YEREVAN, September 8./TASS/. On Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan announced that he is stepping down.

"I have made up my mind to resign and give the president the possibility to form a new government," Abrahamyan said, closing a government session. "We must think about the success of all of us, and allow the new government to consolidate society based on what has been done and with new approaches," he said.

Speaking about the work done, he said that under his premiership "the government was open for any dialogue and for discussing sound ideas". "We made huge efforts to have a dialogue with all parts of society," the prime minister noted.

He regretted that society has remained polarized, despite many efforts that did yield certain results. Among the reasons he cited were, "differences that are nurtured by geopolitical, international, economic and military challenges."

These circumstances "haven’t given us the possibility so far to muster all our strength to generate real solutions to the major problems we are facing - from ensuring equal economic possibilities to fighting corruption," Abrahamyan stated.

"We remain a country with transitional problems," he went on. "In order to overcome the economic and social hurdles we face, it is necessary to pool efforts by society and the government, he said. "New approaches and a fresh start are necessary for this. That is why I have decided to submit my resignation and give the president the possibility to form a new government," he explained.

Hovik Abrahamyan, 58, has been Prime Minister since April 13, 2014.