President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian Resigns

Sarkissian assumed his post in April 2018 after winning 90 percent of the votes of the National Assembly's lawmakers, who elect the country's president.

The President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, has resigned from his post almost four years after being elected and three years before the end of his term, according to a statement on the presidential website.

Sarkissian explained that he was leaving office early because he found himself incapable of affecting the situation in the country and using his powers to resolve systemic problems in its domestic and foreign policies. He stressed that he had simply never had the tools he needed to do that.

"This decision is not emotional at all. It follows a certain logic. The president of the country does not have the necessary tools to influence the most important issues concerning the state and nation", he said in his statement.

The departing president went on to claim that Armenia was a parliamentary republic in name only. He said that he did not seek to change the system of government to semi-presidential or presidential, but instead wanted to introduce a state system based on checks and balances.

He specifically wants presidents to be given more tools to run the country. Sarkissian lamented that he was named a guarantor of statehood as president, but essentially had no means actually to fulfil that role.

"We live in a unique reality; a reality where the president cannot influence matters of war or peace; a reality when he cannot veto the laws he considers inexpedient for the state and the people," Sarkissian complained.

Sarkissian concluded that at this difficult time for Armenia he cannot allow the office of president to become a target of gossip and conspiracy theories, which will inevitably lead to diverting public attention from the most important issues. And thus he decided to resign from his post before the end of his term in 2025.