Armenian protests

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) meets with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (R) and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at the Walter E.

Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, made a stark assessment days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan raised doubts about Armenia's role in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), dominated by Russia.

A Turkish-born U.S. professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has agreed to provide his assistance in restoring Armenia's economy after the country was hit with a wave of anti-government protests, newly-elected Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on May 13.

Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected as Armenia's new prime minister on May 8, capping a peaceful revolution driven by weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the ex-Soviet republic.

Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan called for an end to a huge wave of protests on May 3 and said all parties would support his bid to run for prime minister again next week.

Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was formally nominated for the post of prime minister by his supporters, inching closer to victory after two weeks of protests that transformed the country's political landscape.

Armenia's ruling party has said that it will not put up a candidate for prime minister in a bid to ease tensions after more than two weeks of street protests against the so-called ruling elite.

Armenia's acting head of government Karen Karapetyan on April 27 rebuffed talks proposed by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, further escalating tensions after two weeks of 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.

Armenia's political turmoil deepened yesterday with the detention of anti­government protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, shortly after Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan stormed out of talks with him on the tenth day of mass rallies against his rule.