YEREVAN. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Lt. Gen. Levon Mnatsakanyan has been relieved of his duties as defense minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
Maj. Gen. Karen Abrahamyan, who most recently held the post of chief of staff of Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Ministry, has been appointed the republic's defense minister by NKR leader Bako Sahakyan. Abrahamyan earlier commanded the 5th Army Corps of Armenia's Armed Forces.
Jalal Harutyunyan has been made the chief of staff of Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Army by Sahakyan's decree. Harutyunyan most recently held the post of commander of an army unit on the southern sector of Karabakh's contact line.
Mnatsakanyan became the defense minister of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2015.
Media outlets in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh recently reported that the NKR military leadership may be reshuffled after Karabakh's military leadership criticized a statement made by Sasun Mikaelyan, a former field commander and now an MP and a member of acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party. Mikaelyan said at a rally before the elections that "the victory of Pashinyan's revolution was more important than the Karabakh liberation war."
Pashinyan said afterwards that no one in Karabakh has the right to meddle in Armenia's internal affairs and promised to discuss this incident with the Karabakh leadership after the early parliamentary elections.
According to some media reports, Sahakyan himself may resign.