Protests erupt as Armenia nears peace deal with Azerbaijan

13/6/2024 12:15

        Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that a peace treaty with Azerbaijan was close to completion, but that his country would not accept Baku's demands that it change its constitution.
        
        After Pashinyan made the comments, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators, the latest in a series of protests denouncing his policies, including the handing back of ruined villages to Azerbaijan, and demanding his resignation.
        
        Reports and video footage from Yerevan showed police firing stun grenades at protesters massed around parliament. Protesters then moved on to the government building and later dispersed.
        
        Police officials, quoted by Russian news agencies, said 17 officers were injured. The Interior Ministry said 79 civilians were hurt and 98 detained.
        
        Azatutyun, the Armenian service of U.S.-funded Radio Liberty, said the protest leader, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, told the gathering he had demanded to see Pashinyan to discuss "the terms of his peaceful departure".