Armenia opts for reformer Pashinian as prime minister

THE leader of protests that forced out Armenia’s long-time ruler last month has been appointed prime minister, paving the way for new elections in the former Soviet republic.

Nikol Pashinian, an opposition member of parliament, was confirmed to the post with a parliamentary vote, while his supporters rallied outside. Several ruling party members backed him after helping prevent his election last week.

“I want us to underline that the victory is not that I became prime minister, the victory is that you chose who will be prime minister,” he told a crowd on Republic Square in Yerevan, the capital.

He has attacked corruption and political persecution and promised electoral law reform and new elections in the nation of three million bordered by Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Protests engulfed Yerevan last month when parliament appointed Serzh Sargsyan, the former president, as prime minister, prolonging his 10-year rule. Mr Sargsyan, who had overseen a reform vesting the prime minister with greater power, unexpectedly resigned after 11 days of demonstrations.

Mr Pashinian will have to balance military reliance on Russia with deepening European Union ties. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, sent a congratulatory telegram yesterday that called for the “strengthening of friendly allied relations”. Mr Pashinian called military cooperation with Russia the “main factor facilitating Armenia’s security” and said he planned to meet with Mr Putin this month at a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union.

However, he has also called for better relations with the US and Europe.

Armenia relies on Russian troops to keep the peace with Azerbaijan with which it fought a war in the Nineties over the region of Nagorno-karabakh.