MOSCOW, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin hopes that the situation will return to normal in Armenia after its newly-elected Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned under pressure of mass anti-government protests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"We hope that order and stability will be maintained in that country, and in the foreseeable future a political configuration based on the consensus of all forces that represent the Armenian people will be outlined," Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing.
"So far we see that the situation does not go in the way of destabilization, which is satisfactory," he added.
Sargsyan, 63, who was elected Armenian prime minister by the parliament on April 17, said in a statement on Monday that he would resign following days of street protests against him.
He served as Armenian president in 2008-2018 and was succeeded by Armen Sarkissian on April 9.
The South Caucasus nation has been transitioning from a direct presidential system to a parliamentary one after constitutional reforms approved in a national referendum in December 2015.
Under the amendments, although recognized as the head of state, the president will hold a largely ceremonial role with real executive power lying in the hands of the prime minister.
Large-scale protests were held before Sargsyan took office. Protesters led by Armenian opposition MP and leader of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan accused the former president of clinging to power.
After Sargsyan's resignation, his post is temporarily occupied by his deputy Karen Karapetyan, former prime minister and former senior executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom.
Late on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a phone conversation with Karapetyan.
"Medvedev expressed support to the friendly Armenian people and stressed the importance of preserving the situation in the legal constitutional field," the Russian government said in a statement.
Russia has a military base in Armenia, a major ally of Moscow in Transcaucasia.
