WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2021) The United States is watching the situation in Armenia very closely and is calling on all sides to exercise restraint, State Department spokesperson Ned price said on Thursday.
"We are of course aware of recent developments in Armenia. We are following the situation very closely ," Price said at a briefing. "We urge all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any escalatory or violent actions. We remind all parties of the bedrock democratic principle that [a] state's armed forces should not intervene in domestic politics."
Washington also urges leaders to resolve differences peacefully while respecting the rule of law, Price added.
Supporters and opponents of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan staged new demonstrations in Yerevan earlier in the day. This followed a series of high-profile military layoffs, including of army chief of staff Onik Gasparyan and deputy chief Tigran Khachatryan, who mocked the prime minister's controversial comment about the alleged failure of Russian-supplied Iskander missiles during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The military demanded that Pashinyan step down, which the prime minister slammed as an attempted coup.
