Protest leader is new premier

YEREVAN, Armenia — The man who spearheaded weeks of protests in Armenia was chosen Tuesday to be the country’s new prime minister, and he carries the weight of high hopes for a turnaround in the impoverished former Soviet republic.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faces an array of challenges, including a parliament dominated by the party he denounced as corrupt and how to resolve the volatile question of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan under the control of ethnic Armenian forces.

In one of his first moves after parliament elected him as prime minister, Pashinian announced he would visit Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday. He said the self-declared government there must be a part of any talks to end the long-standing frozen conflict.

Since a six-year separatist war ended in 1994, NagornoKarabakh have been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Shooting frequently breaks out across a demilitarized zone that separates the forces and Azerbaijan’s soldiers.

Many Armenians have stewed for years about the country’s poverty and widespread corruption, but Pashinian was able to galvanize that discontent into a mass movement that was raucous but largely peaceful.

The protests focused on former President Serzh Sargsyan, who tried to hold onto power by switching from president to prime minister, a move that opponents saw as allowing him to remain the country’s leader indefinitely.