Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Sunday announced that he was resigning his largely ceremonial position because his office was unable to influence policy during times of national crisis.
The announcement comes after a period of instability in the small and economically struggling former Soviet nation following a war with its long-standing rival, Azerbaijan.
Armenia's humiliating defeat and loss of disputed territory in late 2020 sparked massive street rallies and a domestic crisis that pitted Mr Sarkissian against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"This is not an emotionally driven decision and it comes from a specific logic," Mr Sarkissian said on his official website.
"The president does not have the necessary tools to influence the important processes of foreign and domestic policy in difficult times for the people and the country."
At the core of that disagreement was the dismissal of the Armenian military's chief of staff, and Mr Sarkissian refused to sign an order from Mr Pashinyan to see him moved, in what was a serious blow to the embattled prime minister.
The departing president said at the time that the crisis could not be defused through frequent personnel changes.
Mr Sarkissian late on Sunday lashed out at a "reality in which the president cannot veto laws that he believes to be bad for the people and the country".
He said various political groups in the landlocked country regarded the office of the presidency not as a boon to Armenia, but as "a danger to them".
"I hope that eventually the constitutional changes will be implemented and the next president and presidential administration will be able to operate in a more balanced environment," Mr Sarkissian said.
The war, which killed more than 6,000 people, saw Russian peacekeepers sent to the disputed mountainous region.
Armenia's constitution stipulates that the parliament, which is controlled by parties aligned with Mr Pashinyan, should hold a vote to decide the next president within 35 days.
Mr Sarkissian, a former physics teacher, was born in 1953 in the capital Yerevan. He served as prime minister between 1996 and 1997, according to an official biography.
He was Armenia's ambassador to the UK when he was elected president in March 2018 by the legislature.
The announcement of Mr Sarkissian's resignation comes shortly after his office announced that he would be taking a leave of absence to undergo medical checks, without providing details.
Armenia's economy has struggled since the Soviet collapse and money sent home by Armenians abroad has aided the construction of schools, churches and other infrastructure projects, including in Nagorno-Karabakh, the region at the centre of the war with Azerbaijan.
Armenia has a large and politically powerful diaspora spread across the world after Ottoman-era massacres, and is now estimated at 10 million people, mostly in Russia, the US and France.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
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