Protest leader, Nikol Pashinian, told a jubilant crowd packed into Republic Square on April 23: "Dear proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, you have won!"
In a dramatic turn of events a day after he had rejected opposition demands for his resignation, Sarkisian made a pointed and direct statement to the country on April 23, saying he was acquiescing to calls from Pashinian, and the demonstrators, and leaving office.
"The movement of the street is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your demand," Sarkisian said in a short statement on the prime minister's website.
"Nikol Pashinian was right. I was wrong," he said, adding he did not want to resort to force to stay in office.
"In the current situation there are several solutions, but I won't choose any of them," he said. "It's not my style. I am quitting the country's leadership and the post of prime minister of Armenia."
In his address on Republic Square, Pashinian said he would discuss a peaceful transfer of power with acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetian on April 24.
Pashinian told the crowd: "I hope the leaders of [Sarkisian's] Republican Party will unequivocally and unconditionally recognize the victory of the people's velvet, nonviolent revolution."
He also said all the demonstrators who were detained or arrested during the protest movement must be released immediately.
Sarkisian was elected prime minister by parliament on April 17, eight days after his two-term presidency ended. His handpicked successor, Armen Sarkisian -- who is not related, was sworn in as president on April 9 after being elected by parliament.
But under constitutional changes that Serzh Sarkisian pushed through in 2015, the prime minister is now more powerful than the president, who is more of a figurehead.
Sarkisian had previously said he would not seek to become prime minster, and protesters were upset that he did not honour his pledge, claiming the shift threatened to make the 63-year-old leader for life.
The announcement came just hours after Pashinian and two other opposition lawmakers were released from police custody, a day after they were detained for their role in protests that had at times crippled the capital's streets and major roads leading to other cities.
