ArmInfo. Interim Acting Director of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia.
Eduard Martirosyan was appointed deputy director of the department, and Arman Sargsyan, first deputy law enforcement agency, became the acting head of the Police. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on September 19 before the start of the cabinet meeting.
It should be noted that Eduard Ashotovich Martirosyan (b. 1974) has been serving in the national security bodies since 1998. On October 16, 2018, by decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia, he was appointed deputy director of the NSS. Arman Sargsyan (b. 1978), has been serving in the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 2000. On March 18, 2018, he was appointed to the post of First Deputy Head of the RA Police.
Recall that on September 16, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced during a press conference that he was sending the head of the National Security Council Artur Vanetsyan to resign. On the same day, the President of Armenia signed a decree dismissing the director of the National Security Council. On September 18, the president, at the suggestion of the head of government, signed a decree releasing the head of the Police Valery Osipyan from his post. On the same day in the evening, Osipyan was appointed chief adviser to the Prime Minister.
As the head of the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia Eduard Aghajanyan stated after the meeting of the board of the "Civil Agreement" party in power, the resignations of the heads of the National Security Council and the Police were personally initiated by the Prime Minister of Armenia, and this is the main focus that should be paid attention to. As a board member of the State Duma pointed out, the activities of two officials, former heads of the SNB and the Police, did not satisfy the Prime Minister. To a clarifying question, what exactly did not satisfy the prime minister, in particular, in the work of the head of the National Security Council, which, unlike the former heads of the national security agency, was distinguished by loud exposures of corrupt officials, Eduard Aghajanyan recalled the words of Pashinyan that, given the specifics of the work of the National Security Council, go into details. When asked why Valery Osipyan was appointed chief adviser to the head of government, the head of staff noted that it was possible that the prime minister considered that the former chief police officer would be useful in this status.
"It seemed to some corrupt officials that the National Security Service was confusing and they could" arrange their murky affairs, "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page in the evening." In the new Armenia, the NSS is not a person, but a system and it will prosecute all current and former corrupt officials, spies and other similar elements, "the prime minister said. According to him, this also applies to the Investigative Committee, the Special Investigation Service, the Prosecutor General's Office, the police and the investigative department of the Committee on state revenues.