Turkey has “strongly condemned” an ‘attempted coup’ in Armenia. This followed Armenia’s military having called on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign.

Al Arabiya reports that pressure has been mounting on Pashinyan since Armenia relinquished territory in its war with Azerbaijan last year. Turkey backed Azerbaijan in a violent conflict which lasted for 6 weeks. Despite this, Ankara said it stood by Pashinyan’s democratically elected government. Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said, “We are absolutely against coups and coup attempts anywhere in the world.” He added that coup attempts threatened to destabilize the entire Caucasus region.

Pashinyan, meanwhile, dismissed the head of Armenia’s general staff on Thursday. Al Arabiya reports that, as the country risks being plunged into chaos, Pashinyan urged his supporters to take to the streets. He then took to the streets of the capital, Yerevan, himself, in a bid to rally supporters. Thousands reportedly poured out, to back him. However, opposition protestors also blocked streets and paralyzed traffic around Yerevan.

Umm Muhammed Umar