Armenia's Pashinyan 'ready to resign' to normalize situation
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The Armenian Prime Minister claims he would resign 'in a second' because he doesn't 'cling to his chair' amid the Nagorno-Karabakh clashes.
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia on Feb. 25, 2021. (AP)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed on Wednesday his willingness to resign if this helps in stabilizing and normalizing the situation in Armenia, but said he still believes his resignation would trigger the opposite effect.
Speaking to lawmakers, Pashinyan said: "Armenia has faced and is facing challenges... If I come to the conclusion that by my resignation and exit [from politics] all challenges will be overcome, I will do it in a second, because I don’t cling to a chair like you."
He added that his resignation "will lead to the exact opposite."
This follows Pashinyan's announcement that he wasn't ready to step down two weeks ago amid violent clashes and a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Read more: Armenia ratifies ICC Rome Statute moving step further away from Russia
Protesters yelled “Artsakh, Artsakh, Artsakh" - the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh - and chanted, “Nikol is a traitor!”
🇦🇲🇦🇿Protesters in Yerevan chanting "Nikol (Pashinyan) is a traitor!" pic.twitter.com/sQrmzGSBDU
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) September 19, 2023
The show goes on
Earlier today, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev turned down a European meeting in Spain with Pashinyan this week due to European support for Yerevan, a government official told AFP.
In response, Pashinyan stressed that despite this setback, he is still keen on attending the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada.
Pashinyan later said he would still go to the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, saying it was a "shame" that the two leaders would not be able to sign a "turning point document" on the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan said it wanted ethnic Armenians to remain in Nagorno-Karabakh after it took control.
"We call on Armenian residents not to leave their homes and become part of Azerbaijan's multi-ethnic society," Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministery said after around half of the region's population fled to Armenia since Baku announced its operation on September 19.
Read more: Pashinyan criticizes Armenia's foreign security systems as inefficient
The Ministry's statement came in response to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's remarks on Thursday, where he accused Baku of engaging in "ethnic cleansing" after 70,500 people made their way to Armenia.
