On 12 May, Yutaka Aoki, Ambassador of Japan to Armenia, and Natia Natsvlishvili, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia, visited Gegharkunik and Kotayk regions to see on the ground the results of projects implemented with funding from the Government of Japan, UNDP Armenia said in a press release.

The first visit, within the framework of the UNDP “Project for Supporting Basic Infrastructure and Social Integration for Displaced Persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and Host Communities” was Chambarak community, Gegharkunik region, where a reservoir with a useful capacity of 11,000 m³ was constructed. Janik Bazeyan, Deputy Governor of Gegharkunik region, Nvard Vardanyan, Deputy Chairperson of MTAI Water Committee, Ashot Giloyan, Adviser, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and Robert Ohanyan, First Deputy Head of Chambarak community, also took part in the visit.  

It is expected that the reservoir will restore irrigation across up to 200 hectares of land and benefit around 200 households. The community also invested in a new 4.4 km irrigation distribution system, further boosting climate‑resilient agriculture, according to the UNDP.

The officials also learned about hybrid solar energy systems installed in key public facilities in host communities to enhance energy resilience. The 5 kW systems are stationary, while the 2 kW systems are mobile and easy to deploy. Designed to operate both grid-connected and in off-grid modes, these systems ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential services (such as lighting and communications) during power outages. In total, nine systems have been installed in Gegharkunik region (four 2 kW and five 5 kW systems), eight of which serve the Chambarak community: the municipal building (5 kW), Kindergarten No. 3 (5 kW), the medical center (5 kW), the local rescue service unit (5 kW and 2 kW), as well as the summer pastures of Chambarak community (three 2 kW units).

Afterwards, Ambassador Aoki and Natia Natsvlishvili visited Charentsavan community of Kotayk region. Through the Restorative Circles methodology, refugees and host communities across ten communities were engaged in structured conversations to identify priorities and co-design solutions. More than 1,100 participants, nearly half refugees, highlighted the need for safe, inclusive spaces for interaction, creativity, and community life. These ideas are already a reality in five communities, benefiting around 126,000 people, including 984 vulnerable households. 

In Charentsavan community, the high-level guests, accompanied by Hakob Shahgaldyan, Head of Charentsavan community, opened the public space and playground which will strengthen social cohesion and integration processes by bringing people together, contributing to informal social interaction and community ties.

“We are deeply grateful to the Government of Japan for its financial support, which continues to make a tangible difference in the lives of refugees and host communities across Armenia. These results are a powerful example of what effective partnerships can achieve—combining immediate support with long-term, climate‑resilient and socially inclusive solutions. We also highly appreciate the strong cooperation with regional and local authorities, whose leadership and commitment are essential to turning these investments into real improvements on the ground. UNDP remains firmly committed to supporting refugees and host communities by strengthening infrastructure, enhancing energy resilience, and fostering social cohesion,” said Natia Natsvlishvili, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday held a meeting with the Governor of Armavir, Vahram Khachatryan, amid a campaign event of the Civil Contract party across the province.

Governor Khachatryan, during the live broadcast meeting, briefed Pashinyan on the development projects in the province from 2018 to 2026.

Pashinyan and other senior party members then held a meeting with locals in the village of Parakar.

During a subsequent speech, PM Pashinyan said that investment projects worth over 200 million dollars have been carried out in Armavir Province during his administration’s tenure spanning from 2018 until May 1, 2026.

“We have made investments of more than $200 million in Armavir Province through various programs from 2018 until May 1, 2026, and we can clearly and unequivocally see this phenomenon in all regions and all settlements, which gives us grounds to say that the Republic of Armenia is flourishing today in the literal sense of the word,” Pashinyan said.

According to him, these developments have become possible thanks to the work of working citizens and the activities of the government.

“This flourishing is taking place through the work of citizens who work and create results in the Republic of Armenia, as well as through the coordination of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the political majority, and the parliamentary majority,” he noted.

He also referred to programs being implemented in the agriculture sector, emphasizing the development of intensive orchards.

“From 2018 to today, more than 6,000 hectares of intensive orchards have been established in Armavir Province,” Pashinyan said.

He reiterated that water management will be one of the government’s main priorities in the coming years.

“We will definitely follow this path, starting with drip irrigation and continuing with the construction of reservoirs and the introduction of modern water management technologies. Water issues, as we have already said, will be one of our five priorities over the next five years,” he noted.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told voters on Friday that, regardless of the results of the June 7 elections, the people of Armenia will win, since elections are not rigged in the country.

“Regardless of any result, in the upcoming parliamentary elections of the Republic of Armenia, the people will win,” he said at a campaign event for his Civil Contract party in the village of Parakar. “Because the people’s vote will not be falsified, will not be stolen, will not be distorted. I call on the people to go to polling stations on June 7, 2026, and uphold their power, their status as the supreme authority,” Pashinyan said.

He also stated that the main message of the Civil Contract party in the elections is peace.

“In these elections, our number one message, our most important message, is the following: peace has been established in the Republic of Armenia, and our task is to safeguard the peace of the Republic of Armenia. The people must uphold peace,” he noted.

Nineteen political forces are running for parliament in the June 7 elections.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dismissed claims from the Strong Armenia Alliance that 300,000 Azerbaijanis would settle in Armenia if his Civil Contract party is re-elected, calling the allegation a lie with no basis in state policy and accusing those promoting it of acting as foreign agents.

“The tripartite war party has now made up a new lie claiming that if the ‘Civil Contract’ party wins the elections and Pashinyan is re-elected as prime minister, 300,000 Azerbaijanis will return to live in Armenia,” Pashinyan said at a campaign event in Parakar, Armavir, referring to the Strong Armenia Alliance, the Armenia Alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia Party, which he collectively describes as the “tripartite war party.”

“Such an issue has never been on our agenda with Azerbaijan, nor on our broader international agenda. These people are now spending millions of dollars to create and inject this agenda into the political life of the Republic of Armenia. Only foreign spies operate in this way,” said Pashinyan.

Strong Armenia Alliance leader Samvel Karapetyan and other representatives have repeatedly claimed that 300,000 Azerbaijanis would move to live in Armenia if the current government is re-elected, and despite official denials, the alliance has made this narrative a central theme of its election campaign.

Pashinyan has described the Strong Armenia Alliance, led by businessman Samvel Karapetyan, the Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, and the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, as a “tripartite war party” that, in his view, would trigger a new war if it wins the elections on June 7. All three groups have denied these allegations.

The Chairman of the Civil Contract Party Board and Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said the June 7 elections in Armenia are about upholding the peace established with Azerbaijan.

Speaking during a pre-election campaign event in Dalarik, Pashinyan said their main objective in the elections is to preserve that peace.

“For more than two years, we have not had a single victim or injury on the border. Since independence, there has not been a single year without a victim or injury on the border,” he said.

According to Pashinyan, 2025 was the first year in which emigration from Armenia stopped and immigration began.

“In 2025, the number of citizens leaving Armenia was 8,660 fewer than the number of those arriving. Emigration has stopped, and immigration has begun,” he said.

Touching upon pensions, Pashinyan noted that since 2018 the minimum pension has increased from 16,000 drams to 46,000 drams.

“In 2022, we aligned the minimum pension with the minimum food basket. We can say that there is no hungry pensioner in Armenia. Now the pension is 46,000 drams, plus refunds from non-cash transactions. This means that we have effectively tripled the minimum pension in Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan also referred to reforms and new programs implemented in the army, particularly the “Defender of the Fatherland” program.

“Starting in 2025, all students admitted to military academies who graduate, receive an officer’s rank, and serve in the army will receive apartments from the state upon completing their service,” he added.

According to Pashinyan, an additional $6.6 billion has been allocated to Armenia’s state budget since the 2018 revolution.

“The illegal house belonging to the former finance minister has already been sold in the United States, and the process of transferring 70 percent of its value to the Armenian state budget has begun. The house and land plot belonging to former Kotayk governor Karapet Guloyan are no longer his property, but the people’s,” the prime minister said.

He also announced that the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), which is already de facto state property, will soon become de jure state property.

The pre-election campaign for Armenia’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, officially began on May 8 and will continue until June 5. Nineteen political forces, including two alliances and 17 parties, have registered to participate in the elections.

The Civil Court of Yerevan has accepted for proceedings a defamation lawsuit lodged by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia Alliance, according to court documents. 

Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia Alliance is running for parliament in the June 7 elections, last week alleged that Pashinyan had brought “one ton of hallucinogenic mushrooms” from China, which he allegedly uses before every speech, and said the prime minister’s statements should not be taken seriously.

Pashinyan rejected the allegations in a video posted on Facebook. He said on Thursday that he had filed a lawsuit against Karapetyan.

The Armenian PM is asking the court to order Samvel Karapetyan to publicly retract his statement and to pay 6 million drams in compensation for non-pecuniary damage caused by defamation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described relations with Armenia as “close” and “allied,” but at the same time “complex.”

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi after the BRICS ministerial meeting, Lavrov accused the West of attempting to sever what he described as Armenia’s mutually beneficial economic, trade, and investment ties with partner countries of the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Union, warning that Armenia could lose all the advantages of its membership in the bloc.

He said Armenia–Russia ties will be discussed during an upcoming Eurasian Economic Union summit to be held in Kazakhstan later this month. He added that he regretted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would not attend the summit, saying the meeting could have been a good opportunity to discuss all “outstanding issues.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced earlier this week that he will not attend the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit on May 28 in Astana, Kazakhstan, due to the campaigning period in Armenia.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk has once again said that Armenia will eventually have to choose between the EU and its current alliance, the Eurasian Economic Union.

In an interview with the Russian state-run TASS news agency, Overchuk said that Moscow would treat Armenia’s choice with understanding.

“Of course, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said, we will accept any choice of the Armenian people with understanding,” the deputy prime minister said when asked by TASS about Armenia’s closer ties with the West.

He said the Armenian authorities will at some point have to choose either to stay in the Eurasian Economic Union or pursue potential EU membership instead.

“In Armenia, there is talk about the aspiration to move closer to the European Union. We have repeatedly said that membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union is incompatible. This is also very well understood in Armenia, and the country’s leadership has also spoken about the fact that they are incompatible. At some stage, they will have to make that choice, if they decide that they need to make such a choice,” TASS quoted Overchuk as saying.

The Russian deputy prime minister also said that Armenia is an allied state of Russia and that the two countries are united by deep and long-standing friendly ties.

“Moscow has great respect for the Armenian people. Armenia is a very close, allied country for us. It is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The human ties that unite us are very deep and very strong,” Overchuk said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called on Armenia to swiftly choose between the EU and its current alliance, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, responding to Putin’s remarks, said that he previously discussed the matter with the Russian leader. “And I have said that until the moment when there is no need to make a choice—both de jure and de facto—we are not placing such an issue on the agenda,” the Armenian leader said earlier this week.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.55 drams to 368.23 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.78 drams to 428.95 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.0111 drams to 5.0312 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 5.49 drams to 492.77 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 4 drams to 55442 drams.