After 6 weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s prime minister was protested and called for his resignation after signing a cease-fire agreement with Azerbaijan.
According to the report of news agency Reuters, thousands of protestors were demanding to leave the post while shouting slogans of ‘Nikol Gaddar’.
In Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, thousands of people marched towards the parliament but were stopped by police, but protesters chanted ‘Nikol resign’.
Eyewitnesses said that many protesters were arrested by the police, but no reports of clashes or damage have been received yet.
It should be noted that on November 10, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced a cease-fire agreement after the worst fighting, and this was celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan.
In the agreement with Russia, along with the announcement to stop the ongoing fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, it has been agreed to deploy about 2,000 Russian troops in the region to establish peace and end the Armenian occupation of the regions.
The Prime Minister of Armenia called it a tragedy and said that seeing the signs of defeat, there was no other choice.
A day later, protesters trampled the streets under martial law and took out rallies and demanded the resignation of the prime minister, while also burning some government buildings.
Corona virus cases are also increasing in Armenia, that’s why many protesters were wearing masks.
It should be noted that after the cease-fire agreement, the fighting in the internationally recognized region of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, has ended.
Under the agreement, 2,000 Russian troops will be deployed to maintain peace in the region, which was occupied by Armenia after fighting in the 1990s but has lost most of the territory in recent fighting.
The Prime Minister of Armenia said that I finalized the peace agreement under the pressure of my army. The leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh said that after the capture of Shusha, the second largest city in the region, there is a fear of Azerbaijan’s capture of the entire region.
Nikol Pashinyan said after the deal that it was “a huge failure and a tragedy” and that he took personal responsibility for the failure, but rejected calls to resign.
Armenia’s prime minister has not issued a statement regarding the protests that broke out in the capital, but his resignation was demanded by 17 opposition parties, many of whose leaders have been arrested.
On the other hand, to maintain peace in the region, Russian troops have also left and will be deployed in the Lechen Corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the agreement, Russia’s peacekeeping force will remain for 5 years while Russia and Armenia already have a defense agreement.
Turkey, as an ally of Azerbaijan, did not play a role in the ceasefire agreement, but Russia and Turkey jointly signed a monitoring agreement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that both countries will work together to establish peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan hailed the ceasefire agreement as its victory, while a number of citizens are also upset that the advance of the army to occupy more areas has been stopped.
Citizens of Azerbaijan are also concerned about the arrival of Russia as a peacekeeping force, while Russia is an influential country in the entire region.
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