ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan prevented another attempted coup in Armenia, having dismissed director of the National Security Service, Artur Vanetsyan, and Chief of the Police of Armenia, Valery Osipyan. Co-Chair of the European Party of Armenia Tigran Khzmalyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"The one more, because, in my opinion, the other day there was already the third attempt at a coup d'etat only during the time Pashinyan was in power. We all witnessed the failure of another attempt to change power in Armenia," he said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the resignation of Vanetsyan on September 16. Then Vanetsyan himself announced his resignation. On September 18, the Chief of the Police of Armenia Valery Osipyan was also dismissed.
On September 19, Eduard Martirosyan, deputy director of the department, was appointed interim director of the NSS of Armenia. On the same day, the first deputy Chief of the Police, Arman Sargsyan, was appointed acting head of the Police.
According to Khzmalyan, the first coup attempt in Armenia ended with Pashinyan's call to surround the courts and vet the judicial system. The second attempt was planned not in Armenia, but in Artsakh and was also successfully suppressed by Pashinyan.
"In my opinion, the third attempt at a coup was caused by Moscow's desire to change power in Armenia, overthrowing Pashinyan. And since the power structures of Armenia, primarily the NSS, are under powerful Russian influence, they tried to organize a coup through its head. However, the current prime minister managed to fail and this attempt, having timely neutralized Vanetsyan, "the politician believes.
On September 22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that, speaking against his commander in chief in his resignation letter, the former head of the NSS, Arthur Vanetsyan, threw his stars into the rubbish bin. " The last time this was done in 1991 by the coupists," the Prime Minister said.