Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned citing his inability to "influence" the political life of his country.

"The President does not have the necessary tools to influence the radical processes of domestic and foreign policy in these difficult times for the country and the nation," Sarkissian said in a statement posted on his official website.

 

The role of Armenia's president is largely ceremonial with the prime minister holding political power since December 2015, when a referendum made the country a parliamentary republic and lessened presidential powers. The president resignation comes as the president is at the center of a political crisis following an outbreak of fighting between Armenia and neighbour Azerbaijan over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

 

More than 6,500 people were killed in the six weeks of fighting, which ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement, granting Azerbaijan part of the enclave and surrounding areas in November, 2020.

Sarkissian, president since 2018, was in a standoff with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last year over a number of issues, including the dismissal of the head of the armed forces in the aftermath of the conflict between the two former Soviet republics. More details can be found on the attached links.