Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has called on government supporters and those calling for the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan to show restraint and not plunge the country into further turmoil. Simultaneous rallies for and against Pashinyan tok place in Yerevan today and the country’s General Staff of the Armed Forces issued a public statement calling for Pashinyan to resign.

Sarkissian issued the following statement:

Today, when we have not yet overcome the consequences of the war unleashed against Artsakh, when we have thousands of victims and wounded, when there are most serious regional threats, we are, unfortunately, again in an extremely explosive situation, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for our state and statehood, and can result in irreversible losses.

There is martial law in the country. The external danger is real: a ceasefire declaration is not a peace treaty. Armenia and Artsakh are facing numerous challenges.

I call on everyone - state bodies, power structures, political forces, and all citizens:

Show restraint and common sense! Every ill-considered word or action increases the tension and deepens the crisis even more!

Do not yield to provocations, and refrain from the calls for hatred and intolerance! Our people cannot afford to split. Any attempt to destabilize the state or endanger the statehood must be rejected.

Act unconditionally within the framework of the Constitution!

Re-affirming the role of the Presidential Institution as a balancing body, I am urgently taking steps to ease tensions and find ways to resolve the situation peacefully.

Shaking the country will be an insult to the memory of thousands of our sons who died in the war.

I call on all of you to be vigilant, sober and restrained!