T̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶r̶c̶h̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶i̶v̶i̶l̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶o̶b̶e̶d̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶i̶f̶e̶s̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶a̶l̶y̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶f̶f̶i̶c̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶A̶r̶m̶e̶n̶i̶a̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶v̶i̶o̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶w̶,̶ ̶U̶.̶S̶.̶ ̶a̶m̶b̶a̶s̶s̶a̶d̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶Y̶e̶r̶e̶v̶a̶n̶ ̶R̶i̶c̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶M̶.̶ ̶M̶i̶l̶l̶s̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶e̶e̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶m̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶K̶a̶r̶e̶n̶ ̶K̶a̶r̶a̶p̶e̶t̶y̶a̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶W̶e̶d̶n̶e̶s̶d̶a̶y̶,̶ ̶A̶p̶r̶i̶l̶ ̶2̶5̶.̶

Peaceful assembly of the Armenian people and their right to free expression are guaranteed under the Armenian constitution, U.S. ambassador to Yerevan Richard M. Mills said at a meeting with acting prime minister Karen Karapetyan on Wednesday, April 25..

The American diplomat said that the he believes these rights should be fully respected and that the formation of a new government should be the result of good-faith negotiations.”

H̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶i̶d̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶o̶c̶r̶a̶c̶y̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶o̶a̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶e̶n̶g̶t̶h̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶o̶c̶r̶a̶c̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶e̶l̶e̶c̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶m̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶e̶e̶t̶.̶

The crossed-out text is the version provided by the government earlier in the day. The Embassy later sent a statement, which said: "The Office of the Acting Prime Minister and the U.S. Embassy regret that the quote attributed to Ambassador Mills in the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today was a mistranslation of the Ambassador’s comments and the views of the U.S. government. As the U.S. Embassy has said before, peaceful assembly of the Armenian people and their right to free expression are guaranteed under the Armenian constitution. We believe these rights should be fully respected and that the formation of a new government should be the result of good-faith negotiations."

Opposition leader from Yelk bloc, founder and head of Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan leads the campaign against former president Serzh Sargsyan’s appointment as prime minister, and against his premiership after he was already appointed to the post.

Sargsyan was forced to resign on Monday, and Pashinyan is now seeking the appointment as prime minister by the National Assembly of what he calls “the people’s candidate,” the formation of a temporary government and snap parliamentary elections.