduled visits.

According to Hraparak, Papikyan believes he assumed substantial responsibility following the war but has not received adequate recognition for his work. The newspaper says the possibility of his resignation is no longer officially under consideration, although dissatisfaction with the minister remains.

Hraparak previously reported in August that Pashinyan was dissatisfied with Papikyan’s performance and that the two had held a heated discussion. According to the publication, the prime minister has been concerned by the rising number of deaths in the army during peacetime, as well as criticism directed at the armed forces.

The newspaper further claims that officials had discussed the possibility of Papikyan meeting the same fate as former National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan. However, it says Pashinyan ultimately decided against replacing him because he did not have a suitable candidate from within his political team and therefore chose to reappoint the defense minister.

“The prime minister told Papikyan that there is no war and that he should deal exclusively with the moral and psychological condition of the troops. There is no need to address combat tasks, but issues of internal discipline in the army are being ignored, and the situation at the posts is discouraging,” Hraparak quoted the alleged conversation as saying.

The newspaper also alleges that the Defense Ministry falsifies or conceals statistics concerning deaths in the armed forces. According to Hraparak, many incidents are not made public, with information emerging only when cases are uncovered by the press.

By Tamilla Hasanova