The Power Vacuum Creating New Trade Routes Across Eurasia

Liana Toganian Leave a comment
Oil Price
July 16 2026
By Eurasianet – Jul 16, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT

  • Russia and Iran are losing their grip on the South Caucasus, creating a power vacuum that is opening the door to new geopolitical and trade alignments.
  • A lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan peace could transform the South Caucasus into a key overland corridor linking Asia and Europe, with major implications for China, Japan, and global supply chains.
  • Armenia’s constitutional reform will determine whether the region can deliver the long-term stability needed to attract investment and cement a new Eurasian trade route.

The results of Armenia’s parliamentary election in June dealt Russia’s bid to reassert its grip on the South Caucasus a serious blow, and the reverberations are not confined to Moscow, Washington and Brussels. 

For Beijing and Tokyo, both of which have quietly built stakes in the region as an overland bridge between Asia and Europe, the election’s outcome, which reaffirmed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s authority, carries real geoeconomic weight.

Pashinyan’s decisive victory represents a clear popular rejection of his Kremlin-aligned opponents and a significant failure for Moscow’s attempt to install friendlier leadership in Yerevan. It is also, by extension, a setback for Tehran. Iran was once a fervent supporter of Armenia due to shared hostility towards Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s secular majority Shi’a society is a direct repudiation of Tehran’s heavy-handed authoritarian Islamist governance.

Iran and Russia alike have a defense and security agreement and a regional partnership that relies heavily on the same opposition to Western and Turkish influence that Armenian voters just repudiated. With Russia badly weakened by the war in Ukraine and Iran preoccupied with its lingering confrontation with the United States and Israel, both traditional powers in the South Caucasus are more constrained than at any point in decades.

That vacuum matters enormously for Asian economies that have spent the last several years searching for trade routes that do not run through Russian or Iranian territory.

The Middle Corridor Problem

Since 2022, China has poured diplomatic and commercial energy into the Middle Corridor – the trans-Caspian route linking China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Turkey – deliberately bypassing sanctioned Russian rail lines. Beijing has treated this corridor as a hedge for its Belt and Road ambitions: a way to keep goods moving westward even if Russia remains a sanctioned partner. It could also be a long-term strategic lifeline in the event of a conflict with the West.

Georgia and Azerbaijan have long been essential nodes in that plan. Armenia, historically on the periphery of these calculations, now looks more consequential as Georgia increasingly tilts toward Russia. It is noteworthy that a Chinese company recently withdrew from involvement in developing a deep-water port at the Georgian Black Sea town of Anaklia.

A durable Armenia-Azerbaijan peace, anchored by the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, would open new transit options through Armenian territory and stabilize the wider corridor that Chinese logistics firms and state planners have been counting on. 

But it would do so on terms set substantially by Washington, not Beijing – a dynamic that Chinese planners are unlikely to welcome even as they benefit from the added stability. Expect China to continue quietly investing in Central Asian and Caucasian infrastructure to maintain its own leverage over the corridor’s future, even as it lets Washington absorb the diplomatic cost of brokering peace.

Japan’s Quiet Diversification Play

Japan’s stakes are less about Belt and Road competition and more about supply chain diversification. Tokyo has spent the past several years deepening ties with Central Asia through its “Central Asia plus Japan“ platform, partly as a hedge against overreliance on Chinese-controlled trade routes and partly to diversify access to critical minerals and energy. A more stable South Caucasus, freed from the risk of renewed Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and less susceptible to Russian or Iranian disruption, makes that overland bridge to Europe and the Gulf considerably more attractive for Japanese trading houses and manufacturers looking to de-risk from both Russian and Chinese chokepoints.

Iran’s weakening position compounds this. Tehran has long served, however imperfectly, as an alternative transit and energy partner for Asian economies wary of relying entirely on Gulf sea lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. An Iran squeezed from its northern flank and increasingly isolated in the Gulf is a less reliable partner for that role, pushing Asian energy planners – including in Beijing, despite its 25-year strategic partnership with Tehran – to further diversify overland options through the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Constitutional Fight Ahead

None of this is guaranteed. The Armenian election outcome is a beginning, not an endpoint. Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won 49.8 percent of the vote, good for 64 of the 105 seats in parliament, retaining its majority but falling short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend Armenia’s constitution. This complicates efforts to finalize an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal.

Azerbaijan has conditioned its agreement to the peace deal on a tweak to Armenia’s constitution, removing language that can be construed as a territorial claim on Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan regained control of in 2023.

The Constitution contains no direct language claiming Azerbaijani territory. The problem lies instead in its Preamble, which adopts the principles and national aspirations of Armenia’s 1990 Declaration of Independence – a document that explicitly references the December 1, 1989, decision on the “reunification” of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory. As a result, Armenia’s constitutional framework is linked to a foundational document that contains a claim to internationally recognized Azerbaijani territory.

Without a constitutional amendment, any peace agreement risks being reversible by a future government, undermining the durability that transit-dependent economies in Asia need before committing serious capital to the region. Crucially, constitutional reform is neither exceptional nor unprecedented. States have repeatedly amended their fundamental laws in pursuit of peace and strategic interests. Ireland’s constitutional changes under the Good Friday Agreement remain the most prominent example, becoming the bedrock of peace settlement with the UK. Greece, for years, insisted on constitutional changes from Macedonia – ultimately leading to the Prespa Agreement and North Macedonia’s path towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Pashinyan’s most viable path is likely a narrow, issue-specific coalition built around the peace-related provisions, framed as technical prerequisites for international normalization rather than partisan concessions. Whether he can secure the handful of additional votes needed will determine whether Armenia’s westward drift and the broader opening of the South Caucasus corridor become irreversible.

Why Asia Should Watch Closely

For governments and firms across Asia weighing where to route the next decade of Eurasian trade, energy, and mineral flows, the outcome of Armenia’s constitutional fight is not a peripheral post-Soviet story. It is a live test of whether one of the few remaining alternative corridors between Asia and Europe can finally be stabilized – and of who will set the terms. 

Chinese and Japanese planners alike have strong incentives to see the peace process succeed, even if neither is in a position to control how it unfolds. Moscow is already working to prevent it. Tehran is watching nervously. Beijing and Tokyo would do well to watch just as closely and strive for a South Caucasus that finally works.

By Eurasianet

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Armenia begins ratifying TRIPP agreement with US: foreign minister outlines ke

Babken Chilingarian Leave a comment
JAM News
July 16 2026
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenia has begun the process of ratifying the framework agreement on strategic cooperation with the United States under the TRIPP project.

The agreement concerns the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a transit route linking Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhichevan. The project forms part of the Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, which aims to reopen regional transport links.

The government has approved the agreement and submitted it to the Constitutional Court. The court must now determine whether it complies with Armenia’s constitution.

“If the Constitutional Court finds that the obligations set out in this international agreement are compatible with Armenia’s constitution, we will submit it to the National Assembly in accordance with the established procedure and bring it before parliament for discussion,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said, outlining the next steps. Parliament must ratify the agreement before it can take effect.

Mirzoyan said Armenia must also finalise two more documents before it can complete the TRIPP project. They include a shareholders’ agreement and the charter of the TRIPP Development Company.

The foreign minister also commented on reports about the TRIPP+ fund. Britain’s The Guardian reported on the fund a day earlier, prompting questions in Armenia about the new structure. Mirzoyan said it was an American investment fund and would have only “an indirect connection” with the company that Armenia plans to establish.

Armenia and the United States initialled the framework agreement on strategic cooperation under the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity project on 26 May 2026.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part in the initialling ceremony in Yerevan. They signed the agreement shortly afterwards through a remote procedure. Rubio signed it in Washington on 1 June, while Mirzoyan signed it in Yerevan on 4 June.

“To dispel any possible questions, I would like to note that international practice and Armenian legislation both provide for the signing of such non-simultaneous, remote agreements, and this is a widely accepted practice,” Ararat Mirzoyan said during today’s government meeting.

On 8 August 2025, the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States signed a joint declaration at a summit in Washington, marking the launch of the regional connectivity project. The declaration mentioned the Trump Route project for the first time.

Before that, Armenia and Azerbaijan had failed to reach agreement on the issue. Azerbaijan had demanded a route it called the “Zangezur Corridor”. Armenia said it was ready to reopen all transport links. At the same time, it firmly rejected the term “corridor”, arguing that it implied the loss of sovereign rights over its territory.

The parties reached a compromise only in Washington. They agreed that Armenia would retain sovereign control over the route, while the United States would join the project as a business partner.

  • US stake in TRIPP project to reach 74%, Yerevan and Washington say
  • Trump Route: Western illusion or turning point in South Caucasus?
  • “Trump Route” will create conditions for new investment in Armenia – economist
  • Pashinyan believes “Trump Route” will become a new component of Armenia’s security

“Armenia and the US will help strengthen peace in the South Caucasus”

According to Armenia’s foreign minister, the TRIPP project will help bring peace, stability and prosperity to the South Caucasus. He said it would achieve this by promoting:

  • transport connectivity;
  • infrastructure development; and
  • regional and global trade.

Under the framework agreement, Armenia and the United States will establish the TRIPP Development Company. The company will have the authority to create special purpose entities and bring in additional partners to implement individual projects in Armenia.

“The entire process, from the establishment of the development company to its future operations, will fully respect Armenia’s sovereignty, jurisdiction and territorial integrity,” Ararat Mirzoyan said.

He recalled that the development company would receive land use and development rights for the relevant areas. The parties have set the initial term at 49 years. The United States will hold a 74% stake in the company, while Armenia will own the remaining 26%. If the partnership continues for another 50 years, Armenia’s share will automatically increase to 49% after the first 49-year term.

“If the term is extended, Armenia will not need to take any additional steps to obtain its 49% stake,” the minister said.

Armenia will retain control over border, customs and migration procedures

The foreign minister again stressed that, in line with Armenia’s domestic legislation and international agreements, the Armenian authorities will continue to oversee:

  • security and the protection of rights;
  • border control and border security;
  • customs and migration procedures;
  • the collection of taxes and customs duties for the state budget;
  • state information systems; and
  • public administrative functions.

He said these guarantees should address public concerns about Armenia retaining its sovereign rights over the territory.

What is the link between the TRIPP Development Company and TRIPP+?

Britain’s The Guardian reported that the US State Department had appointed Konstantin Sokolov to lead the TRIPP+ trade fund. Sokolov is a US investor who was born in the Soviet Union and now lives in Chicago.

Armenian media quickly picked up the report. However, questions remained about the nature of the fund and its relationship with the company that Armenia plans to establish to implement the Trump Route project.

Journalists raised the issue during the government meeting. Ararat Mirzoyan replied that the agreement between Yerevan and Washington provides for the creation of the TRIPP Development Company.

“Its founders will be the Armenian government and the TRIPP Development Company-USA, which will be established in the United States,” Mirzoyan said.

As for TRIPP+, he said it is an American company established under the TRIPP Development Company-USA. Its role will be to attract investment for the project.

“From a legal perspective, TRIPP+ has only an indirect relationship with the TRIPP Development Company that will be established in Armenia,” the minister said..

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Mark Hoplamazian: Armenian-American Financier, Pritzker Architect, and Chairma

Garnik Tadevosian Leave a comment
July 16 2026

Mark Hoplamazian: Armenian-American Financier, Pritzker Architect, and Chairman, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Rayson Choo

Mark Hoplamazian is the most enduring and commercially accomplished CEO in the modern history of the global luxury hotel industry.

An Armenian-American investment professional, he came to Hyatt Hotels Corporation in December 2006 without a single day of prior operational hospitality experience. Over the following eighteen-plus years, he has transformed Hyatt from a private, family-controlled hotel company into one of the world’s most respected publicly traded luxury and lifestyle hospitality enterprises. Since adding the chairmanship to his roles as President and CEO in February 2026, he oversees a global portfolio of more than 1,350 properties across 78 countries, with annual revenues approaching $7 billion, under a brand architecture spanning Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Thompson Hotels, Alila, Hyatt Centric, Caption by Hyatt, and many more distinct lifestyle and wellness expressions of Hyatt’s core purpose: to care for people so they can be their best.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the world’s leading global hospitality companies — a company whose portfolio spans luxury, upper-upscale, lifestyle, extended stay, and all-inclusive resort categories, serving millions of guests annually through both its owned and managed hotels and its World of Hyatt loyalty programme, which is one of the most valued in the travel industry. The Pritzker family — one of Chicago’s most prominent and philanthropically active dynasties, whose diverse business interests have included everything from the Hyatt hotel chain to the Marmon Group industrial conglomerate — founded Hyatt’s predecessor operations and retained significant ownership even as Hyatt went public in 2009. Hoplamazian’s deep familiarity with Pritzker family interests, developed across seventeen years advising their investment operations, gave him the institutional context and trusted relationship that made his CEO appointment both unusual and remarkably effective.

Born on 27 November 1963 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, into an Armenian-American family, Hoplamazian was educated at the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square before earning his AB in Economics from Harvard University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His subsequent career at The First Boston Corporation and then The Pritzker Organization gave him the financial and investment formation that he has applied throughout a hospitality CEO tenure defined by strategic clarity, human-centred culture, and the belief that caring for people — guests, colleagues, and communities — is the most powerful competitive advantage a hotel company can possess.

Early Life and Education of Mark Hoplamazian

Mark Samuel Hoplamazian was born on 27 November 1963 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania — a prosperous suburb of Philadelphia on the Main Line, whose academic and cultural environment reflects the values of education, civic engagement, and professional achievement that characterise this distinctive stretch of Philadelphia’s western suburbs. He is of Armenian heritage, and his family background in the Armenian-American community — whose history of resilience, cultural preservation, and professional achievement despite historical adversity is a defining feature of the diaspora experience — has shaped both his personal values and his commitment to inclusion and human dignity that permeates Hyatt’s corporate culture under his leadership.

He was educated at the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania — one of the Philadelphia region’s most distinguished independent schools, founded in 1785 and known for its rigorous academic standards, strong values formation, and record of producing graduates who go on to distinguished careers across every field. From the Episcopal Academy, Hoplamazian earned a place at Harvard University — consistently the most selective and prestigious undergraduate institution in the United States — where he read economics, earning his Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree. His Harvard economics formation gave him the analytical framework, the quantitative discipline, and the intellectual breadth that underpin his approach to strategic decision-making across the complex financial and commercial environments of a global hospitality company.

He subsequently earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business — one of the world’s premier business schools and the home of the Chicago school of economics, known for its rigorous, empirically grounded approach to management education and its particular strengths in finance, economics, and quantitative methods. The combination of a Harvard economics AB and a Chicago Booth MBA gave Hoplamazian one of the most analytically powerful educational foundations in American business, complemented by the humanistic formation of an Episcopal Academy education and the cultural values of his Armenian-American heritage.

Mark Hoplamazian’s Career at The First Boston Corporation

Following the completion of his Booth MBA, Hoplamazian joined The First Boston Corporation — the prestigious American investment bank headquartered in New York that was, through the late 1980s, one of the leading underwriters and M&A advisors on Wall Street. Working in international mergers and acquisitions at First Boston gave him foundational experience in the analytical and transactional dimensions of corporate finance — the valuation methodologies, deal structuring techniques, and client management skills that define the most effective investment bankers — in an international context that gave him exposure to the full breadth of the global M&A market.

His time at First Boston was formative but brief: the more consequential professional association of his early career was just beginning, with the Pritzker family whose investment activities would occupy the next seventeen years of his professional life and provide the foundation for his subsequent appointment as Hyatt CEO.

Mark Hoplamazian’s Seventeen Years at The Pritzker Organization

In approximately 1989, Hoplamazian joined The Pritzker Organization (TPO) — the principal financial and investment advisory organisation for the Pritzker family’s extensive and diversified business interests. The Pritzker family, whose patriarch Jay Pritzker had built the Hyatt hotel chain from a single Los Angeles motor hotel acquired in 1957, had by the late 1980s developed one of the most significant private family business empires in the United States — encompassing Hyatt Hotels, the Marmon Group (a diversified industrial conglomerate), TransUnion (the credit reporting company), Royal Caribbean International (the cruise line), and numerous other commercial interests. Managing the strategic, financial, and investment dimensions of this diversified family business empire required exactly the kind of sophisticated financial analysis and long-term investment thinking that Hoplamazian’s First Boston and Chicago Booth formation had equipped him to provide.

Over seventeen years at TPO, Hoplamazian rose to become its President — leading the advisory organisation and developing the deep familiarity with Pritzker family business interests, investment philosophy, and long-term objectives that would make him the natural choice for Hyatt CEO when the family decided to transition toward a publicly listed hotel company with professional management. His role during this period encompassed advisory work across the full breadth of Pritzker interests, including direct advisory engagement with Hyatt Hotels Corporation and its predecessors on strategic and financial matters. He was, in effect, the Pritzker family’s most trusted outside intelligence about their own businesses — a combination of investment banker, strategic advisor, and trusted confidant whose perspective was valued across the widest range of family business decisions.

His most formative Pritzker-related experience came in his early management of Hyatt’s Park Hyatt Tokyo — a property he has described as his first hotel general management experience, when he was asked to step in as general manager during a period of operational challenge. This hands-on immersion in the operational realities of luxury hotel management — understanding service standards, staff development, guest experience management, and the commercial mechanics of a flagship hotel — gave him a practical grounding in hospitality that his investment banking career had not provided, and that he has built upon in his subsequent CEO role. His personal connection to this property was deepened when he attended its December 2024 reopening following a major refurbishment.

Mark Hoplamazian’s Transformation of Hyatt

In November 2006, Hoplamazian was appointed to Hyatt’s Board of Directors, and in December 2006 he was named President and Chief Executive Officer — beginning an eighteen-year tenure that has fundamentally transformed the company’s strategic position, operational culture, and financial profile. In November 2009, he oversaw Hyatt’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange — a landmark event that began the transition from a family-controlled private company to a publicly accountable corporation while maintaining the Pritzker family’s ongoing significant ownership and the family culture of long-term value creation over quarterly earnings management.

His strategic agenda as CEO has been defined by three interconnected priorities. First, brand portfolio expansion — building Hyatt’s presence in the lifestyle, wellness, and all-inclusive categories through both organic development and strategic acquisitions. The acquisitions of Alila Hotels and Resorts, Two Roads Hospitality, Apple Leisure Group (a $2.7 billion acquisition completed in 2021 that brought the Secrets, Breathless, Zoëtry, and AMResorts brands into the portfolio), and Dream Hotel Group have dramatically broadened Hyatt’s addressable market and reduced its concentration in the business travel segment. Second, the asset-light transformation — systematically selling owned hotels to capital partners while retaining long-term management or franchise agreements, reducing Hyatt’s capital intensity and freeing resources for brand investment and shareholder returns. Third, the development of the World of Hyatt loyalty programme into one of the most valued platforms in global travel, growing its membership to tens of millions of members and its partnerships with companies including American Express.

His purpose-driven leadership has been equally consequential. He has articulated Hyatt’s purpose — “to care for people so they can be their best” — not as a marketing tagline but as an operational commitment that shapes every hiring decision, every training programme, and every guest interaction. His personal engagement with employee wellbeing, mindfulness, and inclusion has been recognised externally through multiple workplace awards and internally through Hyatt’s consistent recognition as one of the best places to work in the hospitality industry. In February 2026, he was appointed Chairman of the Board — adding the chairmanship to his roles as President and CEO, reflecting the board’s confidence in his integrated leadership.

Leadership Style of Mark Hoplamazian

Hoplamazian leads with a combination of intellectual rigour and genuine human warmth that is unusual in the C-suite of major global companies. He is a passionate advocate for mindfulness, empathy, and the power of genuine human connection — qualities that he does not merely espouse as leadership principles but that he practises visibly, from his participation in Hyatt’s Global Day of Gratitude to his personal advocacy for mental health awareness in the workplace. His description of himself as a “wellbeing advocate and keen believer in the power of mindfulness and empathy” reflects a personal conviction that business performance and human flourishing reinforce rather than contradict each other.

Business Success of Mark Hoplamazian

Hoplamazian’s business record at Hyatt encompasses the IPO in 2009, the systematic expansion of the brand portfolio from a relatively narrow upper-upscale focus to a comprehensive luxury, lifestyle, and wellness offering, the asset-light transformation that has freed billions of dollars of capital, and the growth of World of Hyatt into one of the most commercially significant loyalty programmes in travel. Under his leadership, Hyatt’s market capitalisation, revenue, and managed portfolio have all grown substantially, making it one of the most commercially successful major hotel companies in the world over his tenure.

Net Worth of Mark Hoplamazian

Mark Hoplamazian’s estimated net worth is in the range of $30 million to $70 million, reflecting eighteen-plus years of CEO compensation at Hyatt Hotels Corporation including base salary, annual performance bonuses, and long-term equity incentive awards. Through marriage to Rachel DeYoung Kohler — daughter of Herbert Kohler Jr., the prominent businessman and longtime chairman of Kohler Co., the privately held plumbing and power systems company — he is a member of one of the most significant private business families in the United States, though his own professional wealth is derived from his Hyatt career rather than the Kohler family connection.

Awards and Recognition of Mark Hoplamazian

Hoplamazian was named the 2025 Cornell Hospitality Icon of the Industry by the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration — one of the highest honours in the global hospitality industry. He serves on the Executive Committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the Board of Directors of Brand USA, the Executive Committee of the World Travel & Tourism Council, and the board of directors of VF Corporation. He is a board trustee of the Aspen Institute and the Latin School of Chicago. He is a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council, the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the Discovery Class of the Henry Crown Fellowship. He is a strong advocate for combatting human trafficking, with Hyatt Hotels Foundation committing $500,000 to help launch a trafficking survivor fund.

Personal Background of Mark Hoplamazian

Mark Samuel Hoplamazian was born on 27 November 1963 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, into an Armenian-American family. He attended the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, earned his AB in Economics from Harvard University, and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is married to Rachel DeYoung Kohler — whom he married in 1991 — and the couple have three children. He is based in the Chicago area, home to Hyatt’s global headquarters. He is of Armenian heritage and has maintained a personal connection to the Armenian-American community throughout his career. His personal passions include mindfulness, employee wellbeing, and the anti-trafficking advocacy that has become a signature corporate responsibility commitment of Hyatt under his leadership.

Influence and Legacy of Mark Hoplamazian

Mark Hoplamazian’s legacy at Hyatt is the demonstration that a purpose-driven, people-centred culture can simultaneously be the most powerful competitive differentiator and the most commercially effective business strategy in the luxury hospitality industry. His transformation of Hyatt from a relatively narrowly focused family hotel company to a diversified global luxury and lifestyle hospitality enterprise — while simultaneously building one of the most admired workplace cultures in the industry — represents an integration of commercial ambition and human values that will serve as a model for hospitality leadership for decades. His eighteen-plus year tenure — one of the longest and most commercially successful in major hotel company history — will be his most enduring professional legacy.

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Azerbaijan begins plastic exports to Armenia

Maghakian Mike Leave a comment
Big News Network
July 17 2026

PanArmenian.Net
17th July 2026, 12:04 GMT+11

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan exported plastic construction materials to Armenia for the first time, according to data released by the country’s State Statistics Committee.

In June, Armenia received 1.39 tonnes of plastic construction components with a total declared value of $5,910, Azerbaijani outlet Minval.az reported.

Official figures also show that the total value of Azerbaijani exports to Armenia reached $17.129 million during the first six months of 2026.

By comparison, indirect imports from Armenia to Azerbaijan totaled just $960 over the same period. No goods were shipped from Armenia to Azerbaijan in June.

Source: PanArmenian.Net

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Armenian Government Takes Control of Opposition Leader’s Cement Company Amid F

Emil Lazarian Leave a comment
July 17, 2026

New Delhi: The Armenian government has taken control of a cement company owned by arrested opposition leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, intensifying political tensions in the country. According to the state news agency, the Anti-Corruption Court approved the prosecutor’s petition to transfer Tsarukyan’s shareholding in the company to the government, a move that has sparked fresh political controversy.

Tsarukyan, the 69-year-old billionaire and leader of the pro-Russian Prosperous Armenia Party, was arrested on July 6 on allegations of fraudulently importing goods worth approximately ₹181 crore (US$21 million) from Iran. A court has ordered his detention for two months pending trial. Tsarukyan has denied all allegations, describing the case as politically motivated.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has sought to strengthen Armenia’s ties with Europe in recent years, accused opposition parties during his re-election campaign of attempting to drag the country back into conflict and instability. Following his electoral victory, he pledged to pursue criminal proceedings against opposition leaders and seek the confiscation of assets allegedly acquired through illegal means.

The seizure of the cement company’s shares stems from a lawsuit filed in October 2023, in which prosecutors alleged that Tsarukyan had unlawfully acquired his stake in the company. Based on these allegations, the Anti-Corruption Court has now ordered the transfer of those shares to the Armenian government.

The lawsuit also seeks the confiscation of 36 real estate properties, 42 vehicles, Tsarukyan’s interests in 38 companies, and approximately 108 billion Armenian drams (about ₹810 crore), alleging they represent illegally acquired assets.

Opposition parties and several political analysts have criticised the government’s actions, arguing that legal institutions are being used to target political opponents. The Armenian government, however, maintains that the proceedings are being conducted in accordance with the law as part of its broader campaign against corruption and illicit wealth.

The case comes as Armenia continues efforts to strengthen its relationship with the European Union and advance democratic and governance reforms. While the EU has recently praised the country’s progress on reform and transparency, the latest developments have triggered renewed debate over the rule of law, political competition and judicial independence in Armenia.

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New Odysseus TV Series to Film in Greece and Armenia in Early 2027

Boshkezenian Garik Leave a comment
Greek City Times
July 17 2026

New Odysseus TV Series to Film in Greece and Armenia in Early 2027


A new television adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey is set to begin filming across Greece and Armenia in early 2027, offering a historically grounded retelling of one of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature.

Titled Odysseus, the independent European-American production is separate from Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Odyssey, but arrives as renewed global interest in Homer’s epic continues following the film’s success.

The series aims to present a realistic portrayal of the Bronze Age world, exploring the political intrigue, warfare and human struggles that inspired the legendary tale while examining the events surrounding the collapse of the Bronze Age civilisation.

Produced by Tanweer Productions in Athens, U.S.-based Tectonic, and Armenian-American broadcaster USATV, the project will film on location in both Greece and Armenia. Armenian-American producer Vaagn Sarkissian serves as one of the executive producers.

The creative team brings together industry veterans from several major international productions. Karl Gajdusek, an executive producer on Stranger Things, will serve as showrunner, while acclaimed director Roel Reiné, known for Black Sails, Halo, Wu Assassins and Washington, will direct the series.

Speaking about the project, Gajdusek said the goal is to strip away the fantasy surrounding Homer’s epic and reveal the human story beneath.

“There’s something huge about taking on this epic story in the most grounded and realpolitik way we can,” he said. “We get to meet the Bronze Age flesh-and-blood characters that birthed the spectacle and live with their true story.”

Executive producer Jordan Dykstra said the team has spent nearly five years developing the project with the ambition of creating an authentic portrayal of ancient Hellenic Greece.

“Our desire is to bring audiences an authentic and thrilling portrayal of ancient Hellenic Greece,” he said.

According to the producers, the series could eventually expand into a broader franchise exploring other stories from the Homeric world.

No casting announcements, broadcaster or streaming partner, or release date have yet been confirmed.

The new series joins a long list of adaptations inspired by Homer’s epic, including the 1954 film Ulysses, the acclaimed 1968 European miniseries L’Odissea, NBC’s Emmy-winning 1997 The Odyssey, and the 2013 French series Odysseus. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, is currently screening in cinemas worldwide.

For Greece, the production represents another major international project showcasing the country’s landscapes and ancient heritage on screen, while also bringing renewed attention to the enduring legacy of Homer’s timeless epic.

Source: Deadline


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New Odysseus TV Series Plans Filming in Greece and Armenia

Ophelia Vardapetian Leave a comment
Greek Reporter
July 17, 2026
ByJohn Koutroumpis
July 17, 2026

Producers are working on Odysseus, an independent European-American television series inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, with plans to begin filming in Greece and Armenia in early 2027.

Deadline reported that Athens-based Tanweer Productions is producing the project in partnership with the newly launched US production company Tectonic and the Armenian-American company USATV. The team has spent several years developing the series and hopes to expand it into a broader television universe.

Stranger Things producer joins as showrunner

Karl Gajdusek, an executive producer on the first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, will serve as showrunner. Sean Finegan, Scott Windhauser, Noah Lang, and Blake Hoss wrote the pilot episode.

The creative team plans to offer a visceral and historically grounded interpretation of the world associated with Homer’s epic. Rather than focusing exclusively on gods, monsters, and mythology, the series will explore warfare, political betrayal, seafaring, and the struggle for survival during the Bronze Age.

According to the producers, the story will connect Odysseus’ journey with the wider upheavals that preceded the Bronze Age collapse, a period of disruption that transformed much of the ancient Mediterranean world. “There’s something huge about taking on this epic story in the most grounded and realpolitik way we can,” Gajdusek said in a statement to Deadline.

Gajdusek argued that Homer presented the stages of Odysseus’ journey as metaphorical explorations of the self. However, he added that human realities lie beneath the mythology, including challenging life choices and lives and relationships lost or saved. According to the showrunner, stripping away the story’s embellishments would allow audiences to encounter the flesh-and-blood Bronze Age characters behind the legend.

A historically grounded portrayal of Ancient Greece

In Greek mythology, Odysseus is the legendary king of Ithaca and the central hero of Homer’s Odyssey. Homer portrays him as an exceptionally intelligent, strategic, and cunning leader who spends ten years trying to get home after the decade-long Trojan War.

Jordan Dykstra said the team began developing the series nearly five years ago, with the goal of bringing the story to contemporary audiences through an ongoing television format. “Our desire is to bring to audiences an authentic and thrilling portrayal of ancient Hellenic Greece,” Dykstra said in a statement to Deadline.

The production team aims to film on location in Greece and Armenia in early 2027, although it has not formally confirmed the schedule.

Halo director Roel Reiné to lead Odysseus as producers plan filming in Greece and Armenia

Dutch filmmaker Roel Reiné will direct the series. His previous credits include the historical productions Washington and Black Sails, the Paramount+ science-fiction series Halo, and Netflix’s martial arts drama Wu Assassins.

Executive producers include Vaagn Sarkissian of USATV, Jordan Dykstra, Denisa Juhos, Karl Gajdusek, Sean Finegan, Scott Windhauser, Noah Lang, Blake Hoss, Reiné, and Dionyssis Samiotis of Tanweer Productions.

Development continues, but the team has not announced a cast, broadcaster, streaming partner, or release date.

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Armenian prisoner in Azerbaijan ‘fighting for his life’ as health concerns mo

Boris Nahapetian Leave a comment
OC Media
July 17, 2026

by Arshaluys Barseghyan


The family of an Armenian prisoner held in Azerbaijan, Ludwig Mkrtchyan, has warned that his health had significantly deteriorated whilst in detention amidst a lack of adequate medical care.

Mkrtchyan was captured by Azerbaijan in the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. According to RFE/RL, he was a volunteer fighter.

The concerns were first raised by lawyer Luciana Minassian on Monday, who wrote on X that Mkrtchyan was ‘fighting for his life in Azerbaijani prison’.

She elaborated that he is suffering from severe heart damage, chronic headaches, dizziness, chest pain, and dangerously high blood pressure.

‘This is deliberate medical neglect of a 2020 POW’, Minassian wrote, adding that he has received ‘no real treatment’.

Mkrtchyan was sentenced by an Azerbaijani court to 20 years in 2021 on war crime charges dating back to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. His family maintains that he is innocent.

Mkrtchyan is one of 19 known Armenian prisoners currently held in Azerbaijan, including former military and political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, who were sentenced to extensive time in prison, including life imprisonment.

The last group of Armenian prisoners was released by Azerbaijan in January, when four detainees were returned to Armenia. At least two were in poor physical and psychological conditions.

One of those released in January, 70-year-old Vaghif Khachatryan, was hospitalised the month prior, with his condition described as serious at the time. Another detainee, Lebanese–Armenian Vigen Euljekjian, suffered from multiple health issues, went on hunger strike, and reportedly attempted to take his own life while in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan sentences most former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders to life in prison

Speaking to RFE/RL on Wednesday, Mkrtchyan’s wife, Hranush Shahbazyan, confirmed the reported deterioration in his health, saying he had no medical issues before his capture. Her husband’s voice alone, as Shahbazyan said, reflects how much his condition has worsened, both physically and mentally.

‘Although [the Azerbaijanis] keep telling him that everything is fine, he himself says he’s in very bad shape. Even when he speaks, he struggles badly and becomes short of breath’, she said.

Shahbazyan says that she is only allowed to speak with Mkrtchyan once every 40 days for around 10 minutes at a time.

She further cited her husband as saying that there are no doctors available in prison after 16:004:00 p.m., and that after he recently became seriously ill, he underwent an ECG but was never informed of the results.

‘Now we’re still waiting for them to send his medical records to the European Court [of Human Rights] (ECHR), so that it can get a clearer picture’, she said.

According to RFE/RL, Azerbaijan is required by the ECHR to provide information about the condition of Armenian prisoners. The documents Mkrtchyan’s family received so far indicated that he has serious health problems and that he requires urgent attention.

The Armenian prisoners’ families access to information has become increasingly limited after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspended its operations Azerbaijan in September 2025 after the authorities said it ‘must leave’ the country.

The ICRC’s first and last visit to the Armenian prisoners took place in late December of that year.

Yerevan says release of Armenian prisoners key to ‘genuine reconciliation’ with Baku

According to Mkrtchyan’s wife, he was also in a ‘hopeless, despairing state’ and had grown increasingly doubtful that he would ever return to Armenia. Despite her continuing to encourage him, she herself fears his condition is rapidly worsening and sees a need for immediate action.

She added that since his capture, Mkrtchyan has never had the chance to live in the home they bought in Armenia’s Ararat Province, has missed his daughter’s wedding, and has never met his grandchildren.

‘If there’s peace, then at the very least the humanitarian aspect should be ensured. But I still don’t see that’, Shahbazyan stressed.

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Armenia, Azerbaijan Expand Trade as Constitutional Dispute Delays Peace Treaty

Antranik Varosian Leave a comment
The Media Line
July 17, 2026
The Media Line Staff
07/17/2026

Armenia and Azerbaijan are rebuilding economic ties, including the resumption of Azerbaijani oil product supplies to Armenia, even as a constitutional dispute continues to delay the signing of a comprehensive peace treaty between the two countries. 

Trade and diplomatic contacts have expanded despite the absence of a formal agreement, reflecting what has been described as a “real peace.” At the same time, negotiations on a final treaty remain stalled over Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia first amend its constitution. 

Baku objects to the preamble of Armenia’s constitution, which references a Soviet-era declaration calling for the reunification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan argues that the language amounts to an implicit territorial claim over Azerbaijani sovereign territory and has made its removal a prerequisite for signing a peace accord. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan plans to hold a popular referendum to draft and adopt a revised constitution removing the disputed wording. However, the timetable remains uncertain because Pashinyan’s party does not have the parliamentary majority needed to advance the referendum smoothly. 

The constitutional dispute persists even as relations between the countries continue to improve in other areas. Direct contacts have increased, and practical economic cooperation has resumed, including the restoration of Azerbaijani oil product deliveries to Armenia after years of conflict. 

The disagreement traces back to the long-running dispute over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Decades of conflict culminated in a rapid Azerbaijani offensive in 2023 that dissolved the ethnic Armenian breakaway region and forced more than 100,000 residents to flee. 


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Armenian government approves $14 million in bonuses for state officials

George Mamian Leave a comment
OC Media
July 17, 2026
by Arshaluys Barseghyan

17 July 2026•2 min read

The Armenian government has approved the allocation of almost ֏5 billion ($14 million) in bonuses for state officials for the first half of 2026 under its performance-based evaluation system. The decision, made on Thursday, marks the latest round of performance-based bonuses, which comes amid continued criticism over the government’s lack of transparency in disclosing evaluation results and individual payouts.

According to the government’s rationale, the programme aims to improve the efficiency of the public administration system while supporting the academic and professional development of employees receiving the incentives. Officials are reportedly required to spend 10% of the bonus on professional development.

The system was introduced in 2025 and has since resulted in ministers and other senior officials receiving bonuses worth several thousand dollars each.

The exact amounts paid to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, cabinet members, governors, MPs, and other senior officials typically become known only through annual asset declarations or occasional comments during press briefings, where officials often decline to provide specific figures.

The issue first drew widespread public attention in December 2025, when opposition MPs revealed they had received more than ֏3 million ($7,800), covering their December and January salaries, as well as double holiday bonuses.

The payouts sparked public criticism, with opponents arguing that the government was awarding generous bonuses to officials while pensions remained low and poverty persists.

Kristine Vardanyan, an opposition MP from the Armenia Alliance faction, described the payment as unprecedented during her time in parliament.

Armenian MPs receive double holiday bonuses amounting to almost $3,500

In total, the government allocated ֏3.6 billion ($9.5 million) for bonuses covering the first half of 2025.

According to media reports at the time, the package included bonuses of over ֏12 million ($32,000) for Pashinyan and between ֏6 million to ֏7 million ($16,000–$19,000) some of his cabinet ministers.

Despite the widespread criticism, the second round of bonuses was approved in March, ahead of Armenia’s June parliamentary elections, when the government approved ֏4.6 billion ($12 million) in additional performance bonuses for the second half of 2025.

The payments, which were made from the state reserve fund shortly before the elections, drew sharp criticism from opposition figures and watchdog organisations, some of which described them as a form of ‘political corruption’.

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