Armenia: Pasinyan Resigns Ahead of June Parliamentary Elections

Its prime minister Of Armenia Nicole Pasinian resigned today, in view of the early parliamentary elections he announced, after being criticized for the way he handled the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pasinian, who came to power after the pro-democracy protests of 2018, has been under pressure to step down after Armenians lost ground in and around Nagorno-Karabakh’s pocket last autumn. He wrote on his Facebook page that he was returning to the citizens the power they had given him so that they could decide the future of the government through free and fair elections.

As announced, the elections will be held on June 20.

His much-anticipated resignation comes hours after US President Joe Biden said the 2015 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire was genocide, a statement that was enthusiastically accepted by Armenians around the world but condemned by Turkey.

In a letter to Biden, Pasinian commented that his historic decision was a matter of security for Armenia, following the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in which Turkey backed Azerbaijan.

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