Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Armenian president makes surprise appearance at opposition rally in an effort to broker talks

22 April 2018

It was a day full of dramtic scenes in Yerevan on Saturday (21 April) as large crowds thronged through the streets of the Armenian capital calling for the resignation of Armenian strongman Serzj Sargsyan from the office of Prime Minister. Sargsyan took over the role of prime minister earlier in the week days after his two terms in office as president of Armenia ended.

The Armenian authorities seem to have been taken by surprise by both the size of the protests, as well as by the methods of the protestors who marched in groups in different parts of Yerevan, blocking traffic and encouraging bystanders to join them.

Throughout the day police struggled to keep the main traffic arteries open, arresting hundreds of protestors. At one point the motorcade carrying the Armenian Defence Minister was also caught the the melee.

Whilst protestors gathered in the evening for what has become a daily end-of-day rally on Yerevan's main square, there was a surprise appearance by Armenia's newly appointed, but now largely symbolic President, Armen Sarkissian, who walked through the crowds for a ten minute tete a tete with the leader of the protestors, opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan afterwards told his supporters that he had reiterated their demands for the resignation of prime minister Sargsyan as the main topic for any negotiations between government and protestors. He also said that any negotiations had to be held on neutral territory, proposing Armenia's Marriott Hotel, meters away from where the protests were taking place.

Early on Sunday morning, Armenia media, including those close to the government reported that talks have now been agreed and that Sargsyan and Pashanyan will meet on Sunday morning at the Marriott Hotel. 

source: commonspace.eu

photo: Armenian President Armen Sarkissian talking to the leader of anti-government protests in Armenia Nikol Pashanyan during a surprise visit to opposition rally in an effort to broker talks between government and opposition on 21 April 2018 (picture courtesy of radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Women emerge favourite to lead United Nations from next year, after straw-poll of UN Security Council members
Trending

Women emerge favourite to lead United Nations from next year, after straw-poll of UN Security Council members

1 August 2026
​ Two women have emerged as favourite to lead the United Nations as Secretary-General from 1 January 2027, when the term of the present incumbent, Antonio Gutteres, expires. A straw poll of the members of the UN Security Council, held on Thursday, 30 July showed that of the seven candidates, Rebecca Grynspan of Costa Rica and Carolyn Rodriguez-Birkett of Guyana received ten and nine positive endorsements respectively, by the 15 members UN Security Council Although the poll and its result are supposed to be secret, the result leaked within minutes, and was carried on world media outlets, such as Reuters. The result was as follows   Michelle Bachelet 6 encourage 5  discourage   4 no opinion María Fernanda Espinosa 5 2 8 Rafael Grossi 7 2 6 Rebeca Grynspan 10 1 4 Olara Otunnu 2 5 8 Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett 9 2 4 Macky Sall 6 7 2   Article 97 of the UN Charter states that the “Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council”. Straw polls are informal ballots used to determine the viability of Secretary-General candidates.  The seven current candidates are: Michelle Bachelet Jeria (Chile), who was nominated by Brazil, Chile, and Mexico on 2 February, with Chile withdrawing its nomination on 24 March; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), who was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda on 11 May; Rafael Mariano Grossi (Argentina), who was nominated by Argentina on 26 November 2025; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (Costa Rica), who was nominated by Costa Rica on 3 March; Olara Otunnu (Uganda), who was nominated by Uganda on 24 July; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana), who was nominated by Guyana on 15 June; and Macky Sall (Senegal), who was nominated by Burundi on 2 March. At Thursday's straw poll, there was no difference between the ballots presented to the five permanent members (P5) and the ten elected members (E10). Council members received one ballot per candidate, containing the candidate’s name followed by three options: “encouraged”, “discouraged”, and “no opinion expressed”.   It is ofcourse early days, and the straw poll is just an informal indication of the mood of the UN Security Council, but the strong showwing by the two womencandidates may be an indication that for the first time, the head of the UN can be a women. (click image to read more) ​

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov