简体中文
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has quit his post, in the most significant departure of a government official following a deal last week that ended fierce fighting with Azeri forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. /AFP
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has tendered his resignation in the most significant departure of a government official following a deal last week that ended fierce fighting with Azeri forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
His departure, announced by the ministry's spokeswoman on social media on Monday, comes as pressure is rising on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to exit.
Thousands of demonstrators protested last week to demand he resign over a ceasefire that secured territorial gains for Azerbaijan after six weeks of battles that resulted in the deaths of more than 2,300 Armenian servicemen. Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military casualties.
Pashniyan has taken responsibility for the loss of territory, but said he signed the accord to prevent further losses and save lives in the wake of Azerbaijan's substantial military advances. He has pledged to stay in office and bring stability to the country.
On Saturday, Armenia's National Security Service said it had arrested a group of former officials who "were planning to illegally usurp power by murdering the prime minister".
Richard Girgagosian, from the Regional Studies Center in Armenia's capital Yerevan, warned of further instability.
"The government has done very little to prepare the population for the scale and severity of losses. The tension is to linger, and unfortunately, the domestic situation is increasingly unstable," he told Al Jazeera.
But Girgagosian said the fate of Pashniyan, who was elected in 2018 after mass demonstrations against alleged corruption removed the former elite, remained unclear.
(With input from agencies)
