Talks between Armenian leaders break down amid protests

Talks among armenia's pm and an opposition chief aimed at ending anti-authorities protests have broken down.

High minister serzh sargsyan walked out of a televised assembly with nikol pashinyan inside the capital, denouncing the opposition's "blackmail".

There are reviews that mr pashinyan was later detained, amid clashes between his supporters and rise up police.

The opposition leader wants mr sargsyan to renounce over a constitutional alternate he says is an attempt to hold electricity.

The trade transferred significant power to the top minister, a position mr sargsyan handiest took on remaining week.

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He stepped down as president after accomplishing his two-time period restriction.

Armenia united states of america profile

On saturday, after days of protests, mr pashinyan instructed heaps of competition supporters within the capital yerevan that mr sargsyan did now not recognize the "new fact" in armenia.

He said he became organized to speak about handiest the information of a transfer of electricity. The u . S .'s new president then recommended that the two men need to keep talks.

However the televised meeting at a lodge in yerevan on sunday became quick. Mr pashinyan told the prime minister: "i came here to speak about your resignation."

In response, mr sargsyan said that "this isn't a communicate, this is blackmail", and walked out.

Protesters confront police in yerevan, 19 aprilimage copyrightafp
Picture caption
Riot police were holding again the protesters
Many armenians need to see true exchange in their usa but they sense that they're being deprived of that opportunity due to the fact the management remains the identical, the bbc's rayhan demytrie reviews.



New president armen sargsyan tries to defuse protests
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Media captionnew president armen sargsyan attempts to defuse protests
Why is there such anger at serzh sargsyan?
Mr pashinyan lately described the action he leads as a "velvet revolution", relating to the peaceful protests in 1989 that ended communist rule in czechoslovakia (which later break up into  states, the czech republic and slovakia).

The veteran competition activist, who was jailed over his element in violent protests towards mr sargsyan in 2008, called on supporters to "paralyse the complete country gadget" because "electricity need to pass to the human beings".

Protesters in yerevan, 19 aprilimage copyrightafp
Picture caption
Right here serzh sargsyan's face is scored out on a poster
At the same time as president, serzh sargsyan said he had no aim of turning into high minister on the stop of his second five-year term.

However, on tuesday he became chosen through parliament to serve as top minister.

In 2008, while mr sargsyan was first elected president, demonstrations erupted, with protesters alleging vote-rigging. At least eight people died in clashes with the government.

His supporters argue that the hard veteran of the nagorno-karabakh war with azerbaijan in the overdue Nineteen Eighties has provided the countrywide protection armenia needs however he has been accused of failing to address continuing tensions with azerbaijan and turkey.

Toward home, critics have identified his rule with giant poverty and over-dependence on russia