Armenian president stuck in London with coronavirus

YEREVAN: Armenian President Armen Sarkisian has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating in London where he had been spending the New Year with his family, his office said Tuesday.

The 67-year-old president "had symptoms of the novel coronavirus. A test gave a positive result," the presidency said in a statement.

Sarkisian had been in London to "spend the New Year with his family and grandchildren", as well as to have an operation on his leg, the statement added.

"The president is in self-isolation and will continue temporarily to carry out his role at a distance," it said.

The role of president in Armenia is largely ceremonial and executive power rests primarily with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who himself caught the virus in June alongside his family.

The small Caucasus country, home to around three million people, has badly struggled to contain the effects of the pandemic, counting 160,000 cases and 2,878 deaths so far, according to the latest official figures available on Tuesday.

Armenian authorities have been criticised for their handling of the outbreak, with experts complaining that the decision to close the borders came too late and that citizens were confused by contradictory messages from officials.

The situation was aggravated by six weeks of deadly fighting between Azerbaijan and separatists backed by Armenia for control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In early November, a peace deal mediated by Russia ended the conflict, which left more than 6,000 people dead.