Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan submitted his resignation during a September 8 cabinet meeting, stating that Armenia needed a “new beginning” to improve the current socio-economic situation in the country.
“I have decided to resign and give the president a chance to form a new government,” Abrahamyan said, adding that the new government would need “new approaches to unite the society.”
Press speculations regarding the Armenian premier's potential resignation began over a week ago. According to multiple reports, Abrahamyan, who was appointed prime minister after Tigran Sargsyan's resignation in 2014, is to be succeeded by former Yerevan mayor Karen Karapetyan.
Soon after his appointment to the post, Abrahamyan began to speak of the need to fight against shadow economy in Armenia, claiming that large business entities were the government's main target. Meanwhile, Abrahamyan himself, along with his relatives, owns a number of fish farms in Armenia's Ararat Valley and has been accused by residents of nearby villages on multiple occasions of excessive use of local water resources.