Armenian Directory & News – Page 352 – Armenian Business Directory & News

The Armenians who stayed in Turkey

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Garnik Tadevosian

· MAY 15, 2026

By Maral Tavitian

Agos

Supported by funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and accompanied by photographer Alexis Pazoumian, I structured my reporting around one question: What does it mean to be an Armenian in Turkey today? I spent hours lost in conversation, absorbing details of my subjects’ lives the way I had taken in my great grandmother’s stories years ago.

Guests at the debut of “The Ones Who Stayed” exhibition in Los Angeles on April 30, 2026. (Photo: Meg Aghamyan)

My great grandmother, Ovsanna, was never alone. Wherever she went, the voices followed her.

The screams visited her late at night, as she crawled into bed, seeking rest.

Whenever she ate spicy food, she said it reminded her of the enemy, how it burned.

Everyday chores could spark a memory that would shoot like a comet to the forefront of her consciousness. She would freeze while peeling potatoes or folding laundry, suddenly back there, in a moment of terror.

For the survivor generation, the past was present in an oppressive, literal way. Like millions of others, my great grandmother carried her grief until the very end, her only consolation being that those of us who came after would never forget.

I adopted the weight of this history the way one might inherit their nose shape or eye color. The stories became part of my genetics, absorbed, second nature.

Unlike my nene, born in a small town between Adana and Marash, I came of age within the sleepy landscape of suburban Los Angeles. Minivans lumbered down wide, manicured boulevards, ferrying children from school to art classes to little league games. Indoor malls were the nucleus of our social lives, places that offered everything we needed to eat, shop, and be entertained before piling back into our cars.

While so much of America looks like this, my hometown was exceptional in two ways––as a bastion of multi-culturalism and the epicenter of the global Armenian diaspora. Armenians from all over the world made homes in this city––a diverse tapestry that reflected the larger character of Los Angeles––and on April 24, we would come together.

On this somber day, businesses shuttered, parents took their children out of school, and all of us flooded the streets to demand justice. Fueled by a cocktail of anger and sorrow, we longed to take our ancestors’ stories out of the darkness.

The struggle for recognition became a fixture of life in the Armenian American diaspora, for which Los Angeles was the capital. While this cause unified us––a layered, multiply displaced population––it also kept us behind.

So suffocated we became by our own history, we forgot to tell our story in the present. Markers of Armenian culture became relics, suspended in time, to be venerated and preserved. For a child three generations removed from catastrophe, fighting against the tides of assimilation, the past can only offer so much in the present.

I craved more, a place where Armenian-ness was not just an ephemeral experience or hyphenated title, but a tangible, daily reality.

This impulse drove me to the Republic of Armenia, the symbolic homeland of all Armenians, a fertile soil in which to plant my identity. Despite the profound sense of belonging I developed in Armenia, my own roots lie outside its borders. One day, I resolved to visit the state that my ancestors were expelled from more than a century ago.

I found myself in Istanbul

Which is how I found myself in Istanbul in June 2025––to meet the ones who stayed.

Before my departure, my diasporan friends and family warned me with grave expressions:

“Don’t speak Armenian in the street.”

“Make sure you trust the person you are meeting with before revealing your name.”

“Remove Armenian symbols from your body.”

So much was my discomfort, I touched down in Istanbul airport feeling like a fugitive or spy, whose cover could be blown at any moment.

Altar boys taking a break from Sunday service at Surp Krikor
Lusavoriç Armenian church on Kınalıada island in June 2025
(Photo: Alexis Pazoumian)

Behind the immigration officer’s heavy eyelids, the same detached gaze I had observed in bureaucrats at border crossings around the world, I looked for signs that he might know I didn’t belong. I tucked my necklace underneath my shirt, the one I never take off, which contains an evil eye, my first initial in Armenian script, and a charm of Tatik Papik, the national monument of Artsakh, gifted to me by friends who lost everything there.

Despite my initial unease, the city enchanted me the way it has for so many––its rolling hills, glittering seascape, and colorful neighborhoods where entire civilizations seemed to come together. Istanbul vibrates on its own frequency, and the Armenian community is an integral part of this symphony.

Like my own community, the Armenians of Istanbul are not a monolith. I interviewed people of myriad ages and professions: prominent intellectuals and Turkophone artisans of the Grand Bazaar, political activists and members of an artistically daring theatre group, even a chef.

Although Armenian spaces often presented themselves discreetly, behind unmarked doors or at the end of narrow alleyways, once inside, a vibrant world revealed itself. In Istanbul, the Western Armenian language remains vital and longstanding traditions take new forms.

While Armenians of the diaspora tend to regard Turkey as a place where we once were, visiting Istanbul shattered that narrative. Loss is undoubtedly a central theme of the Armenian experience, but this community also rests on an equally important legacy of continuous presence.

Informed by the words of Hrant Dink, I named my project The Ones Who Stayed to capture the enduring spirit of an indigenous people. This title guided my approach to the rich archive of photography and interviews that Alexis and I left with. On April 30, after nearly one year of preparation, we unveiled our work in Los Angeles with an exhibition of the same name.

The author, Maral Tavitian, and photographer, Alexis Pazoumian,
at the debut of “The Ones Who Stayed” exhibition
in Los Angeles on April 30, 2026. (Photo: Meg Aghamyan)

In Armenian, the moniker stood even taller: we are here. This firm declaration of place––“we are here”––connected to the essential question that the show posed: If we centered presence rather than absence, vitality over erasure, how would we see ourselves?

Hundreds of people gathered for the debut, overwhelming me with their genuine curiosity about Armenian life in a country associated almost exclusively with dispossession and erasure for those of us in diaspora.

To continue building the project in real time, we invited guests to complete cards with the following prompt: What does “we are here” mean to you? or “What does ‘we are here’ mean to you?”

The sober warnings I had received in preparation for my travel were replaced with expressions of awe and solidarity. Attendees reflected an openness to overcome diasporic baggage associated with present-day Turkey, and to transform the possibilities for those of us who trace our origins to the land.

I dedicated the exhibition to my great grandparents, Ovsanna and Krikor, whose story instilled in me the desire to return. Looking back, I imagine that my nene would have wanted us not only to remember, but to create something new on top of all that tragedy. The Armenians of Istanbul showed me that doing so is possible, despite unimaginable loss. They stayed, and with their presence, they represent a piece of all of us.

(This project was supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s արդ եւս / in view Western Armenian Culture Grant Program. The exhibition was presented by the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, with additional fiscal sponsorship by Los Angeles City Council District 13. The debut event was co-sponsored by the Organization of Istanbul Armenians in Los Angeles.

Maral Tavitian is a journalist from Los Angeles and Managing Director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies).

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CC: How Armenia and Azerbaijan Are Lobbying for Influence in Washington, D.C.

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Garnik Zakarian

· MAY 15, 2026

Gibran Caroline BoyceandDawn Kikel

evnreport.com

In Washington, D.C., Ezra Friedlander, a lobbyist for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, spent the past year trying to make it easier for Baku to get foreign aid from the United States.

He wanted Congress to vote for repealing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, passed almost 25 years ago, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, restricting U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan. While American presidents in both parties have waived the provision citing the need to counter terrorism and ensure security, the law has long been a target of the Baku government.

Throughout 2025, Friedlander, a former staffer for several New York politicians, contacted members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. For his efforts, Azerbaijan pays him $500,000 a year to lobby the U.S. government and curry favor aligned with Baku’s interests.

At the end of 2025, U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a hard-right conservative Republican from Florida, introduced legislation to repeal Section 907. While the bill has not progressed, Friedlander sees the move as an important first step.

The push is just one sign of how related lobbying efforts have changed in America since President Trump took office. Since his re-election, a mix of government, opposition, and diaspora actors tied to Armenia and Azerbaijan have worked with ten lobbyists [First International Resources, Skyline Capitol, Friedlander Group, Stellar Jay Communications, Sovereign Global Solutions, Mercury Public Relations, Teneo, First Channel America, Plurus Strategies, McKeon Group] whose contracts were worth more than $4 million in 2025 alone.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are taking different paths to curry favor. Baku’s lobbying in the U.S. is done mainly through its embassy, its state-owned petroleum industry and its foreign ministry. Armenian-related lobbying is mainly through diaspora groups in the U.S. that are unaffiliated with any governmental groups.

Lobbying efforts by the Armenian diaspora helped pave the way for Vice President J.D. Vance to visit Yerevan, the highest-ranking U.S. official to ever visit the country. Separately, it also led to a March 2025 post on X by then-U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, calling for the release of Armenian prisoners of war held by Azerbaijan.

For the Armenian government, the state-owned Public Television of Armenia filed lobbying statements revealing that it hired First Channel America, Inc. in December 2024 to place advertisements and produce cultural, educational, and entertainment programming in the U.S. for Armenia.

For Azerbaijan, lobbying efforts have included, not just a first step to remove a loathed legal provision, but also a U.S.-backed transit route [TRIPP] aimed at bolstering trade.

Under American law, those who represent foreign governments, government agencies, politicians and political groups are required to register as foreign agents with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Those lobbyists are supposed to declare their goals, their meetings with government officials and how they orchestrate media campaigns for their cause.

The rules are different for diaspora groups that are based in the U.S. and not formally aligned with a government. Instead, they go through a separate process and file lobbying records with Congress.

EVN Report analyzed filings in these two separate repositories to better understand how the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments and their diaspora groups are lobbying the Trump administration.

New Playbook by Armenian Lobbyists Targets Trump Administration Access

To better understand how lobbying has shifted since Trump took office, consider the effort by U.S.-based nonprofit Global ARM, which seeks “a secure future” for Armenia

Tim Jemal, CEO of Global ARM, said that in 2023, leading up to the 2024 presidential campaign, the group hired two separate lobbying firms: Plurus Strategies to engage Democrats, and the McKeon Group, led by Howard “Buck” McKeon, a former California congressman, to engage Republicans. Their vision is to target both Democrats and Republicans across the aisle on Armenian interests, while being able to secure access to the executive branch, regardless of which political party holds power in Washington.

“When the Trump team came in, we monitored the transition closely, who we knew, the mid-tier and senior staff who would be stepping into agencies critical to this issue,” said Adam Raezler, a vice president at the McKeon Group, who works on Armenian issues on behalf of Global ARM.

“We knew we were going to have very strong advocates and friends coming into this administration,” Raezler explained. “Even the vice president, we know he’s a vice president that is guided so deeply on his conviction of his Catholic faith. So we knew that there was going to be a great opportunity to draw that parallel between Armenia being the oldest Christian nation in the world.”

That outreach, Raezler said, had to be carefully calibrated; a similar theme among both government-backed and diaspora-run lobbying groups.

For the embassy of Armenia, their strategy involved hiring Mercury Public Affairs in March 2025, a lobbying firm noted for its close ties with the Trump administration. Among its former lobbyists is Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff. Mercury was hired for $600,000 to advocate for Armenia in Washington. The contract ended in February 2026 and the firm declined to comment.

“Susie Wiles had put an ironclad lock on candidates who were going up for confirmation in Trump’s cabinet — they had to refrain from engaging, not just with lobbyists, but with the industry as a whole,” Raezler said. “We were very mindful and respectful of the guidelines and the parameters that she had put in place.”

Instead, the strategy for Raezler relied on mapping relationships across Washington, D.C.

“We identified who we knew would be going into the Cabinet and worked our knowledge and relationships throughout D.C. This person is going here… we know these folks from Capitol Hill, from the think tank world, from issue advocacy who are close to them,” Raezler said on early administration-hire-likelies. “There’s a chance they could go in, or that these are just the right people to start the conversation with and build it out from there.”

The firm focused heavily on the Trump administration’s transition to office, briefing incoming officials behind the scenes on why the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and Armenian interests should be a priority for the U.S.

“We worked really hard to engage the transition team and the names coming out in that first wave of direct hires and appointments, explaining why this conflict between these two states is critical and needs to be addressed, not just on day one, but during the transition,” Raezler said.

Underlying that strategy, he added, is a belief about how Washington operates.

“We know that relationships are the most valuable currency to have in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We were very fortunate to have very close, long-term relationships with the folks coming in on the Trump team who would be overseeing this part of the world at the State Department and the (National Security Council).”

The offensive strategy is part of a new playbook taken by the Armenian diaspora.

“We had seen over a period of 20 years that the effectiveness of the greater Armenian lobbying effort in D.C. had waned and we felt there was a tremendous need to bridge that gap and form a new organization with a different format and different agenda,” said Global ARM’s Jemal, who noted he has been involved in lobbying efforts for over 30 years.

Lobbying expenditures illustrate the scale of Global ARM’s effort. According to the filings, the nonprofit spent $300,000 on lobbying in 2025 — $160,000 to McKeon and $140,000 to Plurus. In the first quarter of 2026, another $70,000 flowed to the same firms.

Global ARM, based in Southern California where there is a large Armenian diaspora, focuses on strengthening Armenia’s security, fostering economic development and achieving justice for atrocities committed in the South Caucasus. It is not funded by the Armenian government, nor a political entity.

“There’s no specific tie to the Armenian government as far as the organization is concerned,” said Georgette Kerr of the Democrat-leaning lobbying firm, Plurus Strategies. “Global ARM is intentionally founded and structured to be an organization similar to AIPAC.”

AIPAC — the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee — is a powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization.

“I am pro-Armenia, but I am also pro-U.S.,” said Jemal. “We are an American organization. Those two things are sacrosanct.”

Jemal said it’s also important to have contacts with important legislators.

“You have to have access to key decision-makers,” he said. “If you don’t have access as a lobbyist, you have no influence. You have to have influence. You have to deliver a message and a policy platform that resonates with them… Access, influence and messaging all have to go together.”

Over the past year, Jemal said they have met six times with the Trump administration, discussing Armenia’s pivot away from Russia, security cooperation with the Pentagon, the release of prisoners of war in Azerbaijan and economic concerns.

Global ARM has also worked to shape two bills pending in Congress: the Peace Act and the Armenia Security Partnership Act (ASPA).

The Peace Act would tie U.S. support for Azerbaijan to concrete steps toward maintaining peace and the 2025 Armenia-Azerbaijan ceasefire, and help obtain the release of prisoners of war. The ASPA would expand security cooperation between Washington, D.C. and Yerevan, deepening defense ties as Armenia shifts away from Russia and toward the West.

Armenian Lobbyists Highlight Faith As a Strategic Tool in D.C.

Geographically wedged between predominantly Muslim nations, Armenia’s identity has long been shaped by its status, dating back to 301 A.D., as the world’s first Christian nation. Its legacy has helped bind the Armenian national identity to Christianity — a connection that has endured through foreign rule and genocide.

In March 2025, Armenia’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an opposition political group, contracted Jacqueline Halbig von Schleppenbach at the lobbying firm Sovereign Global. She is a Washington-based government relations consultant who previously served in senior roles in the Bush administration and is active in conservative Catholic circles.

FARA filings reveal that she promotes portraying Armenia as a Christian bulwark under threat and the NDA as a political party holding the ideological line of defense. It sees the August 2025 White House deal as a betrayal of Christian allies.

“Armenia is particularly interesting because they were persecuted (by outside actors), but now they’re actually also being persecuted from within… The government itself is repressing the (church),” Halbig von Schleppenbach said.

NDA board member and a former Armenian Ambassador to Canada, Ara Papyan, said the NDA switched to Sovereign Global on the advice of longtime Washington contact and fellow NDA board member, David Gregorian.

He said the firm has close ties to the Department of Defense and the vice president’s office, noting that it is “logical to shift to another group who has closer relations with the new administration.”

In November 2025, Halbig von Schleppenbach organized a Capitol Hill briefing aimed at congressional staff, human rights and international religious freedom advocates, and the Armenian diaspora. According to FARA filings, 35 guests, including Hill staffers, civil society leaders, and religious leaders, attended the meeting.

“Lobbying and communication are the two major things that we do,” Halbig von Schleppenbach said. “One of the objectives has been to educate people on what is happening inside (Armenia).”

She also conducts one-on-one meetings with members of Congress and their staff. Halbig von Schleppenbach notes her team hasn’t pushed forward any specific legislation, but often reaches out to members of Congress when there is a vote that matters.

Armenian groups are not alone in citing religious connections in lobbying efforts.

Friedlander’s information materials include writing to his contacts that, while Azerbaijan is a predominantly Muslim nation, they are inclusive toward their minority religions, and shared how Christmas is celebrated in Azerbaijan. Up to 4% of the Azerbaijani population comprises Christians, Jews and other religious groups.

The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan hired Jacob Kamaras of Stellar Jay Communications for media consulting. That has included placing pro-Israel and pro-Azerbaijan op-eds in a variety of publications, including Israel365, JewishLink, TimesofSanDiego, and JPost

Azerbaijan’s Lobbying in Washington Faces Scrutiny

Azerbaijan’s lobbying efforts have drawn scrutiny. In 2024, federal prosecutors indicted U.S. Representative Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, for allegedly accepting bribes tied to Azerbaijan-linked interests, a case that underscored longstanding concerns about how Baku pursues influence in America.

“Azerbaijan has never had a problem fighting dirty, and by that I mean they seemingly never had a problem pursuing illicit influence in the U.S., and they’ve never really been chastised for it,” said Ben Freeman, Director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

“You have instances like Congressman Henry Cuellar caught up in one of these illicit Azerbaijan schemes,” he said. “The OCCRP investigation into caviar diplomacy was loaded with examples of Azerbaijan doing all sorts of shady things that Azerbaijan itself was never really held to account for.”

Prosecutors alleged that between 2014 and 2021, the Cuellars accepted roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexican bank. According to the indictment, Cuellar used his political position to advance Azerbaijan’s interests by inserting favorable language into legislation and official reports, delivering pro-Azerbaijan speeches on the House floor and attempting to influence U.S. foreign-policy decisions.

The payments were allegedly funneled through shell companies and disguised as consulting contracts. Three Cuellar associates previously pleaded guilty to charges associated with the case, though they are reportedly not being held in prison.

Over a year and a half after the indictments, on Dec. 3, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Cuellar, just as the congressman was preparing to stand trial. Cuellar continues to serve in the House of Representatives.

The case was not the only controversy surrounding Azerbaijan’s influence operations. In 2024, Azerbaijan allegedly asked lobbying firms it was seeking to contract to not file under FARA, which requires foreign governments and their representatives to disclose lobbying activities to the Department of Justice.

“Azerbaijan has this sort of insider influence, much better than Armenia does,” said Freeman. “Armenia has a much more powerful and influential diaspora network that is very active.”

Armenian and Azerbaijani Lobbyists Clash Over Section 907 on Capitol Hill

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan quickly became embroiled in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War — a nearly 35-year conflict that killed tens of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

In 1992, the U.S. began providing economic, humanitarian, military and governmental assistance to former Soviet republics to encourage transitions to market economies and democracy.

Azerbaijan’s blockade of Armenia during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between 1988 and 1994 restricted trade and humanitarian aid, causing massive civilian suffering. In response, Congress passed the law that included Section 907. It barred most U.S. economic, development and security assistance to Azerbaijan, though other post-Soviet states, including Armenia, continued to receive aid.

That restriction changed just months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For more than two decades since then, U.S. presidents from both parties have waived the Section 907 provision in the name of energy security and financing U.S. counterterrorism cooperation. The only time it was not waived was by President Biden in 2024, following Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Global ARM aims to block Luna’s bill to repeal Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which would ease the flow of U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.

Jemal called it “a stupid, terrible bill that should never get the time of day in Congress. An unnecessary bill at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.”

Opposing the bill in a December 16 Facebook post, Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the oldest grassroots Armenian-American organization, called on Luna’s constituents to protest the bill that they viewed as sending “American tax dollars to Azerbaijan’s corrupt and genocidal Aliyev regime.”

ANCA and the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) have for decades played a central role in nudging Washington toward Armenia-aligned policies. In May, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a funding bill for 2027, signaling stronger support for Armenian security against Azerbaijan — including reinforcing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. While still needing Congressional approval, it presents a small win by lobbying organizations like AAA to curry favor in Washington amid tensions in the fate of Section 907.

The fight over Luna’s bill is larger than one piece of legislation. It reflects a broader struggle among groups vying to shape how Washington, D.C. defines stability, accountability and leverage in the South Caucasus, particularly under a Trump administration that has taken an untraditional approach to diplomacy.

“Section 907 is waived every year,” said Chris Stewart of Skyline Capitol, which lobbies on behalf of the Embassy of Azerbaijan. “It puts Azerbaijan under a shadow because they’re a sanctioned country, but (the U.S.) waives it every year. And especially after the signing of the peace agreement, it just feels like the time is now. We were really glad to see (Luna) put that forward.”

Eliminating the provision would mark a major symbolic victory for Baku in a long-running diplomatic struggle in the South Caucasus.

According to FARA filings, Friedlander’s lobbying outreach to repeal Section 907 spans years.

Friedlander told EVN Report that Azerbaijan’s lobbying efforts include underscoring why the country is important to America.

“When we explain to members of Congress the vital role that Azerbaijan plays in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, it gives members a much more precise picture of Azerbaijan’s importance to the United States,” he said.

Friedlander wrote a memo to Luna and other members of Congress, stating that “a permanent repeal of Section 907 is needed to align U.S. foreign policy with current realities and strengthen bilateral relations with Azerbaijan — a key ally in regional stability.”

About a month after Luna introduced the bill in December as its sole sponsor, Friedlander sent at least one email to another member of Congress, hoping for a co-sponsor to support Luna’s effort, according to FARA filings.

Lobbying Shapes U.S.-Backed Armenia-Azerbaijan Transit Deal

On Aug. 8, 2025, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a U.S.-brokered deal at the White House, signaling the first steps toward peace. It includes a number of MOUs and a framework for the Trump Road for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). Although Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to peace in principle, the deal has yet to be finalized.

Sitting together at the long signing table, U.S. President Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev endorsed a peace declaration that gives the U.S. exclusive development rights over a nearly 43-kilometer transit route across Armenia’s Syunik region for up to 99 years.

Under the deal, Armenia will retain sovereignty over the territory, but it will grant exclusive development rights to a joint U.S.-Armenian company to plan, build and operate the transit route connecting mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. The U.S. would hold a controlling stake (74%) and Armenia would own the remaining share (26%).

No U.S. company has publicly secured a TRIPP contract yet. But ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, the same day as the White House deal.

Azerbaijan, a petrostate, has mobilized its own lobbying network to advance its interests involving the TRIPP project. Firms representing Baku have been working to provide members of Congress and administration officials with data, policy briefings and recommendations.

“We’ve worked with a lot of members of Congress and done outreach to the administration, including leadership in the House and Senate,” said Skyline’s Chris Stewart. “We’ve been able to provide them with useful information and we were really glad to see that they’ve taken some action on some of these issues.”

In September 2025, a month after the normalization talks, SOCAR hired a new lobbying firm, First International Resources LLC, based in New Jersey, to “explain to U.S. policymakers and others the strategic role SOCAR plays in a geopolitically important industry.”

Armenians, meanwhile, are adamant that their nation’s sovereignty and security not be diminished.

“Aliyev always looked at Armenia as weaker militarily and economically,” said Raezler. “When we were advising the administration, we knew we had to close that power gap.”

The trade route was initially dubbed the “Zangezur Corridor” by Azerbaijan. Armenian officials and Armenian diaspora groups have long viewed the term as politically loaded, believing it implies Azerbaijani control over a strategic Armenian region.

Jemal and Global ARM encouraged plans for calling it TRIPP, instead of “Zangezur Corridor” — a move the Trump administration was quickly in favor of given President Trump’s desire to hold a legacy of being known as a “peacemaker and unifier,” as he suggests in his second inaugural address.

“Something that is a notable success (for the U.S.) is that this is not, at least as it currently stands, a military engagement by the U.S. at all,” said Artin DerSimonian, a Eurasia research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “Bringing these parties together, securing, hopefully, what will be built as a transit route, but also pipelines and electricity infrastructure, without the U.S. having boots on the ground is an important achievement.”

In addition to peace proposals, Raezler argued that economic leverage is also central to the administration’s approach.

“This is an administration that builds everything off of economics first,” he said, adding that expanded U.S. trade routes through the South Caucasus could serve as a counterweight to Chinese commerce routes if Armenia and Azerbaijan resolve their conflict and TRIPP is implemented.

Taken together, Global ARM, McKeon and Plurus represent a recalibrated diaspora lobbying effort designed, not simply to defend Armenia from legislative setbacks, but to shape U.S. policy.

“We’re in a position as a diaspora organization to advocate for things on the security cooperation front,” said Kerr, noting it’s a space where Armenian interests typically are less prominent.

Global ARM worked closely with Congressmen Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) on the nearly year-long development of the Peace Act, a bill intended to deter renewed violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan as U.S.-backed normalization efforts moved forward.

The legislation focuses on increasing congressional oversight of Azerbaijan’s military actions. But not all Armenian advocates embraced the bill. Some diaspora groups view the measure as too limited, arguing that any breach of peace negotiations should trigger strong, broad penalties.

“(The Peace Act) really showed the lines of division within the Armenian lobbying groups,” said Raezer. “Other groups in the diaspora viewed the Peace Act negatively — they wanted it to solve everything at once.”

Despite divergent viewpoints on the bill, Raezler noted that “the level of support in Congress for violence not being tolerated showcases the enormous success these efforts are having.”

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168: The price of CP’s “expensive” votes. The doors of the state treasury were opened

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Ani Kharatian

May 16, 2026

Before the elections, the political authorities became generous towards the villagers. They are preparing to subsidize the price of purchased milk just a few days before the elections.

“The government will subsidize the price of purchased milk. We will soon implement an indirect subsidy program for the price of milk, the beneficiaries of which will be our citizens engaged in animal husbandry”, said Gevorg Papoyan, who served as the Minister of Economy for the political propaganda of KP.

Even before that, within the framework of the same political propaganda and pre-election campaign, the government decided to subsidize the prices of fertilizer in the amount of up to 3 thousand drams for 1 bag. Earlier, they announced about providing interest-free loans to the peasants through subsidies at the expense of the budget.

If there were no elections, it might seem that we are dealing with a caring government, they take care of the peasants, help and support agriculture. On the one hand, they give interest-free money, on the other hand, through subsidies, they create conditions for the development of agriculture, the production of agricultural products increases, the competitiveness increases, and the incomes of the peasants increase.

But come and see that it is not like that. agriculture does not develop, the production of agricultural products does not increase, and the incomes of the peasants do not increase.

It is so, because with such “aids” the government is not actually trying to solve the problem of agricultural development, but of getting the votes of the peasants in the elections. Otherwise, it is not the first year that the farmers complained about the low prices of milk procurement, but the government did nothing to subsidize the prices of milk procurement and help the peasants.

One month before the elections, they remembered that they should also subsidize milk prices.

It is assumed that this is not a long-term subsidy. After the elections, if a miracle happens and is repeated, they will find a thousand and one reasons to refuse it.

These authorities have long proven that the priority for them is not the state and citizens, but their own government. And what they are doing now, they are doing to keep their power. Whether there will be an increase in pensions, salaries, provision of agricultural loans or subsidies for fertilizer and milk prices, it is done for one purpose, to maintain power.

For years, they did not think about subsidizing milk prices, and as a result, livestock farming was brought to the brink of destruction. Of course, it is not only cattle breeding, the whole agriculture is in a state of paralysis, there has been neither development nor any orderly growth for years. It is not surprising that after only one year of growth, agriculture is in decline again. In the first quarter of this year, a 5.2 percent decline was recorded. Last year’s growth was mainly the result of favorable climatic conditions, not the government’s implemented programs.

From time to time, they announce plans to develop agriculture and support farmers, they talk about billions of financial aid, but the benefits of agriculture are not visible, the acreage is not expanding, the volume of production of agricultural products is not increasing, instead of increasing, the number of livestock is decreasing.

Livestock keeping in Armenia today has become inconvenient and unprofitable. The costs are many, the benefits are few. That is why the number of livestock has been significantly reduced.

In the last 5 years, the number of cattle in Armenia has decreased by almost a quarter. There are many reasons, and one of the main ones was the terribly low prices of milk procurement. The stocking organizations buy milk from the farmer for pennies. Milk has been cheaper than water in Armenia for years.

They haven’t done anything to solve the problem for so many years, they decided to take another populist step before the elections.

If they were really concerned about animal husbandry, especially about the peasant, they would have taken measures a long time ago, and now that branch of agriculture would not be facing such a situation.

Today, the price of beef in Armenia, in the words of Nikol Pashinyan, has set a historical record, reached 4-5 thousand drams, according to official data, it has increased by more than 20 tons in one year. Beef has never been so expensive before. It has become more expensive because there is no meat. Even the existing one does not satisfy the demand.

They reduce the domestic production so that tomorrow they will import it from abroad through their own oligarchs, sell it to the people at high prices and make a lot of money. Importing is both easy and far from unnecessary headaches, so why should they think about organizing local production?

Today, agriculture is still in such difficult conditions, tomorrow both the peasants and agriculture will be in a much worse situation. The efforts of the authorities to establish trade relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, to open the borders, will devastate Armenia’s agriculture. They will deprive the peasant of what he has.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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“This is the plan to swallow Armenia demographically. from the elections

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Aram Torosian

May 16, 2026

During the first week of the pre-election campaign expected in June, Nikol Pashinyan constantly repeats the same sentence while going from region to region: “The Karapetyan-Kocharian-Tsarukian force should not enter the parliament”, he calls them the “triad of war”, he accuses them that “they are trying to make the issue of the return of 300 thousand Azerbaijanis to Armenia the agenda of Armenia”, but he does not mention that there are almost daily rumors from Azerbaijan that “those who left Armenia in the 90s” Azerbaijanis should return to their homes.”

Nikol Pashinyan also announced in Syunik that “Syunik is the regional center of peace”.

Military expert Davit Jamalyan in other words, in world history, apart from Nikol Pashinyan, he does not know of any other character who sacrifices the territories of the country for the sake of preserving his own power. It was for the preservation of that power that he went to the implementation of the TRIPP project, which is the same “Zangezur Corridor”, but to mislead people, it was given a different design and name.

“We are not the owner of this communication, if we try to understand, then the communication of the most important strategic importance of the country is given to someone else, leaving crumbs under it. And instead of all this, what does he get: only power?

If we add to this project the real danger of settling 300 thousand Azerbaijanis in Armenia, then we can say that after at least a decade, the Meghri region will no longer be under Armenian control. Why, because first of all they will try to settle them in the adjacent parts of that “corridor”, they have an eye on those settlements, Nrnadzor is in great danger. therefore, I would consider TRIPP in a larger context.” of 168.am Davit Jamalyan said in a conversation with

He assures that the leaders of Armenia’s enemy countries work very cunningly, they develop psychological and political operations for a long time, they find someone with such qualities who can be cultivated and turned into Nikolpashinians. Now they have worked for decades and found someone for whom there is nothing but their own power.

“The subject of the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis is regularly mentioned by the Azerbaijani side, and it seems that the government has accepted this condition. I want to remind you that the EU observers, allegedly under the name of monitoring the border, inquired in the border villages about how many Azerbaijanis lived in which village at the time, such information was spread.

Now, in many border villages, schools are being closed, and after closing, they are building a new school deeper in the rear. As a result of closing the schools, those villages are empty, then the Turks will be brought and settled in those villages. This is the plan to swallow Armenia demographically, which they are implementing. Naturally, Nikol Pashinyan will not talk about it before the elections, but there is that danger,” stressed Davit Jamalyan.

In this context, the military expert also said that it is important for Iran to remain stable, because it can hinder many plans related to the destruction of Armenia, because it is also dangerous for the borders of its country.

“I am almost certain that Nikol will not be re-elected as a result of these elections, and the new government should diplomatically review TRIPP in order to be able to keep the control of the communications in the RA territory in its hands.

In the opposite case, the Azerbaijani population should enter from Nakhichevan, settle at all control points on that border, this should be axiomatic for the next authorities. To say that TRIPP is the guarantee of the security of Armenia or Syunik means putting our people in the place of a donkey.”– stressed Davit Jamalyan.

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The number and memory of the victims of the 44-day war are not the subject of pre-election trade. Which one?

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Parkev Tvankchian

May 16, 2026

On May 15 168.am– “Important issues related to the 44-day war, which require a military assessment. What should have been done before the election campaign and what should not be done now? article: we published, where we noted that the reasons for our defeat in the 2020 war are not avoided in the internal political struggle by both the authorities and the opposition forces.

The observations here about some episodes are sometimes not quite true, that is, the assessments are purely political. Therefore, as we mentioned, within the permissible limit, the former military leadership of the 44-day military should have publicly answered several key questions in time, that is, there are questions that should be given a military assessment. Timely, because during the pre-election period they can become a reason for political speculation or be used against each other by political opponents. However, the reality showed that during the pre-election campaign, such speculations still happen, moreover, they are used are in order to get votes. In this case, we are talking about the number of victims of the 44-day war and whether or not to publish their names, which we also touched on in our above article.

And almost simultaneously with the publication of our article, NA President Alen Simonyan on Facebook straight air enters and once again mentions the official number of victims.

“Some rogue oppositionists in this pre-election period are trying to increase the number of our martyred heroes in an exaggerated way, and they say: more than 5,000, 6,000-7,000, up to 10,000. I have to say that this number is not true. That number in criminal cases of the 44-day war 3833, of which 78 are civilians, 3755 are military.

This number does not include the number of missing persons, it reaches approximately 160, and we cannot include them in this number for obvious reasons,” explained Alen Simonyan and referring to the request to publish the list of victims of the 44th day, he showed the location of the “Zinapah” foundation and even posted the link, noting that there are relatives and parents of the victims who did not want their names to be published.

We ourselves are not in favor of unjustified increase or decrease in the number of victims, regardless of who does it. But it is for this reason that many demand the official publication of the names of all the victims, especially when, as stated on the website of the “Zinapah” Foundation, we cannot find all the names. This is the first.

Secondly, there are people who have doubts whether they are Artsakh residents or occupied Those who have a passport with the code 070 of the Republic of Artsakh have been included in the published official list. These doubts may be subjective and unfounded, but it is a fact that there was no clear response to this.

Third, In November 2025, NA Speaker Alen Simonyan announced, that: “Died as a result of the 44-day war of 2020 3833 person including 78 civilians and 3755 servicemen”.

But the problem is that at the time it was listed as “unknown 191 the person’s location, including: 172 serviceman and 19 of a civilian”.

And now Alen Simonyan says: “The number of missing persons is approximately 160.”

But in March of this year, RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan answered the question of Garnik Danielyan, deputy of the “Hayastan” faction in the National Assembly: had informed.

“According to official data, we have 195 missing persons, 175 of whom are servicemen, and the rest are civilians.”

Agree that “over 190” and “about 160” paint a different picture.

Yesterday, during his speech in Armavir, Nikol Pashinyan went even further demand from the opposition to prove that their number of 44-day victims is correct, although the government could very easily prove with arguments that the 5,000 number of 44-day victims is wrong.

“They started manipulating the number of victims of the 44-day war. They shoot numbers: 5,000 dead, and so on. I say, if Gagik, Robert, Samvel, and their team members do not justify and prove those numbers, I apologize a thousand times for using this expression, it is necessary to keep the equivalence so that some people do not lose their sense of smell. If Robert Kocharyan, Gago, Samo, Serge do not justify these numbers they used, and they cannot justify them… the people of Armenia will bring them to their knees in the election results for this attitude towards the memory of the martyrs. They must be brought to their knees. I myself, as a tribute, have knelt dozens of times in front of the monuments and memory of our martyrs, but none of them knelt,” Nikol Pashinyan continued.

As a result, Pashinyan makes the opposition’s hypothesis or calculation of the number of victims a subject of electoral trade. Is it moral?

Let’s assume that the opposition forces are also wrong and exaggerate the number (as we mentioned – any such speculation is not welcome), but ultimately the opposition is not responsible for the casualties in the war. In other words, they should not be elected to say the wrong number, but should the authorities directly responsible for the 3,833 victims in the 44-day war be elected a second time?

You will say that there is no war without victims.

In that case, let us remind you that in April 2022, Nikol Pashinyan from the NA podium announced the following:

“Could we have prevented the war that would have left us in this same situation, without the casualties, of course? This same situation with all the questions, all the nuances. There are things that I can’t say publicly now, because that would harm our future negotiations.”

In other words, there was a possibility of not having, for example, 3833 victims, doesn’t this imply responsibility?

By the way, in 2025 նոյեմբերի 19-ին Factor TV-ին տված հարցազրույցում Անդրանիկ Քոչարյանը նշել է. «Ես մի թիվ ասեմ՝ կբավարարի՞ Ձեզ՝ 3987»:

He responded to the rebuttal – where did you get that number from? “And where did the Investigative Commission come from? Everything is written in the report. It is not written with names and surnames, but at any time, since the digitization process is completed, it will be available with names and surnames for those who want it. If I say a number, it means that there is a name behind every number.”

Gegham Manukyan spoke to us later had said that the Investigative Commission, as a summary, gave the general picture of the victims, and that it does not correspond to the figures published by either Andranik Kocharyan or Alen Simonyan. At the moment, it is not known what number is in the report of the Investigative Commission, or whether the existing number has been changed, we will try to find out.

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“Such phenomena undermine our education system, this should have been right

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Kanayan Tamar

May 16, 2026

The other day, Nikol Pashinyan was carrying out his pre-election campaign in Aragatsotn region, where several school principals, teachers participated in the pre-election campaign of the government team together with students. A day later, Nikol Pashinyan speaking about this topic in a briefing with journalists, had said that 4 school principals wrote applications for dismissal, but did not sign the applications, they will not be dismissed de jure.

Dean of the International Scientific and Educational Center of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, an expert in the field of education According to Atom Mkhitaryan, if he evaluates this phenomenon in one sentence, he should say: “education is fashionable”, that is, fashionable education implies using administrative resources to bring all teachers and through them students to the campaign of the ruling party.

“This was half-joking and half-serious, and if more serious, such phenomena undermine our education system, the right of our children to be educated. I am sure that the teachers and principals did not do all this voluntarily, they were prompted, directed and if I do not say, they pressured them to do all this. I don’t think that our people are so enthusiastic that they should stop the school process in order to go to the pre-election campaign of some political sect.” 168.amAtom Mkhitaryan said in a conversation with

According to the expert, those responsible for all this should be punished and it should be a lesson for everyone, that regardless of the political power, such phenomena should not occur in the educational system.

“The Minister of Education and Culture should use the opportunity and warn everyone that the consequences will be inevitable if such cases are repeated, the head of the country should have instructed them to be punished if he is impartial and education is really “fashionable” for him. The law enforcement officers should have immediately taken action after all this, they should have understood how the school process was interrupted and the teachers and students were involved in the campaign, it was made public and had legal and political consequences. “Unfortunately, we have not seen anything like this until now,” Atom Mkhitaryan emphasized.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Education and Culture issued a statement regarding the incident, specifically stating that an investigation will be conducted into the registered cases of participation of schools in the campaign in Aragatsotn marz.

“A number of teachers and students of educational institutions of Aragats and Kuchak villages took part in a political campaign during working hours. The Ministry will initiate a separate investigation to find out the details of the case and apply the consequences prescribed by law in cooperation with the relevant authorized body.

All alarms are also sent by the ministry to law enforcement agencies in order to investigate.

The Ministry emphasizes the depoliticized activities of educational institutions and reaffirms that educational institutions must operate free from political processes, provide an impartial and neutral environment for education, and similar cases are under strict control, and any similar manifestation will be subject to appropriate response and legal consequences,” the Ministry of Education and Culture said. in the announcement.

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Elections in Armenia are not behind the mountains

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Emma Jilavian

May 16, 2026

On April 23 finished submission of registration documents of parties and alliances of parties to the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia to participate in the June 7 parliamentary elections. All necessary documents presented two alliances and 17 parties.

As the election day approaches, the political situation in Armenia is characterized by a significant intensification of the confrontation between the ruling “Civil Agreement” party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the opposition forces. Meanwhile, the government is taking certain measures to maintain the majority in the parliament to ensure.

The 2026 elections will be the first nationwide elections in Armenia after the country’s leadership recognized the Nagorno Karabakh territory as Azerbaijani, which caused a complex socio-political divide in Armenian society.

The interest in the results of the upcoming vote is fully justified by its significance. Armenia is a parliamentary republic headed by a prime minister elected by the parliament. in fact, the head of the government is appointed by the parliamentary majority.

It depends on the results of the elections՞c country will be able to overcome the political clash of the current and former ruling elites, and will continue to do so՞ should Armenia “diversify” its economic model and foreign policy priorities towards the West and Turkey?։ In that case, over time, it is possible to break traditional ties with Russia, which will most likely lead to additional serious economic problems for Armenia and, as a result, impoverishment of the population.

Փաշինյանը, փորձելով ընդլայնել իր ընտրազանգվածը, փաստացի արդեն մեկուկես տարի առաջ քարոզարշավը սկսեց մարզային շրջայցերով, հեծանվաերթերով և այլ միջոցառումներով: To change the situation with the drop rating willingly he is trying to increase his popularity and at the same time threatens with another war, announcing that if he is not elected, it will begin in September. Despite this, polls so far are showing a downward trend in the support of his electorate. Moreover, Political analysts certainly cannot claim that Pashinyan will win, but they are also in no hurry to declare that the opposition will win.:

There’s a lot on the table. And the ruling party uses a multi-level strategy that combines institutional and propaganda tools.՝ including changes to electoral legislation on the eve of elections and pressure on opposition leaders through the legal system.

Armenian political scientists do not rule out the application of the scenario tested in Moldova, rejecting the registration of pro-Russian political forces: For such a refusal in Armenia, it is enough that any of the members of the CEC file a complaint regarding the inconsistency of the submitted documents with the requirements established by the electoral code, and also that the objection be approved by two-thirds of the votes of CEC members. The CEC is headed by Vahagn Hovakimyan, a former member of the CP, a close friend of Pashinyan, who collaborated with him on his family daily “Haykakan Zhamanak”.

in 2022 entered into force The amendments to the EC, in which pre-election political ones were put campaign the new rules. With one such change is planned to that only RA citizens can provide financial support to political forces in the maximum amount of 10 million drams (a little more than 20 thousand US dollars at the time of the entry into force of the change) during 1 year, which is not something outside the norms of universally accepted world practice. But in the same year it became known that the ruling party itself violates that norm։

CP has named 140 “philanthropists” among those financing its activities, 134 of which are members of that party, which is not prohibited. The problem, however, is that the Civilnet news portal is an investigation carried out by establishing contact with many of the mentioned benefactors. 15 of them denied having donated any money for the party’s needs at all, while others avoided answering.։ It is predictableBefore the elections, the relevant authorities will probably look for illegal cash injections, but don’t՞or again only in the opposition camp.

In April, a number of arrests of supporters of “Strong Armenia” were already carried out. On April 14, on charges of violating the ban on charity during the pre-election period (on the birthday of 103-year-old Amalya Abgaryan, a participant in the Great Patriotic War congratulations) two members of the party were arrested. On April 16, during the searches of the party’s office in Artashat was arrested 15 people allegedly in the case of alleged election bribery. It seems that the authorities are trying to create grounds to remove the “Strong Armenia” bloc from the election.

Accepted changes according toIn the EC, the threshold for individual parties to enter parliament has been lowered (from 5 percent to 4 percent), but at the same time, it becomes more difficult to create large alliances that could really compete for power (up to 8 percent for coalitions of three parties and up to 10 percent for alliances with a larger number of participants). This, in fact, makes the creation of broad opposition alliances much more risky and difficult.

On January 23, at the initiative of the ruling party in the EC done change in limiting the possibilities of independent observation and control of elections. The new law prohibits election observation organizations that “publicly campaign” for or against certain forces.:This is a copy of the regulation applied in Moldova, when the pro-government observation mission gets all the opportunities, and on the contrary, the opposition representatives, in fact, can be prohibited from working in the elections. This initiative is directed against a number of non-governmental organizations, which are accused of “biased behavior” in the previous elections.

On April 7, the Armenian Parliament will have a second and final reading accepted Additional amendments to the Electoral Code. The document, which was also drafted by the ruling party’s deputies and was presented in an extraordinary session a day before the discussion, plans to ban the use of names of individuals in the names of parties and pre-election alliances.

Only the representatives of the ruling faction voted for the adoption of the amendments. The Armenian opposition has stated that the amendments are directed against the name of the party alliance “Strong Armenia with Samvel Karapetyan”, which was created by that Armenian businessman living in Russia, who is located under house arrest.

Thus, the Armenian authorities changed the rules of the game just a few days before the acceptance of the documents (April 13).։ Changes in the key provisions of the Electoral Code of Armenia in less than half a year also contradict the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Such changes can be made at least 1 year before the elections, so that the subjects of the electoral process can adapt to the new conditions.: Moreover, the western institutions, which are called to protect democratic values, remain silent on this occasion.

At the same time, the authorities use arrests, searches and criminal proceedings on charges that the opposition and a number of experts consider political motives. In particular, Premier Christian Newsthe writes` In 2025, “Armenia arrested half of its archbishops during a large-scale crackdown on dissent.” in June 2025 were arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the “Holy Struggle” movement, who played a key role in the mass protests of 2024, as well as dozens of his supporters.

They are accused of terrorism, mass riots and trying to seize power. Political scientists associate the persecution of the clergy with both the neutralization of the protest movement and the pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church, which was traditionally an influential institution and in recent years criticized Nikol Pashinyan’s political course.

The attempts of one of the main, if not the main, benefactors of the Armenian Apostolic Church (ARC), Samvel Karapetyan, to come out in support of the church, which allocated large funds for the restoration and renovation of Etchmiadzin, are over with his arrest. To him is an accusation run for public appeals to seize power, and later for tax evasion, money laundering and property theft.

However, Karapetyan’s arrest did not receive the support of the Armenian population. Moreover, as a result, it opened a path for the businessman to big politics, where the “Strong Armenia” party he created became one of the most powerful power centers of the opposition camp.

He continues to be under house arrest, and his company, “Electric Networks of Armenia”, has been nationalized. Court on April 17 for another three months extended Karapetyan’s detention, which, according to the expert community, technically deprives denying him the opportunity to fully participate in the pre-election campaign.

Two mayors of major cities of Armenia who represented the opposition were also arrested. For example, the mayor of Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, V. The criminal case against Ghukasyan was initiated under Article 422 of the RA Code of Criminal Procedure (public calls to seize power, violate territorial integrity, renounce sovereignty, or forcibly overthrow the constitutional order). The opposition believes that it is for statements about the need for an alliance with Russia.

Moreover, the leader of the ruling party uses negative rhetoric towards the opponents. Thus, in general, he labels the opposition forces as a “party of war”, and in his speech in the parliament on April 17, Pashinyan called the potential voters of the opposition named “dog and dog”. This statement raised a wave of indignation on social networks and was evaluated as an insult. The prime minister is also trying to publicly label his political rival, Samvel Karapetyan, as “distributing election bribes”.

Moreover, according to the opposition, the increase in pensions two months before the elections is not a result of systemic reforms, but a direct election bribe of the state budget. account։

At the same time, the experts point out Vague indicators of Pashinyan’s popularity. This is also documented by a Western organization affiliated with the American Council on Foreign Policy sources. “…KP’s popularity has decreased, 2026 the ruling party will face tough competition in the parliamentary elections. The outcome of the vote may determine whether Armenia will return to its previous pro-Russian and pro-Iranian position.”

In response, pro-government political technologists started publish sociological polls that present a picture of the CP party leadership. However, experts and politicians have questioned their reliability, stating that sociology has long been a tool for studying public sentiments in the country. turned into a way to influence them.

However, even these survey results prove that the aggregate rating of the three main opposition forces (“Strong Armenia” bloc, “Prosperous Armenia” bloc and “Armenia” bloc) exceeds the indicator of the ruling party.: The representatives of the opposition claim that the real support of their forces is much higher, and the published data is the result of an order.

It is the electoral insecurity that forces the CP to assure the voters of its unconditional victory։ According to political technologists, such pre-election rhetoric demoralizes undecided voters (of whom there are about 60%) and allows the electorate to believe that the election results are predetermined. This, according to their calculations, should reduce voter turnout, which will only benefit the ruling party։

His electorate goes to the polls in an orderly manner every election, and in the low turnout of supporters of other parties, he ends up in the majority. At the same time, it should be admitted that the ruling party, due to the attraction of administrative resources and the actual monopoly in the country’s information space, seems to be the favorite in the election campaign for now, although this difference cannot be called significant.

In this context, the leaders of the opposition, weighing all the positive and negative aspects, considered that going to the elections with a single list is extremely risky. And if they act separately, the possible ban on the registration of any party or alliance will contribute to increasing the number of votes for other opposition forces. It is unlikely that any party will succeed in winning alone in Armenia, but the sum of the votes of the opposition forces may exceed the percentage that the ruling party can collect.

Currently, the opposition in Armenia is represented by three different structures. arrested businessman Samvel Karapetyan’s “Strong Armenia” alliance (including the “Strong Armenia”, “New Age” and “United Armenians” political forces), the “Armenia” alliance of former president Robert Kocharian (comprising the “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” party, the right-wing “Apr” party) and the “Prosperous Armenia” party of one of the richest entrepreneurs of the republic, Garik Tsarukyan.

In the parliamentary elections to be held in June, the opposition forces intend to come to power in the “Gyumru-2” scenario (to reduce vote polling as much as possible, and then to conclude factional alliances in the already elected body). After the March 30, 2025 local government elections, when the opposition succeeded to unite, the failure of CP in the second city of the republic was a painful lesson for Yerevan. Opponents of Pashinyan hope to create tactical alliances after the elections on this background.

The leader of Armenia bloc, former president Robert Kocharyan stated earlier that the approaches of the opposition in fundamental issues are similar, but he does not see the point in uniting just before the elections.

The opposition party “Mother Armenia” led by Andranik Tevanyan was established in September 2025 on the basis of the alliance of the same name and has a faction in the Yerevan Council of Elders. Tevanyan emphasizes. “The June elections should be approached as a referendum on the preservation of Armenia’s independence and territorial integrity. The future of our country will depend on the voice of every citizen. Staying at home, being passive and disappointed is the same as desertion.”

Samvel Karapetyan “Ohstrong Armenia» the alliance is considered one of the main opposition favorites in the upcoming parliamentary elections. His involvement fundamentally changed the political landscape, tearing it apart «former ones» and: «of those present» the logic of confrontation. New the party filled a niche previously perceived as lacking an alternative. As a result, even those citizens who normally do not participate in elections can show activism.

Paradoxically, the restrictive measures applied to Karapetyan and his supporters can have a double effect։ On the one hand, they objectively make the campaign of one of the most popular opposition forces difficult. On the other hand, they can mobilize oppositional the electorate. Thus, in the middle of April, one of the biggest rallies of recent months took place in Yerevan, which, according to some data, gathered about 40 thousand people.

Karapetyan himself emphasizes on young people, who until then were mostly not involved in active political activities. He focuses attention on solving the problems of economic development of the country, the social problems of the population, trying to avoid as much as possible clarifications on foreign political views, in particular, on geopolitical priorities. Karapetyan’s “5 steps of power” economic in the program One of the key directions was the industrialization of Armenia, with the simultaneous creation of 300,000 quality and well-paid jobs throughout the country.։

The program is aimed at developing the economy, creating real opportunities for business, strengthening family and national values, restoring the reputation of Armenia as a reliable partner, as well as ensuring the rights of the people of Artsakh to live in dignity, restoring faith in the future of young people through the development of the education system, and preserving and protecting the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

And here obviously there is competition between Samvel Karapetyan and Nikol Pashinyan’s programs, which are presented In the doctrine of economic and institutional transformation of Armenia.

In a tense domestic situation, Nikol Pashinyan and his team are trying to get support from abroad. The Prime Minister represents the ruling Communist Party as the only pro-Western force that brings peace to the region, and the opposition as allegedly “pro-Russian agents”. Against the background of these statements, he is trying to get the patronage of the West before the next parliamentary elections.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed unconditional support Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, in Baku are ready to be 100% in solidarity with the position of the Turkish minister։

Kaia Callas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stated directly about the readiness of the EU to intervene in the electoral process. “There are elections in Armenia soon, and what can we do to help them?” They asked for help to fight against the harmful influence. This assistance is similar to what we have provided to Moldova.” He promised to allocate 15 million euros to Armenia to counter “foreign interference in the upcoming elections”. If “as in Moldova”, then it is not interference in the electoral process.

The fact that a hybrid support group is arriving in the country from the European Union also indicates the insecure position of the ruling party and the need for external support power. Undoubtedly, the participants of the summit of the European political community and the first European Union-Armenia summit tried to demonstrate it.

On the eve of the elections to the current government supported also US Vice President JD Vance during his February visit to Armenia.

However, everything is not so clear-cut regarding the “Western approach” to the June 7 elections։ Unlike Western official circles, the Armenian diaspora, which has ties with the governments and parliaments of Western states, often does not support Pashinyan’s foreign and domestic political course.

April 11-12 in the capital of France happened Diaspora Armenian Nationwide Military Movement Congress։ 150 representatives of public associations from both Armenia and 26 countries of the world participated in the event.

The Paris Congress gave its interpretation of the situation in Armenia. The government’s policy towards the Armenian Apostolic Church was severely criticized. There have been many criticisms of the Prime Minister and his refusal to support and advance the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.: Karabakh, of course, is a “traumatic point” for many diaspora activists. They also did not accept the concept of “real Armenia”, which actually separates the current Republic from the large Diaspora.

In addition, the Congress delegates called on all citizens of Armenia, wherever they are, to come to the country and vote in the upcoming elections. “It is necessary to change the anti-national course of the current authorities and establish the national-state course of development,” the statement said.

In contrast to the demonstrative interference in the Armenian elections by Western politicians, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister on April 1, simply hoped expressedpro-Russian forces թույլատրվելու է մասնակցել հանրապետությունում կայանալիք ընտրություններին։

In my opinion, Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow was an attempt to show hesitant voters that the Prime Minister is not disposed against Russia, as he has stated many times. However, in the context of these statements, it was not possible to reach clear agreements, and the known difficulties in relations are preserved. After the public debate with the Russian President, Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk gave clear signals about Russia’s “red lines” in Armenia’s foreign policy and economy.

***

The analysis of expert assessments shows that the opposition’s chances in the 2026 Armenian parliamentary elections are significant, but limited by systemic problems.

On the one hand, the current government approaches the elections with a heavy burden of unresolved issues, from the consequences of military defeat to socio-economic difficulties, which creates objective prerequisites for changing it. The ratings of the ruling party, while remaining high among individual political forces, may not be sufficient for a sure victory.

On the other hand, the opposition is highly fragmented, lacking a unified leader and program, and carries the negative burden of associations with former ruling elites.

Experts agree that the behavior of an undecided and protesting electorate, which makes up a large part of the population, will be a key factor. The geopolitical context (rapprochement with the EU while maintaining historical ties with Russia) and the internal political conflict with the Armenian Apostolic Church add additional uncertainty to the pre-election race.

Alexander Annanand:

Retired Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

interaffairs.ru

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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Onik Gasparyan, what a closed discussion, tell me openly, Ohanyan to you and Niko

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Jane Topchian

May 16, 2026

The campaign of Nikol Pashinyan and CP is completely built on hatred, division of society, falsehood and lies. Nikol Pashinyan is deceiving the public. And in general, his campaign, as if to have supporters in the places, is 95 percent staged. About this 168 TVof Revue said in an interview with the program political scientist Gagik Hambaryanspeaking on the subject of the pre-election campaign of the ruling and opposition forces.

The political scientist emphasizes that the #1 brand of Pashinyan’s campaign, the “peace” he preached, does not exist in reality.

“There is no one to ask what kind of peace we are talking about.” He likes to talk about having a “cadastre certificate” or not. He says: “Armenia does not have a cadastre certificate.” Now I ask a question: Did those who believe in Nikol’s peace ask you once, do you have the “birth certificate” of that peace? From ancient times to the present day, the end result of wars is resolved in one way – a peace treaty. Now the question is: do we have that contract?

What kind of peace are we talking about? The problem is that Nikol is deceiving the public. He is deceiving people with the de facto existing peace, the number 1 beneficiary of which is the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, because if the cease-fire that exists until now on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line is not maintained by the Azerbaijanis, then the number 1 problem will be their beneficiary Nikol Anhol, and that is why they are currently maintaining that peace, but the problem is that the current processes in international relations and the diplomatic sphere show that even de jure concluded the agreements do not insure against new aggression or ambitions of any country,” commented Gagik Hambaryan.

Speaking about Azerbaijan’s obvious territorial ambitions towards Armenia, continuous demands, including Baku’s precondition to change the Constitution of Armenia, their plans to populate Armenia with Azerbaijanis, and the dangers arising from them, Gagik Hambaryan first emphasizes that Nikol Pashinyan, who made “peace” a brand, is now blackmailing the Armenian society, saying that “without me, there will be war”, and if he succeeded in re-establishing his power in Armenia, blackmail will follow. “If we don’t change the Constitution, there won’t be peace”, “If Azerbaijanis don’t come to live in Armenia, there won’t be peace”, and so on.

Gagik Hambaryan warns about impending dangers, noting that Azerbaijan will not be satisfied with so-called “enclaves”. He emphasizes the inadmissibility of Pashinyan’s attempts to equate the rights of the Artsakh Armenians with the somewhat foolish aspirations of the Azerbaijanis, noting that even if Azerbaijan returns the Armenian Artsvashen, the Armenians will not return to Artsvashen under these conditions, because the Azerbaijanis will do everything to make the lives of Armenians there hell.

In this context, the political scientist added that according to international reports, in 1988-89. Azerbaijanis who left Armenia do not have the right to be considered refugees, because most of them sold their property in Armenia and returned to Azerbaijan, and those who left the territory of Soviet Armenia at that time without selling their property received compensation from the budget of the Armenian SSR.

Describing the dangerous prospect of Azerbaijan’s ambitions to conquer Armenia with the methods of the 21st century – “dollar expansion”, methods of creeping conquest, Gagik Hambaryan emphasizes that the only way to prevent this is to not allow the reproduction of Nikol Pashinyan’s power.

«Nicole should not reproduce. That’s it. If Nikol remains in power, all the scenarios I mentioned regarding the Turks will take place in their entirety“, says the political scientist.

Gagik Hambaryan believes that Nikol Pashinyan is a classic “mankurt” in the words of the famous work of Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov. According to the political scientist, Nikol Pashinyan has no shame.

“Nicole is a classic mancourt. Put his speeches before 2020 and put his speeches after the 44 day war. he says completely, 180 degrees completely opposite things, and the problem is that the goal of his childishness is one thing: to keep the power at any cost, because these elections are a matter of life and death for him. He is not fighting a classic political struggle, he is fighting for his life because he knows very well that he has committed so many crimes against the Armenian people and the Republic of Armenia that under no circumstances can he live not only in Armenia, but also abroad, because he is afraid of the new Soghomon Tehlerians.

He himself caused as much harm to the Armenian people as Talaat, Enver, Jemal Pasha, and the crime is not only killing people. the most valuable thing in the world is land, and he, grossly violating the results of the war, gave 4-5 times more land to Azerbaijan than we lost during the war. That is the biggest betrayal. I have never seen such a thing in history, – says Gagik Hambaryan and adds, – This man has no shame. This person, like an orphan, with the booklets, approaches people, violating their personal space. Who allowed himself to film those people as well? No one allowed it. Violating human rights, he boldly tries to advance what he wants, which is abnormal. And as for his campaign in general, I should mention that 95 percent of it is completely staged.”

In connection with the topic of the 44-day war and the loss of Artsakh, Gagik Hambaryan also addresses the mystery of the capture of Shush by the Azeris, reminding that just a month ago, the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan from the podium of the National Assembly accused Nikol Pashinyan and Onik Gasparyan, the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces at that time, for the loss of Artsakh, and five and a half years after the war, we found out for the first time that those two, Nikol Pashinyan and Onik Gasparyan, were responsible for the defense of Artsakh in the southern direction.

“After the 44-day war, another general, Movses Hakobyan, made a very interesting discovery, announcing that after coming to power, Nikol Anhol reduced 5 regiments in that direction, which was an intention to weaken the defense line in that direction.

Movses Hakobyan also pointed out the top secret number: with the top secret order “00038” Nikol Anhogh reduced 5 regiments in that area. In my subjective opinion, he did it on purpose in order to make it easier for the Azerbaijanis to break through the defensive line in that direction, together with Onik Gasparyan.

Onik Gasparyan is so cowardly that he says, “Let’s have a closed discussion in the National Assembly.” Why a closed discussion, Onik Gasparyan? Please tell me clearly, Seyran Ohanyan openly accused you of treason together with Nikol Ankh. What closed discussion? Five and a half years have passed since the war, 2020-23. 5000 boys were killed during this period. By the way, have you noticed how this capitulator gets hysterical after learning the number of 5,000 victims,” commented the political scientist.

In connection with the dispute over the number of victims on the Armenian side in the war, Gagik Hambaryan notes that in 2020-23 during the three wars, as well as in Artsakh in 2023. during the September Azerbaijani aggression, 4915 people were killed and missing due to the episodes of the gasoline warehouse explosion.

Full interview in the video.

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168: For Nikol Pashinyan, what is the law, or what is changing the law? Hakob Bada

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Ani Basmajian

May 16, 2026

Hakob Badalyan writes: “So, the Prime Minister of Armenia actually “distributes” driver’s license according to the logic of de facto election bribery. In order to get the votes of those who have been deprived of driving license, Nikol Pashinyan initiates some option where a person can restore the right without an examination. The law in Armenia requires examination, but for Nikol Pashinyan, what is the law, or what is changing the law?

Let me repeat, we live in a hybrid authoritarianism regime, which in the event of Pashinyan’s victory in the parliamentary elections, will quickly turn into classical authoritarianism.

Moreover, it is not just a question of inclinations. It is only under these conditions that Nikol Pashinyan can smoothly realize everything that constitutes the framework of Azerbaijan’s demands towards Armenia and Nikol Pashinyan’s political commitment to its implementation. Nikol Pashinyan should replace everything with his words in order to be able to fulfill that commitment.”

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Armenpress: Putin to visit China next week

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Ani Basmajian

Russia12:28, 16 May 2026

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China from May 19 to 20 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the Kremlin announced on Saturday.

During the official visit just days after U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, Putin and his Chinese counterpart will discuss current issues in bilateral relations and avenues to further deepen the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between the two countries, according to the Kremlin.

The two leaders will also exchange views on international and regional issues. A joint statement and a number of bilateral documents are expected to be signed.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at
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