Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has refused to concede to the public's call for his resignation over his decision to sign a cease fire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The office of the prime minister said that it will not allow the administration's opposition to take advantage of the situation and seize power by force.
While there is jubilation in the streets of Azerbaijan, heated protests continue in Armenia. Thousands of people have defied martial law and continue to demonstrate on the streets of the country's major cities. Protesters have called Pashinyan a traitor for allowing such an agreement that is disadvantageous to the nation.
Pashinyan signed the Russian-brokered treaty Monday, which allowed Azerbaijan to retake territory occupied by ethnic Armenian groups. Armenia won the territory, which is considered internationally as belonging to Azerbaijan, in a yearslong bloody war in the 1990s.
Opposition leaders issued an ultimatum to Pashinyan's administration, calling for his resignation within the week. The prime minister refused to concede and reasoned that signing the treaty was the only way to prevent any further bloodshed.
"We won't allow criminal elements to take power and will apply all the measures provided for by law to do this. Have no doubt," Pashinyan's chief of staff said in a statement.
As of Thursday, more than 400 Russian peacekeeping troops have arrived in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russia said that the troops are part of a 2,000-strong deployment over the next five years aimed at ensuring the safe and peaceful enforcement of the terms of the cease-fire deal.
Russia is planning to maintain 16 outposts in the region, including those along the Lachin corridor. The troops will be assisting with the resettlement of areas occupied by ethnic Armenian groups.
Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, has also announced that it will be sending its own peacekeeping troops to Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the troops will help monitor the ceasefire and prevent any unwanted violence in the area.
"Turkey will join the peacekeeping forces in the [Karabakh] region to monitor the implementation of the deal with Russia," Erdogan said in an announcement. Erdogan reportedly signed a separate deal with Russia, a document that has not yet been made public by both sides.
