ISTANBUL

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday that a coup plot against the government led by a senior cleric had been thwarted by the country's law enforcement agencies.

"Law enforcement officers prevented a large and sinister plan by the 'criminal-oligarchic clergy' to destabilize the Republic of Armenia and seize power," Pashinyan wrote on Facebook, sharing a statement issued earlier by Armenia's Investigative Committee about the thwarted plot.

According to the Investigative Committee's statement, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan set himself the goal of instigating a change of power in Armenia as early as November 2024, for which he "acquired the necessary means and tools to commit terrorist attacks and seize power as part of a group and also deliberately created other conditions, thereby preparing for the usurpation of power."

The statement said Galstanyan and his supporters initially pursued their movement's goals through public rallies and marches, but later planned to destabilize the country in 24 to 36 hours by assigning simultaneous tasks to strike groups.

In this regard, the movement decided to form 200 to 250 strike groups made up of former military personnel and police officers, each of whom would be assigned a specific mission as part of the plot, the statement said.

It also accused the group of acquiring weapons, explosives, and other dangerous materials in preparation for the plot, as well as recruiting over 1,000 people since January.

Armenia's National Security Service foiled the coup plot during its "preparatory stages," it added.

“Urgent investigative and other procedural actions are being taken within the framework of the criminal proceedings initiated regarding the incident,” the statement added.