U.S. Department of State urges Armenian authorities to exercise restraint and encourages anti-government protests to refrain from violence, the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

His remarks came while commenting on the protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“In terms of protests in Armenia – and as you know, we had a Strategic Dialogue with the Armenians last week, I suppose it was – and it was in that forum that we reaffirmed our mutual commitment to Armenia’s democratic development and the United States support for lasting peace in the South Caucasus,” Ned Price said.

“We believe that peaceful protests are an element of an open political system. We fully support the fundamental freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. We urge people to express their opinions in a peaceful manner. We urge authorities to exercise restraint and encourage those protesting to refrain from violence and to respect the rule of law and Armenia’s democracy,” he concluded.