Armen Sarkissian President Sarkissian has resigned due to lack of influence Politics News

Arms Sarkissian says the country’s constitution does not give the president enough power to influence events.

Arms Sarkissian President Arms Sarkissian has announced his resignation, citing his lack of capacity to influence politics during the national crisis.

Sarkissian, the president since 2018, was at the center of the internal political crisis that erupted last year as a result of the war between Armenia and his longtime opponent in Azerbaijan over control of the conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh region.

He took part in a riot with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last year on a number of issues, including the dismissal of the head of the armed forces as a result of the war and protests in thousands of streets in the Caucasus nation.

“This is not an emotionally driven decision and comes from a specific logic,” Sarkissian said in a statement on his official website on Sunday.

“The President does not have the necessary tools for the people and the country to influence important foreign and domestic policy processes in difficult times,” he said.

“I hope that the constitutional changes will be implemented in the end and that the next president and the administration of the presidency will be able to function in a more balanced environment,” he added.

Following a referendum in December 2015, Armenia became a parliamentary republic, and its presidential powers were significantly reduced, which is seen as a more powerful role for the prime minister.

The President’s statement did not directly address any special events or issues.

Nagorno-Karabakh tensions

Armenia he agreed to a ceasefire On their border with Azerbaijan last November, after Russia’s call for withdrawal from the confrontation was the deadliest clash since the six-week war in 2020, when Moscow also reached a peace deal to end its enemies.

At the time, Sarkissian criticized his failure to enter into negotiations.

Prime Minister Pashinyan has been under pressure ever since, demanding regular street protests to end the terms of the peace deal. According to the 2020 agreement mediator Russia, Azerbaijan he regained control of the territory He lost in a war in the early 1990s.

Armenia seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991, but remains dependent on Russia for aid and investment.

The Armenian economy has been struggling since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the money sent home by Armenians abroad has helped build schools, churches and other infrastructure projects, including in the High Karabakh period.

Many Armenians accuse the government of mismanaging the economy that has struggled to overcome the legacy of corruption and central planning.