Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan Does Not Intend Resign before Elections

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Commenting on the demands of his resignation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that he would give up his status "only as a result of people’s will." Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during his address to the nation on Monday, December 14, said that he did not intend leaving the post of head of government before the elections. "I can renounce the status given to me by people only on the basis of reliable results of the will of the people. Until such an expression of will takes place, I will continue to fulfill my functions of prime minister, and I promised to do it honestly," he stressed. After the announcement of a truce in Nagorno-Karabakh, on November 10, 2020, mass demonstrations began in Armenia demanding Pashinyan's departure from the post of head of the cabinet. In addition, ex-presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan, as well as the current president of the country Armen Sargsyan, spoke in favor of Pashinyan's resignation. Mourning in Armenia for those killed in Nagorno-Karabakh It is expected that on December 19, on the fortieth day of the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, a three-day mourning for the victims of this conflict will begin in Armenia. On the same day, the so-called "Procession of Memory" will be organized in Yerevan from the Republic Square to the military pantheon "Yerabur". On December 14, Nikol Pashinyan announced on his Facebook page that the first group of prisoners of war would return to Armenia from Azerbaijan in the near future. Aggravation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh In the summer of 2020, the conflict in the Nagorny region between Azerbaijan, on the one hand, and Armenia and the army of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic, on the other, escalated. On September 27, large-scale hostilities began in the region, which continued until early November. On November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin signed a statement on a complete ceasefire and all hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh from November 10. According to this document, the divisions of Azerbaijan and Armenia remain in their positions. Baku gained control over three regions in the region - Aghdam in the east and Kelbajar and Lachin in the west. Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia. Transport communication in the region is controlled by the border service of the FSB of Russia.