“I chose to resign and give the president an opportunity to form a new government”, Armenian prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan said after announcing his resignation at a government meeting today.
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Interfax and Reuters cited officials with the ruling Republican Party as saying party officials would meet on September 8 to consider Abrahamian’s resignation. “There are all indications that this decision will be announced tomorrow”, the source said.
The move comes just weeks after President Serzh Sarksian proposed a government of national accord. In 2015 Armenia’s economy started to deteriorate – economic growth slowed to 3 percent in 2015 from 3.5 percent in 2014 and below the government’s growth forecast of 4.1 percent.
The tiny, landlocked South Caucasus nation’s deep reliance on aid and direct investment from Russian Federation has stunted its economic growth and forced it to become a clingy dependent of Moscow. That increased its dependency on aid amid investment from Russian Federation, including remittances from Armenians working in Russian Federation, which are a badly needed source of income.
Several dozen armed men captured the police compound in Yerevan in July, demanding freedom for an opposition activist and the government’s ouster.
Economic problems, hard social situation of a vast part of the population, lack of anticipated radical reforms, and a high degree of monopolization of the market have raised popular discontent to a higher degree. The society’s and Government’s united efforts are necessary.
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Reports in the local media named Karen Karapetyan as a likely successor. He now serves as the Russian gas distribution company Gazprom mezhregiongaz’s deputy CEO. That is why I have made a decision to resign and to give our President an opportunity to form a new government.
