Armenia's Foreign Minister Resigns Week After Ceasefire Deal with Azerbaijan

Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has resigned almost a week after the country signed a peace deal with Azerbaijan that ceded much of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Today, four deputies of the ruling party also left their posts. They noted that the reason for their resignation was a post made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Facebook, which was perceived as a call for a civil war.

Pashinyan had earlier written on his Facebook page:

“I watched dozens of videos of soldiers from the front line today. I’m amazed at these guys’ shrewdness. You guys are right. I am waiting for you in Yerevan. For the ultimate solution to the problem of the whiners under the walls. Proud of you.”

This recording was perceived in Armenia as a call for civil war, reprisals against his opponents and violence, and was condemned by the Ombudsman and the president of the country made an appeal to show restraint.

Pashinyan gave an online press conference following a Facebook post, stating his words had been misinterpreted. The PM explained that he was waiting for the soldiers in Yerevan – only for a personal meeting with them, that they would return to Armenia without weapons, and he did not at all call them to physically kill anyone.

Following the 45-day war in Karabakh, on the night of November 10, the parties to the conflict and Russia signed a declaration ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The agreement was met with mixed reviews in Armenia and Azerbaijan: President Ilham Aliyev called the agreement a "historic victory" in Azerbaijan, while riots broke out in Yerevan as parliament and the chancellery were raided, the speaker of parliament was severely beaten, and protests erupted.

“Nikol has betrayed us," claimed the demonstrators in Armenia. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: Protesters Storm Armenian Parliament after PM Agrees Nagorno-Karabakh Deal