(Yerevan) Armenian President Armen Sarkissian announced his resignation on Sunday, citing his inability inherent in his largely ceremonial duties to “influence” both domestic and foreign policy in his country, which is going through a real crisis.
Updated yesterday at 3:48 p.m.
The move follows a period of instability in Armenia, a Caucasian nation facing economic hardship, following a bloody war – more than 6,500 dead – for control of the disputed Nagorny-Karabakh region with its longtime rival Azerbaijan, another small ex-Soviet republic.
The Armenians’ humiliating military defeat, which resulted in the loss of disputed territories, at the end of 2020 finally sparked massive street protests and a struggle between the head of state and the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan.
“This is not a decision motivated by emotion and it stems from a specific logic,” Mr. Sarkissian explained in a statement posted on his official website.
“The president does not have the tools to influence important foreign and domestic policy processes in difficult times for the people and the country,” he added, with executive power largely in the hands of the head of government.
Revise the Constitution
At the heart of the disagreement between MM. Sarkissian and Pashinian, there was the dismissal of the chief of staff of the Armenian army, the first having refused to sign an order of the second with a view to dismissing him, a blow for a prime minister then in difficulty.
The head of state at the time argued that the crisis in Armenia could not be defused by frequent changes of people in the ruling structures of the state.
On Sunday, Armen Sarkissian protested against a “reality in which the president cannot veto laws he considers bad for the people and for the country”.
“I hope that the changes in the Constitution will eventually be implemented and that the next president and the presidential administration will be able to act in a more balanced environment,” the statement read.
The constitution specifies that parliament – which is dominated by parties close to Nikol Pashinian – must hold a vote to appoint the next head of state within 35 days.
Former physics professor, Armen Sarkissian, born in 1953 in Yerevan, was prime minister in 1996-1997, before being elected by a large majority by parliamentarians president in March 2018, after having been ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The announcement of his resignation came shortly after a visit to the United Arab Emirates after which his office said he would take time off to undergo medical checks, without providing further details.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union just over thirty years ago, the economic situation in Armenia has been marked by difficulties.
The money sent by Armenians abroad has in this context had a considerable impact, contributing to the construction of schools, churches and the realization of other infrastructure projects, including in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In many countries, there is indeed today a large Armenian community, which enjoys real political influence there, after a massive exile throughout the world following the massacres of the end of the Ottoman era.
The Armenian diaspora is today estimated at ten million people (against three million inhabitants in Armenia), mainly in Russia, the United States and France.