Serzh Sargsyan Resigns as Armenia's PM After Protests

Armenia's prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, has said he will resign after days of large street protests against him, according to a statement posted on his website.

"The street movement is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your demand," the statement said.

Hundreds of uniformed soldiers had joined anti-government demonstrators earlier on Monday on the 11th consecutive day of protests over an alleged power grab by Sargsyan.

Prior to Sargsyan's resignation, and apparently yielding to opposition pressure, police released Nikol Pashinyan, a protest leader and opposition MP who had been arrested alongside hundreds of demonstrators on Sunday in an attempt to crush the demonstrations. Until his release, Pashinyan's whereabouts had been unknown.

"Nikol! Nikol!" chanted protesters draped in Armenian flags as they marched in the country's capital, Yerevan. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the city's Republic Square at the weekend in one of the country's largest demonstrations in years.

"This is the last time I will speak to you as the head of the government," Sargsyan's statement said. "Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong."

The demonstrations were sparked by Sargsyan's decision to take on the post of prime minister after serving for more than a decade as the former Soviet country's president, provoking anger among opposition parties and other protest groups over his domination of Armenia's political scene.

The decision came as his second term as president ended, but shortly after the constitution was amended to give more power to the prime minister and transform the presidency into a ceremonial role.

Political opponents and civil society activists cried foul. "I came here to discuss your resignation," Pashinyan...