Armenia ex-President warns against civil war

PanARMENIAN.Net - First Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has warned against the threat of civil war, amid unrest in Yerevan after an agreement was signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

"Avoiding the danger of civil war and overcoming internal political contradictions exclusively in a constitutional way is imperative in order to get out of the current crisis situation without more losses," Ter-Petrosyan said Tuesday, November 10, according to iLur.am.

"In addition to being a major gift to the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance, the civil war will be devastating for Artsakh, Armenia and all Armenians."

The former leader said he is hopeful that "parties concerned with the fate of the nation, socio-political groups, law enforcement agencies, representatives of the intelligentsia, all forces with a general sense of responsibility will use all their influence to avoid such a catastrophic prospect."

The police have identified individuals who violated the law on Tuesday night, some of them have been detained or arrested. After the agreement to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh was announced, a group of protesters forced their way into the main government building and the National Assembly in Yerevan. The crowd also attacked and beat Ararat Mirzoyan, the president of the National Assembly, who had to undergo a surgery shorty․

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a deal to end the war in Karabakh. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan said on Tuesday that he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.