EUROPE/ARMENIA - Political crisis after the end of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh: Patriarch Karekin calls for the government to resign

Wednesday, 9 December 2020 oriental churches nationalisms politics geopolitics wars

ARMENIA

2020-12-09
Political crisis after the end of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh: Patriarch Karekin calls for the government to resign

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Yerevan (Agenzia Fides) - The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the government he led must resign if we want to "avoid traumatic developments in public life and possible conflicts with tragic consequences", said Armenian Patriarch Karekin II, given the severe socio-political crisis in the former Soviet Republic. The Armenian Patriarch appeals directly to the Prime Minister after the agreement signed by the government of Yerevan, which on 10 November put an end to the last conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, a region with an Armenian majority. The signing of the ceasefire, which took place with the mediation of Russia, was seen by a large part of the population and national political sectors as a defeat.
The agreement reached late in the evening of 9 November ended six weeks of fierce fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. It provides for the withdrawal of the Armenian military forces from the Azerbaijani area, the return of the displaced to their respective areas of residence and the deployment of Russian troops as "peacekeepers" in Nagorno Karabakh for the next 5 years. In Armenia, anti-government demonstrations, fueled by opposition forces, began in Armenia on the evening the agreement was signed.
"Now", admits Patriarch Karekin in his statement, "the general opinion is that this delicate situation should only be resolved through constitutional means, in which national solidarity and common sense prevail". In his message, Karekin II asks the National Assembly "to act responsibly for our homeland at this critical moment, to listen to the demands of the people and, in consultation with the political forces, to elect a new Prime Minister and to form a transitional government".
Nikol Pashinyan, for his part, came to power following popular protests that led to the resignation of Serž Sargsyan, who is now calling for his successor to resign. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 9/12/2020)