Facts and stats about Armenia

There have been controversial developments in Armenia recently. The country’s Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan, has tendered his resignation this week which President Serzh Sarkisian accepted. The announcement came from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia after the party’s plenary session. Before this, the Armenian Constitutional Court shelved certain stipulations of the contentious reform law which seeks to amend the nation’s current pension system.

The judicial branch will conduct a probe regarding the constitutionality of said legislation. Armenia’s four main opposition parties are planning to hold joint protests against the Sarkisian government and support of a no-confidence vote in Parliament. The political opposition hopes that the incumbent Prime Minister’s resignation along with other cabinet members will lead to a complete change in Armenia.

Armenia, which is the smallest of the former Soviet republics, is situated in the southern Caucasus. After almost a century of hostilities between Turkey and Armenia, the two countries concurred to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their respective borders in 2009. Armenians accused the Ottoman Turks of murdering up to a million Armenians during World War I. There was also a border dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan in June of 2012 that resulted in the deaths of three Armenian and five Azerbaijani troops. The outbreak of violence coincided with the visit of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's in this region. This prompted Secretary Clinton to agree on a truce.

At present, there are several domestic challenges that the Armenian Government has to deal with. The Nagorny Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan has not been fully resolved. As a result of Armenia's surprise decision to join the Customs Union last year, it is expected that Russia will secure its influence over the country’s economy and security. Meanwhile, the GDP has been forecasted to reach 5.1 percent from this year until 2015.