Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigns

President Armen Sarkissian of Armenia has resigned. He issued a respective statement on the official website of the President of Armenia.

Report informs, citing Armenian media, that Sarkissian said his resignation is linked to the fact that he has no tools to influence the domestic and foreign policy.

Sarkissian said his decision is not emotional but is rather based on a certain logic.

"At this difficult phase for our state, when national unity is needed, the presidential institution should not be the target of gossip and conspiracy theories—thus diverting public attention from the most important issues," the Armenian president said.

"Today, more than ever, we need meaningful, well-thought-out, balanced, and substantive action. Otherwise, we, the Armenians of the whole world, will not achieve the goal of our mission and will find ourselves in the margins of history.

"We have no right to make mistakes anymore," he said.

Sarkissian noted that Armenia is now in a paradoxical situation when the President has to be a guarantor of statehood without actually having any real tools.

He added that Armenia is a parliamentary republic in form, but not in content.

"I am glad that a commission for constitutional amendments has been set up, for which I thank the government. I hope that eventually the constitutional amendments will take place and the next president and the presidential institution will be able to work in a more balanced and systematic environment," he said.

Sarkissian has been the president of the country since 2018.

Armenia President’s duties will be performed by parliament speaker Alen Simonyan.