13 March 2021, 11:29
Armenian President rejects government's meeting with opposition
The format of the meeting of Nikol Pashinyan, the Premier with oppositional leaders offered by President Armen Sargsyan to discuss ways out of the crisis turned out to be unrealizable. The "Prosperous Armenia" parliamentary faction and the "For Fatherland's Salvation" movement have evaded the set agenda, proposing their own one, the office of the head of state has informed.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 25, Pashinyan's opponents set up a tent camp near the parliament building. On March 10, the police counted 2500 participants in the rally, although a week earlier they estimated the number of a similar rally at 4000. On March 12, more than 100 protesters remained in the opposition camp, despite the worsening weather.
After the conclusion of the peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh on November 9, 2020, the Armenian opposition began demanding Pashinyan's resignation. Protests intensified after Pashinyan decreed to dismiss the Chief of the General Staff.
Armen Sargsyan, President of Armenia, has initiated a meeting of the Premier with the leaders of parliamentary factions and activists of the "For Fatherland's Salvation" movement. But on the eve, Ishkhan Sagatelyan, a member of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun", stated that the meeting can take place only within the framework of the demands of the opposition, in particular, the Premier's resignation and the formation of an interim government.
On March 12, the presidential office announced, on the website of the head of state, that the announced meeting was cancelled.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 13, 2021 at 05:06 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
