At the special session of the National Assembly, MP Nikol Pashinyan is answering questions. RPA member Koryun Nahapetyan presented Nikol Pashinyan a number of situations and asked to specify ways out of them as the future prime minister. “You will be the supreme commander in a war situation.”
“The situation is as follows. There is a real threat to Armenia and the government has no right to make a decision on the use of the armed forces. What kind of legal capability do you see in connection with the separate units of the Armed Forces within the framework of the military confrontation?” In reply to the question Nikol Pashinyan said, “Your question is surprising, as we have been discussing this for more than 2 hours and I said that these should have an institutional nature. For you, I’m not a 9th grade student passing the military preparedness exam and you’re not a retired military officer that currently teaches at school.”
According to the Prime Minister’s candidate, there are institutes in Armenia, there is a general headquarters in Armenia and there is a Defense Ministry. In case of war, the Prime Minister decides on the opinion of the relevant institutes.
Koryun Nahapetyan replied: “I express my deep regret because you are not aware of the Constitution or the law of defense. I’m not standing in your place as a candidate for the prime minister to give you exhaustive answers to those questions. But the Defense Minister and the Commander of the General Staff may mislead you in the absence of knowledge.”
“By saying that I can be the prime minister, I do not mean that I am the strongest artillerist, strongest transport specialist or the strongest doctor of the Republic. The status of the administration is a political status, first and foremost. After assuming the post of prime minister, I will invite the General Staff of the Defense Ministry, National Security Service and the relevant officials to hear their report on the situation at the contact line of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I will get information about approved plans. After listening to everything, I will make the necessary decisions,” Nikol Pashinyan answered.
