Armenia head mulls state of emergency in crisis

YEREVAN, March 1 (Reuters) - Armenia's president may declare state of emergency if his stand off with the opposition continues, but there is still hope to resolve the crisis peacefully, the foreign minister said on Saturday. "All (draft) decrees are ready to declare state of emergency," Vardan Oskanyan told a news conference.

"At this moment the president is holding serious discussions and meetings, and he is very keen to resolve this political matter by political means.

"Now it all depends on opposition (leaders). I feel we are living through a critical moment, and if we now take the right decision we (the nation) will win."

Armenia's opposition called on its supporters to hold a new protest on Saturday, hours after police violently broke up its 10-day sit-in, drawing criticism from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Several thousand opposition supporters have protested daily in Yerevan's Freedom Square since Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan was elected to replace his ally Robert Kocharyan as president in a Feb. 19 vote, seen as rigged by the opposition. (Reporting by Hasmik mkrtchyan; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Alison Williams)