EU calls on Armenian authorities to respect citizens' right to freedom of peaceful assembly. This right is universal and fundamental, recalls the European External Action Service (EEAS) in a statement released on Sunday, April 22. The Armenian authorities should apply the measures provided for by law fairly and proportionately, as well as comply with their international obligations, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, notes EEAS.

Those who were detained while exercising their right to freedom of assembly must be immediately released, stressed in Brussels. The EU also expressed disappointment with the fact that the meeting between opposition leader Nikola Pashinyan and Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan failed to produce results and called on the sides of the conflict to show restraint and find a diplomatic solution.

Earlier, the EU delegation in Armenia and the diplomatic missions of the EU countries in this country expressed their concern over the failure of the talks between Pashinyan and Sargsyan, noting that they could "prevent the further escalation of the tense situation".

Mass protests in Yerevan and some other cities of Armenia continue from April 13. Armenians took to the streets, protesting against the election of ex-President Sargsyan as prime minister, which, despite the demonstrations, took place on April 17. In accordance with the earlier constitutional reform, which assumes the transition from the presidential republic to the parliamentary one, the premier's post will allow Sargsyan to again concentrate power in his hands.