PM Pashinyan Dismisses Chief Advisers

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dismissed his two chief advisers and another aide on Thursday.

Pashinian’s executive orders posted on an Armenian government website gave no reasons for the sacking of the advisers, Arsen Gasparyan Aram Gharibyan.

Gasparyan is a former diplomat who lived in Russia after resigning from the Armenian Foreign Ministry in the late 1990s. He joined Pashinyan’s newly formed staff in July last year.

Gharibyan has held the government position since June 2018. His dismissal will take effect on September 2.

Also fired was an assistant to Pashinyan, Mher Sahakyan. A relevant order signed by the prime minister said Sahakian is relieved of his duties at his own request.

Pashinyan already fired his chief of protocol and two other senior members of his staff in April.

One of them, Margarit Azaryan, headed the human resources department in the prime minister’s office. Azaryan is the mother of Artur Vanetsyan, the influential director of Armenia’s National Security Service.

A spokesman for Pashinyan said at the time that the three officials were fired because of their “inadequate execution of the prime minister’s orders.” Azaryan claimed, however, that she herself decided to quit.