Putin calls on Armenian politicians to solve political crisis via dialogue - Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Armenian President Armen Sarkissian by phone on Wednesday and both men agreed that political forces in Armenia need to show restraint and be ready to solve a political crisis there via talks, the Kremlin said.
Armenia is a close Russian ally and the crisis there has seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets in anti-government protests in the last two weeks forcing the resignation of Serzh Sarksyan as prime minister on Monday.
"Vladimir Putin and Armen Sarkissian underlined that all political forces in the country need to exercise restraint and responsibility and a readiness to solve existing problems via constructive dialogue strictly in the constitutional framework, the Kremlin said in a statement.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
