Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the digest of top news of protests in Yerevan as of 06.06.22:

  • Armenian police clashed with protesters in Yerevan on Friday during the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations and at least 50 people were hospitalized, including over 30 police officers.

The sound of explosions could also be heard during the protests.

The deputy head of national police said officers used stun grenades after demonstrators threw stones.

Officers were reportedly pelted with rocks and other projectiles as protesters marched on the main government building and blockaded it for more than two hours

The wave of protests started in late April, with activists camping outside government buildings in the capital. On Friday, they once again called for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down, calling him “a traitor.”

The opposition parties wanted parliament to adopt a declaration saying the Nagorno-Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan.

Amid massive detention, according to official data, over 2,100 participants of the protests have been taken to various police stations so far.

Resistance Movement coordinator Ishkhan Saghatelyan noted that "not all those taken in have been documented by the police.

“Armenia will not turn into a dictatorship,” he added.

  • The European Union (EU) has replaced Russia as the lead player in international efforts to broker peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an EU official claimed, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported.

The official, who did not want to be identified, also confirmed that the EU will not work with Russia on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or sponsoring confidence-building measures for that purpose.

The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, has hosted three trilateral meetings with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the last five months.

After the most recent meeting held in Brussels on May 22, Michel said Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to “advance discussions” on a peace treaty.

Russia has denounced the EU’s mediation efforts, saying that they are part of the West’s attempts to hijack Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and use the Karabakh conflict in its standoff with Moscow over Ukraine.

  • Armenian Davit Hovhannisyan (96 kg) has won gold medal at European Weightlifting Championships in Albania.

He recorded 171+206 (377 kg) in total biathlon.

European vice-champion in this weight class was Ara Aghanyan with 375kg (170+205).