Pashinyan to step down as Armenian prime minister but remain in office until election

“I will resign in April. Not to leave, but to hold early parliamentary elections. During this period, I will be acting prime minister,” he said, meeting with local people in the village of Aragaca in Armavir.

Pashinyan added that if he wins the election, he will continue to “serve even better than before”, but if he loses, he will hand over power to the winner.

The prime minister and the opposition have agreed to hold early parliamentary elections on 20 June to resolve the political crisis that has erupted since Pashinyan reached an agreement on a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which many see in Armenia as capitulation.

Artillery damage in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

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The agreement reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9 with the support of Russia stipulates that Armenians will lose part of the main territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as all areas of the security buffer zone that have been under Armenian control since the 1990s.

Following the ceasefire agreement in Armenia, widespread protests against the government demanded the resignation of the prime minister. High-ranking military personnel also demanded Pashinyan’s resignation.