Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan resigns

AKIPRESS.COM - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigned to trigger new parliamentary elections, following months of opposition protests and calls from top army officers to resign over defeat in last year's war with neighboring Azerbaijan, Bloomberg reports. The resignation of Pashinyan, 45, will begin the process of dissolving parliament ahead of elections announced for June 20. He earlier met with leaders of the parliamentary parties who agreed not to nominate a new prime minister after his resignation, compelling new elections under Armenian law. He will remain acting prime minister until the vote.
Pashinyan faced mounting demands to step down after more than 3,600 Armenian soldiers were killed in the 44-day war with Azerbaijan before he signed a Russia-brokered truce accord on Nov. 10 to halt the fighting over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement required Armenian forces to withdraw from three Azerbaijani regions following territorial losses in battle that also included key areas of Nagorno-Karabakh