Washington (US), March 6: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the importance of rule of law and welcomed the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
"The Secretary stressed the significance of respect for the rule of law and democratic institutions, and he expressed our continuing support for the development of democratic processes and institutions in Armenia. The Secretary welcomed efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict benefiting the people of the region," Price said on Friday.
A political crisis erupted in Yerevan after the deputy chief of the Armenian general staff mocked Pashinyan's controversial comment about the alleged failure of Russian-supplied Iskander missiles during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. This triggered a series of military dismissals. The armed forces issued a statement demanding the resignation of Pashinyan himself.
The Armenian prime minister regarded this as an attempted coup and called on his supporters to take to the streets. Meanwhile, the opposition raised barricades and a tent camp near the parliament, demanding Pashinyan to resign.
Commenting on the developments, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the use of Iskander missiles was not registered during an armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall and called Pashinyan's controversial comment about the alleged failure of Russian-supplied missiles an "anecdote."
On Monday, the Armenpress news agency reported, citing Pashinyan's spokeswoman, that the prime minister came to the conclusion, after a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that he had received an incorrect report about the missiles.
Source: Sputnik