Yerevan Denies Reports of Plan to Transfer Village to Georgia in Border Delimi

Liana Toganian
Georgia Today
April 28 2026

Yerevan Denies Reports of Plan to Transfer Village to Georgia in Border Delimitation

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, denied media reports that Yerevan plans to transfer the village of Jiliza to Georgia as part of the border delimitation process.

“Any statement, idea, or ‘information’ suggesting an intention, plan, or agreement to transfer any part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia to another country cannot by true by its very nature,” she stated on Facebook on April 28. “Therefore, as before, we have denied, deny, and will continue to deny any such publications with similar content, on the grounds that they are fabricated,” she added.

The statement followed reports by several media outlets, including in Georgia, on April 27 that Yerevan would transfer the village of Jiliza, located in Armenia’s Lori Province near the border with Georgia, to Tbilisi, after remarks by Nikol Pashinyan earlier that day on the broader process of border demarcation and delimitation with neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Pashinyan, speaking at the event marking the Day of the Border Troops of Armenia’s National Security Service, referred to ongoing border processes, noting progress with Azerbaijan and an agreement on the delimitation and demarcation of a 12-kilometer section of the border.

In that context, he added, “We also have on our agenda the process of finalizing the delimitation of our border with Georgia, and we already have agreements on this with our Georgian partners,” according to the English version of the remarks published by Armenia’s state news agency Armenpress.

Giorgi Tumasyan, a representative of the political initiative “Georgia First” with ethnic Armenian roots, described the media reports claiming the village transfer as “fake news” and “either an accidental or deliberate provocation.”

“This is a classic example of irresponsible journalism, the creation and spread of fake news,” Tumasyan wrote on Facebook, adding, “This is also quite a dangerous thing – talking about negotiations ongoing for decades between two countries on border demarcation-delimitation, [as] there is a commission, and its work and documents are confidential. If you know what is being agreed or not agreed, that is already a problem, because you are not supposed to know it. And no one has said that an agreement has already been reached.”

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Turkish Press: Türkiye, Armenia hold another meeting, seek to restore railway

Christine Harutyunian
Daily Sabah, Turkey
April 28 2026

by Daily Sabah

 ISTANBUL Apr 28, 2026 – 4:01 pm GMT+3

Longtime foes Türkiye and Armenia held another meeting of their joint working group, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The meeting in the eastern Turkish province of Kars was a step toward normalization between the neighbors. The ministry said that the meeting focused on rehabilitation and resumption of the Kars-Gyumri railroad, and sides affirmed that immediate resumption was essential for improving regional transportation connections.

Armenia pursues normalization efforts with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, a process accelerated particularly after Azerbaijan’s victory over Karabakh, a territory occupied by Armenia for years.

Relations began to thaw after the 2020 Karabakh war, with both sides appointing special envoys to pursue normalization talks and negotiating the reopening of their land border. So far, limited agreements have allowed third-country citizens and diplomats to cross, but a full reopening remains elusive.

Renewing relations with Armenia is especially key for Türkiye’s ambitions to serve as part of an economic chain or corridor traversing the region. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasized that in remarks last January. He said the Zangezur Corridor played an important part in normalizing the ties. The corridor is a proposed 43-kilometer (27-mile)route through Armenia that will connect Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan. It is viewed as a key link between the three countries for seamless commercial ties.

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Flat peach ceases to be a niche: Armenian company BellyBella is betting on tas

Emil Lazarian
Seeds, Ukraine
April 28 2026
d Seeds From Apr 28, 2026

In the European peach, nectarine and plum category, the market is increasingly facing not so much a shortage of product as a shortage of reliable and predictable supply. For retail chains, importers and professional buyers, the priorities today are consistency of quality, traceability, shelf-ready formats, manageable shelf life and a supplier’s ability to deliver through the season without disruption, SEEDS reports.  

Traditional production regions are increasingly exposed to frost, excessive rainfall, drought, hail and other weather-related risks that affect not only crop volumes, but also fruit quality, uniformity and market positioning. As a result, the market is beginning to look for new suppliers and new sourcing geographies, especially where natural conditions allow for greater production stability and where the production model itself offers better control over the final outcome.

At the same time, consumer demand within the peach and nectarine category is also changing. Part of that demand is gradually shifting toward fruit perceived as more convenient for everyday consumption, better suited to the healthy snacking format and more adaptable to the premium segment. That is why flat peaches and flat nectarines no longer look like niche exotics. They are increasingly becoming part of a modern fruit format that appeals not only to consumers, but also to retailers, EastFruit writes.

According to the European Commission’s EU Agricultural Outlook 2023–2035, EU peach and nectarine production is expected to decline in the long term due to shrinking acreage and more frequent extreme weather events. The report also highlights another important shift: part of demand in the fruit category is moving toward products that are easier and more convenient to consume. In other words, two trends are gaining strength at the same time, both of which are becoming especially relevant for stone fruit suppliers: the need for greater supply reliability and growing interest in more convenient fruit formats.


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Turkish Press: Türkiye, Armenia stress importance of reopening Kars-Gyumri ra

Ekmekjian Janet
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 28 2026
Türkiye-Armenia Joint Working Group meets in eastern Turkish province of Kars, highlights importance of rail link for regional connectivity
Seyit Şamil Kurt


Türkiye and Armenia have underlined the importance of reopening the Kars-Gyumri railway as soon as possible to enhance regional transport links, following a joint working group meeting, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the Türkiye-Armenia Joint Working Group on the rehabilitation and operationalization of the Kars-Gyumri railway convened in the eastern Turkish province of Kars on Apr. 28.

The meeting was held in line with agreements reached under the normalization process between the two countries, it added.

Both sides emphasized the significance of bringing the railway into operation as soon as possible in order to strengthen regional transport connectivity.


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Laval renames park as Armenian community marks Genocide Remembrance Day

Karagyozian Lena
Laval News, QC, Canada
April 28 2026
By

 Matthew Ralph Daldalian

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April 28, 2026

Hundreds gather for march, monument relocation and ceremony on April 24

A day of remembrance and renewal

Hundreds gathered in Chomedey’s newly renamed parc de l’Espoir on the evening of Friday, April 24.

Laval’s Armenian community marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day with a march, speeches and the official unveiling of a new home for the city’s Armenian Genocide memorial.

The April 24 ceremony also marked the renaming of parc des Coccinelles to parc de l’Espoir, following a March 10 city council decision tied to the relocation of the Armenian Genocide Memorial within the park grounds.

The monument, titled L’Espoir, was created by late Armenian-Canadian sculptor Arto Tchakmakchian. It honours the Armenian men, women and children killed between 1915 and 1923 during the Armenian Genocide, widely recognized as having claimed 1.5 million direct victims.

Events began around 5:30 p.m. outside Laval’s Citizen Relations building on Blvd. Chomedey, where participants carrying Armenian flags walked together toward the newly renamed park. Many speeches and announcements were delivered in Armenian, with portions in French.

As daylight faded and the sky turned orange, families, elders and children formed a wide circle around the monument while music, poetry and community performances continued into the evening.

Monument finds new home

The monument was previously located near the intersection of Hwy. 440 and Blvd. Daniel-Johnson, a site community members had long said lacked visibility and reflective public space.

Sako Yacoubian, president of the Laval Joint Committee for the Armenian Genocide Monument, said community representatives had worked for years to create and later relocate the memorial.

“The committee was formed over 16, 17 years ago,” Yacoubian said. “Representatives from each Armenian church came together, formed a committee and we worked on the monuments.”

He said the original monument opened in October 2013 before discussions began with the city on moving it.

Sako Yacoubian is president of the Laval Joint Committee for the Armenian Genocide Monument. Photo Matthew Daldalian.

“We worked with the city to try to relocate the monuments,” he said. “And finally, they heard our needs.”

Yacoubian said Laval was the natural place for such a monument because of the city’s large Armenian population.

“We’re a 45,000 strong community and the majority live in Laval,” he said. “So, it was important for our people to have a place for our 1.5 million genocide victims.”

Message beyond one community

Speakers repeatedly framed the event not only as remembrance of the past, but as a warning for the future.

Yacoubian said younger generations visiting the park may learn about genocide and the need to prevent future atrocities.

“We want to make sure that the youth acknowledge, remember and also prevent future genocides,” he said.

Herag Herkelian, a previous art historian and Laval resident, said public memorials can help broaden historical understanding.

“I hope that the main takeaway for people who come across this monument would be to learn about it, to learn about the other genocides, to learn to speak up,” Herkelian said.

He added that his hope was visitors leave with “that message of peace, of cooperation, of recognition, restorations and reparations.”

Political leaders attend

Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer, city municipal councillors, Quebec MNAs and federal MPs were among those in attendance.

Those attending politicians included Members of the House of Commons of Canada Fayçal El-Khoury, Annie Koutrakis and Carlos Leitão.

Mayor Boyer told the crowd the gathering showed the strength and permanence of Laval’s Armenian community.

Mayor Stéphane Boyer pictured with Renaud-Coursol district Councillor Seta Topouzian on April 24 2026. Photo Matthew Daldalian.

“When I was on my way here and saw everyone marching, the young people singing, and now seeing so many people here today with flags, I tell myself that the Armenian community is very much alive,” Boyer said.

He said the new site was more fitting for reflection and annual commemorations, while also representing hope.

“That is why we are here today, among other things, to inaugurate the new location of the Monument of Hope,” he said.

Renaud-Coursol district Councillor Seta Topouzian called the park renaming especially meaningful.

“This year, this moment of reflection takes on particular significance in Laval, as the commemorative monument now finally has a dignified and unifying home at Parc de l’Espoir,” she said in a statement to The Laval News.

A community rooted in Laval

For many attendees, the ceremony carried both grief and pride. Children moved between adults holding flags. Hymns and Armenian songs carried through the park. Some stood quietly near the monument while others embraced after speeches.

Herkelian said outside support from political leaders and non-Armenian residents mattered deeply.

“They are all on our side. They’re our allies,” he said. “They understand that this is a bigger issue and not just an Armenian issue.”

Yacoubian said municipal recognition sends an important message.

“We’re an important community within the city,” he said. “This means a lot for us.”

As night settled over Chomedey, the monument’s new setting reflected its purpose that evening, one of mourning and endurance.

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PM Mark Carney invited to join European leaders summit in Armenia

Kalashian Nyrie
CTV News, Canada
April 28 2026
By

AFP

Opens in new window

Published: April 28, 2026 at 10:30AM EDT

Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Armenia this weekend for a summit on European strategic issues amid signs Ottawa is shifting its focus toward bolstering trade and defence ties on the continent.

Carney’s office confirmed the visit hours after it was announced Tuesday by European Council President Antonio Costa on social media.

The prime minister will be in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, from Saturday until Monday for the European Political Community summit that touches on strategic co-operation for the continent’s politics, security and infrastructure.

European leaders launched the twice-annual summits after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They include all EU members as well as others such as Iceland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Montenegro.

Costa wrote that Canada is the first non-European country to take part in the summit and that this highlights joint efforts “to defend peace, shared prosperity and multilateralism.”

Carney’s office said he is attending at the invitation of Costa and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Ottawa is framing the visit as a chance to drum up investment and diversify trade as well as to “meet with European leaders to reinforce collective security and transatlantic defence readiness, while advancing support for Ukraine.”

The prime minister’s news release did not touch on recent history in the Caucasus region, where the former Trudeau government weighed in multiple times on ethnic conflict, often linking its statements with support for the Armenian diaspora in Canada.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada’s government is focused on what we can control,” reads the news release.

Under the Trudeau government, Canada’s special envoy to Europe at the time, Stephane Dion, was tasked with supporting “fragile” democracies in former Soviet states such as Armenia that were trying to move out of Russia’s orbit.

This included support for civil society and work against disinformation, particularly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and ethnic tensions escalated in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The region is globally recognized as part of Azerbaijan that was largely populated by ethnic Armenians, and both Armenia and Azerbaijan fought for control of the area after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When the Ukraine invasion thinned the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region, Azerbaijan blockaded access routes to Nagorno-Karabakh in what human-rights observers compared to a siege. Azerbaijan then launched a military campaign against separatist forces that in 2023 displaced virtually all 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the area.

Canada joined an EU security mission before the mass evacuation of Armenians — which Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time, Bob Rae, said amounted to “ethnic cleansing.” Ottawa opened an embassy in Yerevan in 2023.

Former foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly at one point described the Nagorno-Karabakh region by using the name preferred by secessionists, Artsakh, during a speech to Montreal’s Armenian community, prompting a formal rebuke from Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry.

The Carney government shelved Dion’s role and has instead appointed an envoy focused strictly on economic and security co-operation with the EU, with a mandate that does not touch on democracy in countries on the outer edges of Europe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/pm-mark-carney-invited-to-join-european-leaders-summit-in-armenia/

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Azerbaijan’s Sephardic Jewish community slams Mamdani’s Armenian genocide com

Ani Tigranian
NY Jewish News
April 28 2026

Azerbaijan’s Sephardic Jewish community slams Mamdani’s Armenian genocide comments

Plus, Brad Lander remains mum on buffer bill veto opposed by the Jewish group he founded.

A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

 Mamdani draws ire of Jewish community in Azerbaijan

  • The Sephardic Jewish Community of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s comments marking the 111th anniversary of the Armenian genocide last week.

  • After honoring the Armenians killed in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-16, Mamdani noted on X the more recent clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2023, Azerbaijan took control of the territory and forced more than 100,000 Armenians to flee. Mamdani accused Azerbaijan of “continuing the genocidal campaign that had begun over 100 years prior.”

  • Rabbi Zamir Isayev, a prominent leader representing Azerbaijani Sephardic Jews, responded that the community “strongly rejects” Mamdani’s comments. “Attempts to portray the restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty as ‘genocide’ are false, inflammatory, and harmful to peace,” said Isayev. “At a time when Azerbaijan and Armenia are moving toward long-awaited peace, public officials must speak with accuracy, balance, and responsibility — not revive hostility.”

  • Mamdani’s predecessor in City Hall, Eric Adams, was accused in a federal indictment of accepting bribes from Turkish officials not to address Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. (Turkey is the successor to the Ottoman Empire.) The indictment was dropped under pressure from the Trump administration and the allegations were not proven. Adams never made any proclamations to mark the day.

 Mamdani responds to Jews criticizing his veto of school safety bill

  • Mamdani said he remains “deeply committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers” when he was asked about Jewish criticism of his veto against a bill restricting protests around educational facilities during a press conference on Monday.

  • The veto was panned by major Jewish organizations that have pushed for “buffer zone” legislation to insulate schools and houses of worship from pro-Palestinian protests.

  • “I also believe that as we deliver that public safety, as we show an absolute rejection of antisemitism across the five boroughs, we can also do these things while protecting our fundamental constitutional rights,” said Mamdani. He added that labor union leaders had raised concerns about how the bill could be applied to infringe on free speech at schools along with museums, libraries and hospitals.

  • A special election on Tuesday could give new life to the legislation, our Joseph Strauss reports.  Carl Wilson is one of four candidates vying for the District 3 City Council seat and the only one who says he would vote to override Mamdani’s veto. The bill’s supporters would need to convince four additional Council members to support it, reaching a two-thirds majority of 34, for an override. Wilson’s election would cut that number down to three.

  • “I happen to be a member of the LGBTQ community,” Wilson said at a Shabbat service over the weekend, where he appeared with Jewish Council Speaker Julie Menin. “And if there was a scourge of homophobia, I would want this city to rally around me in the same way that it needs to rally around Jewish New Yorkers right now.”

 Brad Lander stays quiet

  • Mamdani’s Jewish ally Brad Lander has refused to comment on the veto, even as the liberal Jewish group that he co-founded denounced the decision, reports Jewish Insider.

  • Lander has Mamdani’s endorsement in his progressive bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10. He co-founded New York Jewish Agenda, a group that has allied with Mamdani in the past but said it was “disappointed” by the veto and “hoped Mayor Mamdani would recognize that protecting these spaces and preserving civil liberties are not opposing values.”

  • NYJA’s former leader Phylisa Wisdom now heads Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.

 Blakeman’s money in Israel

  • Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, a Jewish, pro-Israel Republican, had investments in the state of Israel along with Canadian Pacific Railway and Exxon Mobil last year, according to tax returns seen by Politico. He did not give any money to charity.

 A conversation about American Jewish family

  • My Jewish Learning will host an online conversation tomorrow with New Yorkers Leon Wieseltier and Nicholas Lemann, the author of “A Search for Home Across Three Centuries,” about his family’s rich history in New Orleans.

https://www.jta.org/2026/04/28/ny/azerbaijans-sephardic-jewish-community-slams-mamdanis-armenian-genocide-comments

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Carney to attend European Political Community summit in Armenia next month

Adrine Hakobian
CBC Canada
April 28 2-26

Carney to become 1st leader from non-European country to take part in summit

Peter Zimonjic 

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been invited to attend next month’s summit ‌of the European Political Community (EPC) in Armenia, European Council President António Costa announced Tuesday.

Carney is one of 48 heads of government or state that will be participating in the event. His engagement as a guest marks the first time a non-European country has taken part in the meetings.

“Europe ⁠and Canada ‌are more than just like-minded partners — together we are building a global alliance ⁠to defend peace, shared prosperity and multilateralism,” Costa wrote on X.

The European Political Community was formed in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It operates similarly to the G20 or the G7 by bringing together countries not only inside the EU but within its political orbit to talk and exchange ideas.

Aside from the 27 EU member states, other countries such as Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine, the Balkan states, the U.K., European microstates like Andorra and Liechtenstein and others will attend the meetings.

The summit being held May 4 and 5 will be co-chaired by Costa and host Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Carney will be in Yerevan, Armenia, from May 2 to 4, where he will use the opportunity to sell Canada as a place to invest in big projects that include critical minerals, energy, defence and other businesses.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is moving ever closer to our European partners and allies,” Carney said in a statement.

“Bound by our shared values, we are advancing co-operation in defence, energy and technology to build a more secure and prosperous future on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Supporting Ukraine, discussing Middle East

The leaders attending the summit are expected to discuss how to co-operate more closely and co-ordinate action when it comes to strengthening democratic resilience as well as economic and energy security.

Also on the agenda at the summit are the latest developments in Ukraine and the impact of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

“Guided by shared values and a commitment to international law and the rules-based international order, this milestone summit between the EU-Armenia will deepen bilateral co-operation as well as mark an important investment in increased peace, connectivity and prosperity in the South Caucasus,” Costa said in a statement.

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Armenia and Azerbaijan embrace peace-through-strength approach

Frangulian Shushan
Eurasianet
April 28 2026

Both countries among top spenders on military in share of GDP terms.

Apr 28, 2026

They may have agreed on a provisional peace agreement last August, but Armenia and Azerbaijan nevertheless each had some of the highest military spending as a share of GDP in the world in 2025, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

Azerbaijan ranked 6th (6.5 percent) and Armenia 7th (6.1 percent) in SIPRI’s Top Ten countries in terms of highest military spending last year. The country with the highest spending on defense was, not surprisingly, Ukraine at 40 percent. Russia (7.5 percent) ranked 4th behind Algeria and Israel. States in the Persian Gulf and Middle East rounded out the Top Ten list. 

Azerbaijan, which completed its reconquest of the long-contested Nagorno-Karabakh territory in 2023, set a country record for military spending in 2025 with a defense budget reaching almost $5 billion. That marked a significant increase from 2024’s defense budget of about $3.8 billion. Military spending this year is projected to be slightly higher than in 2025. 

Armenia also had record-high defense spending in 2025 totaling about $1.7 billion, an approximately 18 percent increase over the previous year’s $1.4 billion budget. The Armenian parliament voted to scale back the defense budget for 2026 to about $1.47 billion, with a large chunk of funding devoted to modernizing the army, based on lessons learned from its decisive defeat in the Second Karabakh War. 

Halting progress has been made on finalizing the peace deal both countries initialed in Washington last August. Armenia will hold parliamentary elections in early June that will likely determine the future course of negotiations, not only concerning a peace treaty but also the development of TRIPP, or the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, envisioned as a key node of the emerging Middle Corridor trade route. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, an ardent proponent of the peace deal, is facing a challenging reelection battle. His electoral opponents are on record as opposing the peace deal.


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Arsen Torosyan sees no purpose for Armenia to make a public issue of the demol

Jagharian Tania
Aysor, Armenia
April 28 2026

Civil Contract Party member Arsen Torosyan has stated that he sees no purpose in Armenia making a public issue of the reported demolition of a church in Stepanakert.

“Let’s say we did it – what would it give to Armenia and the citizens of Armenia?” he said during an appearance on Public Television.

According to him, raising such issues could risk reviving the Karabakh movement.

“They are doing something on their sovereign territory,” Torosyan noted. 

He said that UNESCO can raise this issue, but Armenia cannot. 

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