Armenian President Armen Sarkissian announced his resignation on Sunday, citing his inability to “influence” the political life of his country in these “difficult times”. He had held the position since April 2018, having served as Prime Minister between 1996 and 1997.
“I thought for a very long time and decided to resign following four years of active work as president,” Armen Sarkissian said in a statement. “This is not an emotion-driven decision and it stems from a specific logic,” he said.
“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 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Instability and economic crisis
Armen Sarkissian, born in 1953 in Yerevan, has been at the center of a political crisis that erupted following Armenia’s late 2020 defeat in a war with neighbor and longtime rival Azerbaijan for control of the disputed region of Nagorny-Karabakh.
MM. Sarkissian and Pashinian disagreed on the decision to dismiss the army chief of staff in the followingmath of the conflict between these two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus which left more than 6,500 dead.
Two months ago, fighting resumed near the Nagorny-Karabakh region, disputed between Armenia and neighboring country Azerbaijan. The situation quickly stabilized but it illustrates well the instability that reigns in this region.
Armenia’s economy, largely dependent on remittances from overseas Armenians, has also struggled since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“I hope the next president and the presidential administration will be able to operate in a more balanced environment,” Mr. Sarkissian concluded in his statement.
