Armenia says it foiled alleged coup attempt

YEREVAN

Armenia has said that it thwarted a coup attempt orchestrated by a faction allegedly recruiting and educating a group in Russia, arresting three individuals in connection with the scheme.

According to a written statement from the Armenian Investigative Committee, an inquiry was initiated into seven suspects, five of whom are Armenian nationals, while two are from the Armenian community in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, “under suspicion of conspiring to seize power through illicit means.”

In preparation for the coup, a considerable number of individuals from Armenia and the Karabakh region were recruited and sent to Russia for a three-month-long training program, with each receiving a monthly stipend of 220,000 Russian rubles (approximately $2,350).

The training included instruction in the use of heavy weaponry, with the participants subsequently returning to Armenia to engage in operations and train others.

The committee’s statement detailed that the recruits were taken to Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, where they were subjected to polygraph tests to ascertain any affiliations with Armenian law enforcement agencies.

Following this, the recruits were transported to a military base in Russia, referred to as "Arbat," where the true nature of their training—to participate in a coup—was revealed to them.

Some individuals, upon learning of the coup plot, chose to withdraw, which ultimately led to the exposure of the conspiracy through subsequent law enforcement investigations, Yerevan said.

As the probe continues, three individuals have been detained by the court, with authorities still investigating whether additional figures were involved in the attempted coup.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on Armenia's claims.

In the meantime, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that his country is nearing a breaking point in its ties with the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“There is an expression: ‘point of no return,’ and if we haven't crossed it, there is a high probability that we will cross that point,” Pashinyan said at the Second Global Armenian Summit in the country’s capital Yerevan.

Pashinyan said two years have passed since Yerevan posed questions to the Russian-led military alliance, adding that not only were the answers to these questions not given, but that it is “obvious” that they will not be given.