Early parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia on June 20

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists about the appointment of the election date.

“My meeting with the leader of the Prosperous Armenia faction Gagik Tsarukyan ended. During the meeting, we stated that the best way out of the current internal political situation is early parliamentary elections”, - RIA Novosti quoted Pashinyan as saying.

In his words, the date of June 20 was set after consultations with the President of the country Armen Sargsyan and the leader of the "Bright Armenia" faction Edmond Marukyan.

The political crisis in Armenia has been going on since the fall of 2020. It became a consequence of the agreement concluded by Pashinyan with Baku on November 10 on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Learning that as a result of the agreement Armenia lost control over the Kelbajar, Lachin and Aghdam regions of Karabakh, the opposition called Pashinyan a "traitor" and demanded his resignation. At the same time, the outraged supporters of the opposition took the prime minister's residence by storm and destroyed it.

A new round of the crisis swept the country after Pashinyan's careless remarks about the "ineffectiveness" of the Russian Iskander. Having ridiculed Pashinyan, the deputy chief of the general staff of Armenia, Tiran Khachatryan, was dismissed. Following him, Pashinyan wanted to fire his immediate superior, Onik Gasparyan, but the confrontation between the prime minister's supporters and the military only complicated the internal political situation in the country. The opposing sides began to organize demonstrations and erect street barricades.

Against the background of the crisis, ex-President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan called on Pashinyan to resign and leave the country.