May 22, 2026
The guest of 168 TV’s “Zara has a question” program is theologian, producer Tovmas Urarakir Arakelyan.
Below are some of the highlights of Tovmas Arakelyan during the program.
It is Satan’s behavior. when the devil met Christ, he spoke exclusively in scriptural lines, quoted quite famous words from the Old Testament and tried to mislead Christ with the Bible itself, using the Bible itself. In the hands of this group, the Bible is another tool, such a tool as the yellow press, such as their administrative levers, their power structures, like a hammer in their hands. Like that hammer, he can shake the Canon Book of the Armenians, having absolutely no idea about that book, he can shake the Bible.
We will be obedient to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. nothing can break loyalty. The apostle Paul said: neither the sword, nor the sword, nor the persecution, nothing can separate us from our lord and savior Jesus Christ.
See how they defile all the councils of the church in their lives. how they defile the marriage council with their own lives and their behavior. Not getting married and then even not getting married, breaking up and making it public. It is a rejection of marriage. I agree that private life is nobody’s business, but they make it public. Moreover, neither of us make anything public, but every time I take out my bed to air it out, shake it, several CP bloggers fall. They are in different folds of our beds. They are also trying to defile the Council of the Liturgy with disorganized clergy and by shortening, discounting, the Council of Ordination, not accepting ordained clergy, the Catholic ordination.
The only reform that they have done to this church during the last year was to remove traitors from our ranks. Christ says: they came from among us, but they were not of us, and it is obvious that they were not of us.
The struggle was never political for me for a moment, I never had any political interest for a moment, and I don’t have it now. I have no personal or financial interest in that political process. For us, and for me personally, this is a problem of the identity of the Motherland, the values of the church. it is not a political problem, it is not a party problem, and I have always said that we are on the battlefield of the homeland and values, in today’s Sardarapat and Avarayr, and the clergy cannot remain indifferent and uninvolved.
CP clerics claimed months ago that no, this is a political issue, and the church should stay out of political issues. I qualify this as value and homeland, they qualify this as politics and party. Those clerics who said it’s just politics, it’s a party issue, go, stand in the CP campaign in secular clothes (by the way, I have to say, disorganized clergy in secular clothes and with incomprehensible women).
The clergyman, being a citizen, can and must speak his word, and these unconstitutional lines that they have included in their pre-election program show that they have lost, that the reformation movement is a defeated, exhausted, worn out movement. There was the line “Father’s call for rest”. what does it mean, the prime minister will call the Catholicos to rest?
People participated in the “renovation” of the church, who during the construction of St. Anne’s Church “not to offer prayers. pray well, we have just arrived” they stood in front of the church with posters and held a rally.
If you could solve the problem in such a way that we would have “the same situation, but without the victims”, we might not know. If we called you a traitor, you would have said: let them call me a traitor, let me be a traitor, let them hang me, but 5000 boys, 4000 boys, 5 boys, 5 young men should not be sacrificed.
Let those people who come in and out go one day and talk outside in such a state, let them go, one day they will grab Aliyev by the arm, say: I am saying something, stop, listen to what I am saying, say: are you going, stop, they will pull Aliyev by the arm, say: wait a minute, I have not finished speaking, stay where you are, listen to me until the end.
We should all go together as one person, together as one heart, one soul, participate in the elections with prayer and wisdom. The most important question today is this, because tomorrow depends on participation in these elections, and on the participation of each of us. You know, a very small percentage participated in the previous elections, and this is devastating for all of us. Do not be lazy, do not despair.
In all our topics, we must have our political prisoners as a focus, and for me, as an Armenian, as a Christian, the person who entered the front line of this campaign for the sake of my church is very acceptable. Whoever is on the right course, they also persecute him. if today Samvel Karapetyan, Reverend Bagrat, Reverend Mikael Srbazan are political prisoners… I am with them.
Regardless of the fact that I also traveled with them, the indicator for me today is who this regime persecuted, even if it is a stranger, I immediately have respect for that person and I start to look for what good deed he is being persecuted for. And I’m never wrong, you know.
It is a very interesting unit of measurement. And in the same way, when I hear something positive from this regime about an artist, a figure, a positive gesture towards that person, I say: look at what compromises, what dark pages this person has in his biography, that by using it, they made a person a slave.
Details in the video
—
168: This is a complete lie. Goebbels would be jealous, we have a little Armenian Saddam
May 22, 2026
168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program It’s Arthur Khachikyan, Ph.D. in political science at Stanford University:
During the program, the EU-EEU relations, the steps of the Armenian authorities and the statements of the representatives of the Russian authorities, as well as the possible consequences and risks, were discussed.
A special reference was made to the topic of the European Political Community Summit in Armenia and Russia’s response to Vladimir Zelensky’s statements.
Special attention was paid to the upcoming elections in Armenia and the possible developments of the internal political situation in the country. In this context, the position of the EU, the undemocratic actions of the Armenian authorities, as well as the existing risks for the future of the country were discussed.
Hayk Derzyan
—
RFE/RL – Election Monitors Decry ‘Forced Attendance’ Of Pashinian Rallies
- Karine Simonian
- Gayane Saribekian
- Shoghik Galstian
Schoolchildren, their teachers and other public sector employees continue to attend Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s campaign rallies during work and school hours in what Armenian election observers see as abuse of power by the ruling Civil Contract party.
RFE/RL correspondents have routinely witnessed their presence at such rallies held in small towns and villages. A community comprising Aparan, a town 55 kilometers north of Yerevan, and surrounding villages is a case in point. Classes in several local schools were cut short when Pashinian visited the area last week.
Scores of their students and teachers attended his rallies there. Akanates (Eyewitness), an independent election-monitoring group, said that they were illegally forced to do so by school principals and local government officials.
Responding to a resulting uproar, Pashinian said on May 14 he has told four principals to tender their resignations and wait for the findings of an “internal inquiry.” The Armenian Ministry of Education has still not reported the findings of that inquiry, leading critics to allege a coverup of the practice prohibited by Armenian law.
The practice seems to be continuing unabated. On Thursday morning, Pashinian was greeted by flag-waving students, schoolteachers and local government officials in Verin Artashat, a village 20 kilometers south of Yerevan. Several of the children told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they were allowed to finish classes early to welcome the prime minister. Others refused to talk on camera.
Pashinian was also greeted by a group of children from a local cultural center who performed folk dances for him. Akanates filed on Friday a lawsuit against the state-owned center’s director and choreographer, accusing them of organizing the show in breach of the Electoral Code.
Deputy Minister of Education Artur Melkonian commented evasively on schoolchildren’s widespread involvement in Pashinian rallies. Meanwhile, Pashinian seems impressed with it.
“I am increasingly starting to call this process a children’s revolution because children in this process are constantly inspiring me and, I’m sure, you and your parents too,” he said.
Akanates has also protested against the presence of public sector employees at Pashinian’s campaign engagements, saying that it is the result of Civil Contract’s abuse of administrative resources.
“They are prohibited from campaigning during working hours or even outside of working hours when they are acting in their official capacity,” said the group’s lawyer, Davit Gyurjian.
Kajayr Nikoghosian, the pro-government mayor of the northern town of Spitak, greeted Pashinian together with his practically entire staff when the premier campaigned there on Tuesday. Nikoghosian’s deputy, Artak Matosian, punched an RFE/RL reporter’s camera when she wondered why he is not at work.
Civil Contract was accused by opposition groups and media of abusing its administrative resources even before the official start of campaigning for the June 7 parliamentary elections. One of the opposition leaders, Arman Tatoyan, publicized late last week purported audios of a college lecturer affiliated with the ruling party ordering her students to attend a Pashinian rally in the town of Armavir.
Tatoyan formally submitted the recordings to prosecutors on Monday. No criminal case has been opened so far.
No Civil Contract members or supporters have been prosecuted on election-related charges to date. Law-enforcement authorities have arrested instead dozens of opposition activists and supporters on charges of buying votes or paying people to attend opposition rallies.
—
Moscow Steps Up Attacks On ‘Dishonest’ Pashinian
Moscow ratcheted up its criticism of Armenia’s leadership on Friday, with State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin saying that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian can no longer “dishonestly” take economic advantage of Russia while pursuing a pro-Western foreign policy.
“According to State Duma deputies, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinian is pursuing an unfriendly policy toward the Russian Federation, cynically exploiting the opportunities our country offers. THIS IS DISHONEST,” Volodin charged in a social media post.
“As I said earlier, we’ve seen all of this in Ukraine,” he said. “Nothing good will come of this … We can no longer remain silent about the processes taking place in Armenia.”
The verbal attack underscored mounting tensions between Moscow and Yerevan ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections slated for June 7. The secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, accused the Armenian government of siding with the European Union against Russia and taking other hostile actions against his country on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Pashinian alleged that the Armenian opposition is infested with “agents” sent by Moscow. He at the same time claimed to have a warm rapport with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledged to refrain from any “drastic action” against Moscow.
“I understand that the number of those who want to provoke a crisis in Armenian-Russian relations is quite large, but as I said, we will not argue with Russia, we will not fight,” Pashinian insisted on Friday. “Russia is a superpower that must be treated with respect, and we treat it with respect.”
Like key members of his political team, Pashinian downplayed the latest upsurge in Russian-Armenian tensions and serious restrictions on the import of Armenian cut flowers announced by Russia’s state agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, on Thursday. He suggested that the restrictions are not politically motivated.
The head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert, warned on Friday of similar curbs on shipments of other Armenian agricultural products to Russia, their main export market. The South Caucasus nation has tariff-free access to the vast market thanks to its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.
Putin told Pashinian on April 1 that the Armenian government’s moves to eventually join the European Union are “not compatible” with Armenia’s continued membership in the Russian-led trade bloc. He said on May 9 that Yerevan should choose between the blocs “as soon as possible.”
Pashinian has effectively rejected that demand, saying that Armenia will continue to strive for eventual EU membership while remaining part of the EEU if he wins the June 7 elections. He has also decided not to attend an EEU summit in Kazakhstan scheduled for May 29. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk was quoted by the TASS news agency as saying on Friday that Pashinian’s boycott of the summit is a “certain signal of how he sets his priorities.”
The growing Russian criticism of Pashinian has also renewed speculation about a surge in the price of Russian natural gas for Armenia, which is currently set well below international levels. Russian officials have called into question that discount, essential for the Armenian economy, in recent weeks.
“There can be no gas price increase because we have a strategic contract [with Russia] that remains in effect,” Pashinian said in this regard.
Volodin hinted at the opposite in his angry social media post.
“We supply gas to Armenia at a quarter of its price, to our own detriment (the price in Armenia is $177.50 per thousand cubic meters, while in Europe it’s $633 per thousand cubic meters),” wrote the Russian lower house speaker. “During these difficult times, we are supporting Armenia’s economy and its citizens. What we get in return is Pashinian’s meanness and dishonesty. This cannot continue.”
—
Karapetian ‘Ready’ For Street Protests
- Astghik Bedevian
Billionaire Samvel Karapetian indicated on Friday that his Strong Armenia alliance and other major opposition groups running in next month’s parliamentary elections stand ready to respond to continuing arrests of their members with street protests.
Dozens and possibly hundreds of Strong Armenia members or supporters have been detained in recent weeks on vote-buying charges rejected by the bloc as politically motivated. Law-enforcement authorities have also clamped down on the two other opposition groups widely regarded as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s main election challengers. They raided on Friday the homes and offices of two key political allies of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian.
Karapetian claimed that the crackdown is the result of “internal upheavals” within Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team.
“They see that they have lost popular support and their only hope is repression,” he told the editors of several independent and pro-opposition media outlets. “But that will not help them at all … When they arrest one person a thousand others take their place. That’s not a problem.”
When asked whether the Armenian opposition could stage massive antigovernment protests in response, he said: “I think that the opposition is ready for all kinds of struggle.”
Karapetian said that his alliance, viewed by observers as the number one opposition force, has avoided staging such protests so far because it believes they would be a waste of time and resources.
“Our main technique right now is to communicate our programs to our people,” said the Russian-Armenian tycoon, who is unable to physically attend Strong Armenia’s nationwide election campaign because of remaining under house arrest on what he sees as politically motivated charges.
Karapetian, who has mainly lived in Russia since the early 1990s, showed no interest in politics until being arrested in June last year right after condemning Pashinian’s efforts to depose the top clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He vowed to set up his own political movement and oust Pashinian in the following weeks.
The 60-year-old tycoon said on Friday that shortly after his arrest the Armenian authorities offered to set him free in return for his pledge not to engage in politics and support the supreme head of the church, Catholicos Garegin II. He said he rejected the offer.
—
RFE/RL – Armenian Opposition Leaders’ Homes, Offices Raided Ahead Of Election
- Naira Bulghadarian
- Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian was accused of intensifying a crackdown on his key election challengers on Friday as law-enforcement authorities searched the homes and offices of two prominent opposition figures allied to Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian.
One of the oppositionists, Martun Grigorian, was targeted the day after welcoming Tsarukian in his hometown of Gyumri and organizing a BHK campaign rally there. The other, Andranik Tevanian, is facing a high treason charge which Pashinian personally announced on the campaign trail on Wednesday. Armenia’s Investigative Committee claimed the following night that Tevanian was recruited by a foreign, presumably Russian, intelligence service two years ago.
According to it, he was paid $622,000 to supply state secrets, including confidential details of a closed-door hearing held in the Armenian parliament in April 2024. Tevanian had resigned from the parliament in August 2023. The committee did not explain how he could have gained access to such information.
The outspoken oppositionist, who is running in the June 7 elections on the BHK ticket and is known for his pro-Russian views, vehemently denied the espionage claims before masked officers of the National Security Service (NSS) raided his office in downtown Yerevan early in the morning. They also broke into his nearby empty apartment to search it. Earlier this week, the Armenia police arrested two individuals on suspicion of trying to burglarize the apartment.
“This is nonsense,” Tevanian told reporters. “Nikol Pashinian, I have presented what kind of treason you yourself have engaged in, and I will not forgive you for what you are doing.”
Under Armenian law, election candidates cannot be prosecuted without the consent of the Central Election Commission (CEC). Prosecutors asked the CEC for such permission later in the day.
Meanwhile, another law-enforcement agency, the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) searched Grigorian’s house and campaign office in Gyumri. The ACC refused to immediately give any details of the criminal proceedings. Grigorian, who is also high on the list of the BHK’s election candidates, said they looked for election-related documents but did not find anything.
“This means that our campaign is paralyzed today,” he told journalists. “This is a way of obstructing, impeding it.”
Investigators already raided Grigorian’s Gymri home and arrested his father and son ahead of a municipal election held in Armenia’s second largest city in April 2025. That did not prevent a local bloc led by Grigorian from defeating the ruling Civil Contract party together with three other opposition groups.
“Nikol Pashinian is turning this election campaign into an overt political vendetta,” said BHK spokeswoman Iveta Tonoyan. “We assess what is happening as a targeted and coordinated attack on our opposition political force and election candidates carried out at the most heated stage of the pre-election processes.”
Earlier this week, Pashinian repeatedly pledged to “bring on their knees” and “take out” Tsarukian and the leaders of two other major opposition forces challenging him in the June 7 elections. He also announced the impending nationalization of Armenia’s largest cement plant belonging to the BHK leader.
—
Israel: KAN Issues Official Apology After Armenian Flag Error During Live Euro
The controversy surrounding the incorrect display of Armenia’s flag during a live Eurovision-related broadcast has now prompted an official response from Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN.
The incident, which immediately drew criticism from viewers and Eurovision fans online, occurred when Armenia was mistakenly shown with the flag of Azerbaijan during a live news segment connected to the Eurovision Song Contest. Given the long-standing political tensions between the two countries, the graphic error quickly became a sensitive issue and sparked widespread reaction on social media.
Following the broadcast, Armenia’s public broadcaster AMPTV reportedly requested official explanations from KAN regarding the incident. The matter soon escalated within the Eurovision community, with many fans demanding clarification from the Israeli broadcaster.
KAN General Director Golan Yochpaz has now responded with an official letter addressed to AMPTV representative Hovhannes Movsisyan, expressing regret over the mistake and stressing that the error was entirely unintentional.
In his statement, Yochpaz wrote:
“I was delighted to meet you at the reception prior to the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for the friendly relations between our organizations, as we both share a vital commitment to the mission of public broadcasting.”
He then directly addressed the controversial broadcast incident:
“Further to our conversation, I wish to address the error made during a recent Kan news broadcast, in which the incorrect flag of your country was displayed.”
According to the letter, KAN’s news division conducted an internal investigation into the matter and concluded that the mistake resulted from an inadvertent graphic error:
“In an investigation conducted by the news division, it was determined that this was a purely graphic error that occurred inadvertently and in good faith. We recognize that such an error should not have occurred, and we sincerely regret any misunderstanding it may have caused.”
Yochpaz closed the statement by reaffirming his respect toward the Armenian broadcaster and its representatives.
Although KAN has described the incident as a technical mistake rather than a deliberate act, the situation once again underlines how closely Eurovision-related broadcasts are monitored by audiences across Europe — especially when national identity and symbolism are involved.
Source: Eurovision News
—
Armenian Union calls for fair representation of Armenians in Syrian People’s A
The Armenian Union Party called for ensuring Armenian representation in the Syrian People’s Assembly, criticizing what it described as the marginalization and exclusion of the Armenian community from the current electoral process despite its longstanding historical presence in Syria. The party stressed that the success of any political process in Syria depends on national partnership and fair representation of all components without exception.
In a statement, the Armenian Union Party expressed deep concern over the ongoing electoral process for the People’s Assembly elections and the committees associated with it, pointing to what it described as the clear marginalization and exclusion of the Armenian community from political participation and representation, despite being an integral and deeply rooted part of Syria’s national fabric.
The statement emphasized that the Armenian community, with its historical and cultural heritage, constitutes a fundamental pillar of Syria’s mosaic society, adding that excluding this community undermines the principles of national justice and negatively affects the legitimacy of the political process and the future of national representation in the country.
The union stated that it is demanding representation for the Armenian community in the People’s Assembly from the governorates of Hasakah, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Damascus, and Aleppo, in a manner reflecting their historical and demographic presence in these regions. It also stressed the right of Armenians to choose their representatives within the two-thirds quota allocated for appointments by interim Prime Minister Ahmed al-Sharaa, considering this a guarantee for achieving fair representation.
The statement also pointed to the absence of Assyrian representation in the current elections, despite Assyrians being among the indigenous components of the Jazira region. The party further rejected what it described as an imbalance in the distribution of electoral seats among Syria’s components, which it said had led to the marginalization of the Kurdish community and other national groups.
The Armenian Union noted that the success of any future electoral or political process in Syria remains dependent on achieving fair and balanced representation for all communities, religions, and sects without exception. It stressed that “the new Syria must be built on the basis of national partnership, respect for diversity, and guaranteeing the political rights of every component in a way that strengthens the country’s unity and stability.”
The party concluded its statement by affirming that recognizing the rights of all components and ensuring their genuine representation is the only path toward building a just and inclusive state capable of embracing all its citizens without discrimination or exclusion.
A-H
ANHA
https://hawarnews.com/en/armenian-union-calls-for-fair-representation-of-armenians-in-syrian-peoples-assembly
—
Armenia launches what appears to be first-ever investigation of Russian-backed
Armenia has launched an investigation into what appears to be the first-ever case of Russian-backed espionage and treason since independence, targeting opposition politician Andranik Tevanyan, a candidate on tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s electoral list for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Tevanyan is accused of being recruited by foreign intelligence services in 2024 and of passing on state secrets in exchange for $622,000.
He is also alleged to have acted under the instructions of a foreign intelligence representative described as the director of the ‘Russia Caucasus’ geopolitical centre. OC Media could not find any publicly available information on the organisation.
According to the Investigative Committee’s statement, Tevanyan ‘illegally’ collected and transferred ‘information containing state secrets — namely, Russian-translated information regarding the course and results of hearings held during a closed, classified session of the parliament in April 2024’.
Following the opening of the case, searches were conducted early on Friday morning at the office of Tevanyan’s Mother Armenia party and at his apartment. Separately, searches were also carried out at the home of MP Martun Grigoryan from the I Have Honour faction, who is also linked to Tsarukyan’s electoral list.
Tevanyan has described the operation as an attempt to obstruct their election campaign. He also rejected the allegations in a Facebook Live, describing the case as ‘fabricated’ and ‘nonsense’.
According to Tevanyan, despite being elected as an MP from the Armenia Alliance faction in 2021, he stepped down in 2023, noting that he ‘physically’ could not have attended such a parliamentary session.
‘If you read the statement carefully, you will see the word ILLEGALLY. In other words, during 2024, the person illegally collected information containing state secrets. That circumstance is also the subject of the investigation’, the Armenian Investigative Committee elaborated in response.
On Friday evening, the Central Electoral Commission is set to discuss the prosecutor’s motion to initiate criminal prosecution against Tevanyan. If convicted of espionage or high treason, he faces a potential life sentence.
Shooting or Tsarukyan’s lion’s cage?
The allegations against Tevanyan, as well as an upcoming report from the National Security Service (NSS), were first announced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday, while campaigning in Armenia’s third-largest city, Vanadzor.
At the same time, Pashinyan, who dubbed his Civil Contract’s main political opponents the alliances and parties led by Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, ex-President Robert Kocharyan, and Tsarukyan a ‘three-headed war party’, suggested they could instead be ‘rebranded’ a ‘three-headed party of espionage’.
Two days later, on Friday, Pashinyan noted in a press briefing that Armenia and Russia had an agreement not to engage in espionage activities on each other’s territory, and that it would be made clear during the investigation if the contract had been violated.
He further argued that suspected espionage cases should not be handled through immediate arrests but through prolonged monitoring to map networks and contacts, including which electoral list the person ended up in, ‘from whom that party leader receives orders’, whether they fulfill such orders or not.
Pashinyan also raised the possibility that Tevanyan’s case could be linked to broader dynamics involving Tsarukyan’s family, including the wanted status of his son, Nver Tsarukyan.
Nver Tsarukyan is wanted in Armenia over a 2024 shooting incident and has reportedly remained abroad since travelling to Belarus and Russia on what he described as a ‘business trip’.
Earlier in May, Pashinyan vowed to ‘drag [Tsarukyan’s] son back from Belarus by the scruff of his neck and bring him to justice’.
‘We need to understand whether they influenced [Tsarukyan] through that son factor or not, whether he is voluntarily serving against his own country’s interests, or whether he has some business interests, and so on’, Pashinyan said on Friday.
‘If they declare that Tsarukyan is a spy, let them shoot me, I will write the relevant paper on my own free will. If not, the one who expresses it must come, enter my lion’s cage, of their own free will’, Tsarukyan had said the day prior.
The case against Tevanyan is the first to emerge since Pashinyan claimed in April that the authorities had compiled a ‘thick file’ of individuals allegedly acting in line with foreign agendas. At the time, Pashinyan said some political figures were ‘walking along the edge’ of espionage.
‘Once they cross it, there will be a response’, Pashinyan said.
—
The upcoming Armenian election will decide the future direction of the country
This commentary was prepared by Mr Anri Stepanyan for the seventh issue of the Armenia Election Monitor 2026.
The upcoming elections that the Republic of Armenia will be facing next month will likely be one of the most decisive political moments for the country in the past decade. Ever since the Velvet Revolution in 2018, the country has undergone numerous internal and external processes that have significantly impacted its stance in the region, in the international arena, and the lives of its citizens. Much of this has been due to the change of regime in 2018, from the old-fashioned conservatives to the current ruling party and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who are commonly framed as “pro-Western”. The importance of the upcoming elections lies in the fundamentally different approaches of these two sides regarding the direction in which they want to steer Armenia.
The background:
The conservative bloc mainly consists of two parties, each associated with a different oligarch: Samvel Karapetyan of Strong Armenia and Robert Kocharyan of the Armenia Alliance. Both are in favor of continued alliance and cooperation with Russia, both reportedly receive Moscow’s support in the upcoming elections, and both made their fortunes through trade or business ties with Russia.
To this day, Russia remains one of Armenia’s largest trading partners, supplying most of Armenia’s wheat, natural gas, and a significant share of its petroleum products. Armenia exports to Russia alcohol, agricultural products, and, in recent years, has also served as a transit and re-export hub for certain Western-manufactured goods following sanctions imposed on Russia after 2022. All of this provides Armenia with a relatively stable income and stable prices for petroleum and food. Such co-operation is not surprising considering that both countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Trade Zone.
Furthermore, the economy is not the only leverage Russia holds over Armenia. Moscow provided Yerevan with military equipment throughout the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It also established a military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh with the official reason stating: “it is necessary for the protection of the ethnic Armenians living there”. However, this security framework collapsed during the final conflict in September 2023, resulting in the involuntary displacement of approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians from Karabakh to Armenia. This has led to an increased level of mistrust in Armenia, as Russia did not intervene to support it during the conflict, despite commitments to do so.
Despite this, both countries remain members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which continues to impact Armenia’s internal political landscape and Russia’s influence in the country, especially considering the continued existence of a Russian military base near Armenia’s second-largest city, Gyumri. All of this continues to provide Moscow with significant leverage in its bilateral relations with Armenia, making it possible to spread the Russian agenda within Armenian society and influence the country’s political direction as part of broader hybrid tactics.
The current ruling party of Nikol Pashinyan, Civil Contract, has taken a different approach. Instead of predominantly relying on Russia as previous governments did, they are attempting to diversify Armenia’s external relations and political partnerships. Over the past few years, Armenia has achieved its first major non-Russian bilateral military deal through the acquisition of Indian military technology beginning in 2022. The government has also established stronger ties with the European Union, particularly following the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2017. EU–Armenia relations have increasingly deepened politically and institutionally, with both sides expressing a strong commitment to closer cooperation.
This process accelerated in 2024–2025, as the European Parliament acknowledged Armenia’s potential eligibility for EU membership, while domestic support for European integration grew through public initiatives and legislative action. This was followed by the formal endorsement of the goal of EU accession through the adoption of the EU Integration Act, demonstrating the government’s strategic shift toward closer alignment with the European Union despite pressure from Russia.
The government also managed to secure a regional connectivity agreement together with Azerbaijan, backed by the United States, through the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) initiative. The project aims to create a transport route through Armenia’s southern Syunik region connecting mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, which could positively impact regional connectivity, trade potential, and Armenian–Azerbaijani relations after more than three decades of conflict. According to their official statements and agenda, Pashinyan’s party has pursued these initiatives in order to create a more diverse and peaceful political environment for the country.
The electoral methods and campaigns:
Both conservative factions are using relatively similar methods in their campaigns, which can broadly be divided into three categories. The first is the “blame game”, where they frame Nikol Pashinyan as a traitor to the Armenian people who not only lost the war in 2020 but also betrayed the Armenians of Karabakh in 2023 by refusing to re-enter the conflict.
The second aspect is the utilization of their assets both within the country and abroad. One example is the alleged purchasing of votes through distributing funds to ethnic Armenians living in Russia and Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region, where there is a large Armenian population. The criteria are relatively simple: the individual must possess dual citizenship, one of which is Armenian citizenship. On election day, they are transported to Armenia to vote for one of the opposition parties, with the aim of steering the elections in the opposition’s favor.
Finally, there is the spread of fear. As mentioned previously, Pashinyan is viewed by many as a pro-Western leader. The conservative narrative suggests that the West is not a trustworthy ally and would not support Armenia in the event of future armed conflict, unlike Russia, which they portray as a historical ally and neighbor. These narratives strongly align with the broader information flow within Russia itself.
Pashinyan’s own campaign strategy remains somewhat unclear. He appears to be taking a more grounded, door-to-door approach, presenting himself as a man of the people. However, this currently faces significant backlash from parts of society. Many continue to view him negatively because of the events mentioned above, particularly the outcome of the Karabakh conflicts and the arrival of approximately 120,000 displaced Armenians from Karabakh, many of whom hold strong anti-Pashinyan sentiments. Additionally, his official statements regarding Karabakh — framing the conflict as an unwise and ultimately suicidal war — remain deeply controversial within Armenian society. He has stated that the war should never have started in the first place. Unsurprisingly, this remains an extremely sensitive topic within society, as the wounds of more than three decades of conflict are still fresh, and many people have lost family members, friends, or loved ones in the war.
Possible outcomes:
Briefly discussing the potential outcomes of the upcoming elections, in the case of a Civil Contract victory, Armenia will likely continue its current course of diversifying its international relations and establishing new partnerships with both Western and Eastern actors, resulting in the country moving further away from Russian influence.
In the case of a conservative victory, there is a strong possibility that many of the initiatives and achievements of Pashinyan’s government over the past eight years could be reversed, bringing Armenia back into a stronger Russian sphere of influence. There is also a potential risk of renewed conflict over the Karabakh issue, as such instability would likely continue to serve as a powerful instrument of leverage for Russia over both the Armenian state and society.
Source: Mr Anri Stepanyan is a graduate of the Advanced Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University and a Research Assistant at PMMG, focusing on geopolitical analysis, political forecasting, and qualitative research in international affairs. Check out PMMG here.
—