Dozens of protesters took to the streets of the Armenian capital Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian opposition politicians and their supporters have been calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down ever since he signed a peace deal that halted 44 days of deadly fighting over the separatist region, but called for territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
On Saturday, opposition parties warned Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by noon on Tuesday.
The prime minister has refused to step down, defending the peace agreement as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Protesters on Tuesday temporarily blocked traffic on different streets of Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, and at one point blocked trains at one of the city’s subway stations.
The subway had to shut down as the result until further notice, spokeswoman of the Yerevan subway Tatev Khachatryan told The Associated Press.
Demonstrators chanted “Armenia without Nikol,” “Nikol, go away!”. Police detained several dozen protesters. Similar protests were held in other Armenian cities.
The Armenian Apostolic Church on Tuesday joined in on the opposition’s calls for Pashinyan to step down. The head of the church, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, urged the prime minister to resign in a statement, saying that the move would “prevent upheavals in public life, as well as possible clashes and tragic consequences.”