Serzh Sarksyan, the newly appointed prime minister of Armenia, said on Monday he would resign his post after protests against him.
Sarksyan, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had served as Armenia's president for a decade until earlier this month and had faced accusations of clinging to power when parliament voted for him to take up the post of prime minister.
Earlier on Monday pressure on the 63-year-old to quit increased sharply when unarmed Armenian soldiers joined the anti-government protests in the capital Yerevan, which first began on April 13.
Via his official website, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan announced his resignation from the prime ministry.
"In the current situation there are several solutions, but I won't choose any of them. It's not my style. I am quitting the country's leadership and the post of prime minister of Armenia."
"Pashinyan was right. I was wrong," Sargsyan said in a statement on his website, referring to protest leader Nikol Pashinyan.
Pashinyan, a federal parliament member who was detained over the weekend, was released on Monday with fellow protesters.
Sargsyan said his resignation was to fulfil the demands of the street protests.
Sargsyan's move follows 10 days of protests in the capital, Yerevan, against his appointment as prime minister, which is part of a transition to new governmental system that reduces the powers of the presidency and bolsters those of the premier.
Critics saw the move as an attempt by Sargsyan, who was president from 2008 until he was forced to step down this year because of term limits, to stay in power.
Protesters have been on the streets demanding Sargsyan's resignation since earlier this month.
