Armenian PM Given Resignation Ultimatum At Protest

A rally of Armenian opposition parties in central Yerevan attracted thousands on December 5 and protesters gave Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian until noon on December 8 to resign or face nationwide acts of civil disobedience. The protesters in central Yerevan chanted "Nikol the traitor" and "Armenia without Nikol,” and waved the flags of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia was plunged into political crisis in the wake of a Moscow-brokered deal struck on November 10, ending a 44-day war between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces that left thousands dead on both sides. While Pashinian has acknowledged that the peace deal he signed was “bad for us,” he has defended it as Armenia's only option.