TEHRAN, April 26 - The leader of the Armenian opposition was holding talks on Thursday with parliamentary factions in order to secure support for his candidacy to be the country's next prime minister as the former Soviet nation remained gripped by its biggest political crisis in years.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) – Nikol Pashinian spearheaded two weeks of protests against Serzh Sargsyan, who was the country's president for 10 years before taking the prime minister's seat earlier this month.
Faced with massive protests against the move Sargsyan resigned on Monday, sparking political turmoil in this landlocked Caucasus Mountains nation.
The Armenian parliament is expected to vote on the new prime minister in the coming days.
Pashinian said on Thursday he met with the leader of the parliament's second-largest faction to seek his support. Sargsyan's party holds a majority in the parliament, however.
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied in the Armenian capital Yerevan Wednesday, calling for Pashinian to become prime minister.
Pashinian is calling another major protest in Yerevan at noon local time as an apparent show of popular support for the opposition.
"Protests will grow throughout Armenia until authorities will hear us," he said.
The Kremlin is watching its small but strategic ally, where Russia has a military base, with concern. Moscow, however, has showed restraint in its reaction, insisting that the demonstrations are a domestic matter for Armenia to sort out.
The Kremlin said Thursday President Vladimir Putin discussed the crisis on the phone with Armenian President Armen Sarkisian, Sargsyan's ally. On Wednesday, Russia's ambassador to Yerevan met with Pashinian.
Source: AP
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