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Armenian opposition 'ready for dialogue' after PM steps down

Mass rallies began in Yerevan and other cities of Armenia on Monday

YEREVAN, April 20. /TASS/. The leader of Armenia's Civil Contract opposition party, MP Nikol Pashinyan, said at a protest rally in Yerevan on Friday evening that the opposition is ready for dialogue only on condition of resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, a TASS correspondent reported from the site.

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Opposition protests continue in Yerevan

"We are ready for dialogue, but only after Serzh Sargsyan steps down. After that, the parliament will elect a "people’s candidate" to the post of prime minister. The Armenian constitution gives the prime minister and government 20 days to present their program. We will have a political agreement that the lawmakers would turn down this program, after which the parliament would be dissolved. And then, we will appoint extraordinary parliamentary polls," Pashinyan said.

Mass rallies began in Yerevan and other cities of Armenia on Monday protesting against the nomination of former president Serzh Sargsyan’s candidacy for prime minister. On Tuesday, Sargsyan was elected prime minister. Nikol Pashinyan declared a ‘velvet revolution’ and urged his supporters to peaceful civil disobedience actions.

On Thursday, opposition activists tried to break down a meeting of the new cabinet having clocked approaches to government buildings. Apart from that, they organized a 3,000-strong protest rally. Police detained 123 activists throughout the day. Protests continues into Friday, when 233 protesters were detained.

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