Armenian PM Sarksyan quits after 11 days of street protests

YEREVAN: Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan said on Monday he was resigning to help safeguard civic peace following almost two weeks of mass street protests that have plunged the impoverished ex-Soviet republic into political crisis.

Sarksyan, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had served as Armenia´s president for a decade until this month and had faced accusations of clinging to power when parliament elected him as prime minister last week. Under a revised constitution, the prime minister now holds most power in the tiny southern Caucasus nation, while the presidency has become largely ceremonial.

Pressure on the 63-year-old to quit had increased sharply on Monday when unarmed soldiers in the capital Yerevan joined the anti-government protests, which first erupted on April 13.Though peaceful, the tumult has threatened to destabilise Armenia, a key Russian ally in a volatile region riven by its decades-long, low-level conflict with Azerbaijan.

Moscow, which has two military bases in Armenia, was closely watching events.“I got it wrong,” Sarksyan said in a statement issued by his office.“In the current situation there are several solutions, but I won´t choose any of them. It´s not my style. I am quitting the country´s leadership and the post of prime minister of Armenia.

“He said he was bowing to protesters´ demands and wanted his country to remain peaceful.Armenia´s 2025 dollar-denominated bond fell 0.83 cents after Sarksyan said he would resign, hitting a one-year low.

Former Armenian prime minister Karen Karapetyan, an ally of Sarksyan from his ruling pro-Russian Republican Party, was named as acting prime minister, Russia´s RIA news agency reported, citing the Armenian government´s press office. Armenia´s political parties in parliament now have seven days to put forward the name of a new prime minister.