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Acting Armenian PM suggests new parliamentary elections

FILE PHOTO: Armenia's Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev outside Moscow, Russia January 24, 2017. Sputnik/Ekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS

YEREVAN (Reuters) - Karen Karapetyan, Armenia’s acting prime minister, on Wednesday suggested holding new parliamentary elections to end a political crisis which has gripped the country for almost two weeks. Serzh Sarksyan, who previously served as Armenia’s president for a decade, resigned as prime minister on Monday after almost two weeks of street protests prompted by accusations he had manipulated the constitution to cling to power. Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian opposition leader who helped force Sarksyan to resign, called on his supporters to stage a rally on Wednesday and said he was ready to be the country's next premier and would keep up pressure on the ruling elite until it agreed to real change. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Kevin O'Flynn; Editing by Andrew Osborn)