Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday announced his resignation while retaining interim duties, formalizing a parliamentary vote to be held on June 20 to defuse a political crisis sparked by last year's war with Azerbaijan.

Armed clashes between the two South Caucasus countries in Nagorno-Karabakh came to a halt on November 10, when Russia brokered a ceasefire with the deployment of its peacekeeping contingent to the conflict zone.

"I am resigning from my post as prime minister today" to hold the vote, Pashinyan said in an announcement broadcast on his Facebook page, adding that he would "continue to fulfill all the duties of the prime minister."

He earlier met with leaders of the parliamentary parties who agreed not to nominate a new prime minister after his resignation, compelling new elections under the Armenian law. 

According to the Constitution of Armenia, snap parliamentary elections are possible only when the prime minister resigns and the parliament fails twice to choose a new one. After that the Parliament is considered dissolved by virtue of law, and snap parliamentary elections take place.

The election will be the third parliamentary vote held in Armenia in just four years.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that the trilateral agreement reached by Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in November is being consistently implemented, adding that it is essential to map out the next steps toward the settlement in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Over 48,000 displaced people have safely returned to Nagorno-Karabakh since November 14, 2020, and the two countries have also exchanged prisoners and bodies of the dead under Russian mediation, media reported citing Putin.