YEREVAN -- Police in Yerevan have detained 244 protesters as they blocked streets in the capital and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian over what they feel are concessions to Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia's opposition renewed its call for protests on May 2, accusing Pashinian of planning to give away all of the disputed region to Azerbaijan after he told lawmakers last month that the "international community is calling on Armenia to scale down demands with regard to Karabakh."
Police said they were able to unblock all of the streets in the capital, allowing for the resumption of public transportation operations.
Parliament deputy speaker and opposition leader Ishkhan Sagatelian told reporters that "our struggle is unstoppable, everything goes on according to our plan and people's demands."
The Ombudsman's Office said rights defenders were working at police stations, providing detained activists with legal assistance.
The day before, thousands of opposition supporters gathered in the capital's central Square of France, calling on Pashinian to resign.
Last month, Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to start drafting a bilateral peace treaty to resolve the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh and set up a joint commission on demarcating their common border during talks in Brussels.
Baku wants the peace deal to be based on five elements, including a mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity.
Pashinian has publicly stated that the elements are acceptable to Yerevan in principle, fueling Armenian opposition claims that he is ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Baku regained control of parts of the breakaway region in the 2020 war, as well as seven adjacent districts that had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
Some 2,000 Russian troops have been deployed to monitor the current cease-fire.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under ethnic Armenian control for nearly three decades, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.