Sustainable Peace Between Azerbaijan And Armenia Will Contribute To Greater Pr

Badalian Vardan
MENAFN
April 21 2026
(MENAFN– Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan April 21. Sustainable peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia will contribute to a greater predictability in the South Caucasus, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Ferit Hoxha said in an exclusive interview with Trend on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

“First of all, we are happy that peace has prevailed. So, in this respect, any credible progress in strengthening long-term peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a positive development, as it strengthens stability and development in a region known for its strategic importance for energy, connectivity, and broader European security. Sustainable peace will contribute to greater regional predictability, improve the climate for cooperation, and strengthen connectivity corridors between Europe and the wider Eurasian space.

It is therefore essential that this progress be consolidated through the full and consistent implementation of the agreements reached. Lasting peace requires not only political commitment at the highest level, but also sustained efforts to build trust, ensure transparency, and establish effective mechanisms for dispute resolution and regional cooperation. Without these elements, progress risks remaining fragile and reversible,” he noted.

Hoxha pointed out that from the Albanian viewpoint, stability in the Caucasus carries implications that extend well beyond the region itself.

“It is closely linked to Europe’s energy diversification efforts, the resilience of key transport and trade routes, and the broader security architecture of the continent. In this context, peace in the Caucasus should be understood not only as a regional objective, but as a strategic contribution to Europe’s overall stability, resilience, and long-term prosperity,” the Albanian minister added.

On August 8, 2025, following a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration on ensuring peace between Baku and Yerevan and establishing transport links between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. This project is called “Trump’s Route to International Peace and Prosperity.”

During the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan initialed the draft “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia” and signed a joint appeal by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office (on the closure of the OSCE Minsk Process, Personal Representative OSCE Chairman-in-Office on the conflict discussed by the Minsk Conference, and High-level Planning Groups).

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Yerevan says Azerbaijan hindering normalisation with Turkey

Eduard Nalbandian
OC Media
April 21 2026

Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan has said that the continued closure of the Armenia–Turkey land border has been influenced by Azerbaijan ‘through its lobbying and influence’ in Turkey.

Speaking to Armenian media in Istanbul on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, Simonyan claimed that Azerbaijan was preventing Turkey from negotiating with Armenia.

‘On the one hand, [Azerbaijan] is negotiating with us, and on the other hand, it is not allowing Turkey to negotiate with us. This is a strange situation. Turkey seems to be a prisoner of these relations’, Simonyan said, according to Agos.

Asked if Ankara was waiting for the outcome of Armenia’s June parliamentary election before going into deeper talks with Yerevan, Simonyan said that he was unsure.

‘Initially, it was said that the border would not be opened until the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was resolved. Then they declared that the Karabakh issue was resolved. Then they brought up the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement. We negotiated the agreement; it was a difficult and lengthy process, but we agreed on 17 points, met to initial it, shook hands, and it still didn’t work out’, Simonyan said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan initialled the peace deal in Washington in August 2025 after agreeing on the text in March of that year. It remains unsigned, with Azerbaijan pushing for amendments to the Armenian Constitution, claiming it contained territorial claims against it.

Although Armenia has officially expressed its intention to change the constitution, it insists that it would not be doing so based on Azerbaijan’s demands. Yerevan declared its intention to hold a referendum on a new constitution after the parliamentary elections.

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

‘When I speak with my Turkish colleagues, I realise that they don’t have much to say either; there are no discussions’, Simonyan said.

He further expressed belief that ‘in the near future we will see the border opened and diplomatic relations established’. Simonyan also added that ‘everything has been done on both sides’.

This year, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Special Envoy Ruben Rubinyan sat out the Antalya Diplomacy Forum taking place 17–19 April, in which they have participated since 2022. Instead, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan attended the forum.

The Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on the decision to send a lower level delegation. In the scope of the forum, previously, the normalisation process was discussed between Armenia and Turkey.

‘We made this diplomatic decision’, Simonyan commented on Mirzoyan and Rubinyan’s absence, according to Agos.

According to Nor Marmara, Simonathan further added that the ball was in the court of Turkey and that the Armenian side had nothing to add, and instead expected ‘clear steps’ from Turkey.

Earlier, in his speech at the IPU, Simonyan stated that ‘peace has prevailed in our region, marking a truly monumental achievement’, and added that Armenia’s vision ‘is grander’ and included inviting Turkey to take part in regional peace efforts.

‘To this end, we are eager to deepen our relationship with Türkiye’, Simonyan said.

Armenia and Turkey have been engaged in a renewed normalisation process since 2022, including meetings of special envoys on normalisation at their shared border and in their respective capitals. However, diplomatic relations have not yet been established, and the land border remains closed.

In 2022, the sides agreed to allow third-country nationals and diplomats to cross the land border, but Turkey has since stated that progress in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process is a precondition for further achievements in the normalisation process with Armenia. Turkey originally closed the border in 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

The latest developments came in December 2025, when Armenia and Turkey announced they would ‘simplify’ the visa procedure for diplomatic, special, and service passport holders as of 1 January 2026.

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US senators appeal to Meta, Google to ‘counter Russian disinformation’ in Arm

Markos Nalchajian
OC Media
April 21 2026
by Nate Ostiller

A bipartisan group of US senators have written letters to Meta and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, asking the tech giants to work to ‘counter Russian disinformation’ in the runup to Armenia’s parliamentary elections. The letters thanked the companies for actions to combat similar Russian-backed moves in Moldova’s 2025 election, and said ‘Russia is updating its playbook from Moldova’ to sway Armenia’s election.

The letters published on Monday were written on behalf of the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, along with Senator Thom Tillis, and addressed directly to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

Over the past year, both Armenia and the EU have repeatedly warned that Russia and other countries are upping their efforts to influence the parliamentary elections scheduled for June. The EU has also said it is sending teams to Armenia to help combat Russian-backed disinformation.

Armenian fact-checkers have also reported an increasing amount of disinformation coming from foreign sources, some traced back to Russia, including content attempting to discredit the current authorities and their policies.

In the letter addressed to Zuckerberg, the senators said ‘elections are pivotal for determining Armenia’s future, as they are likely to determine the outcome of regional peace initiatives and connectivity projects, including the flagship Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a key component of peace talks’ between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Both letters cited findings from the Armenian civil society group the Union of Informed Citizens as saying that Meta and Alphabet platforms are being used to spread ‘manipulative content’ about the election.

In addition, the letter to Zuckerberg noted the same group had documented ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour reportedly directed by a Russian-Armenian oligarch listed by the first Trump Administration in a statutorily required report to Congress as a “significant senior foreign political figure [or] oligarch in the Russian Federation, as determined by their closeness to the Russian regime” ’.

While the letter did not mention who the individual was by name, it almost certainly was referring to Russian-Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, who is currently under house arrest for allegedly calling for a coup against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and money laundering. Despite his criminal charges and Armenian law preventing him from being eligible for prime minister, Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party is the strongest competitor of Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party in the upcoming election.

Indeed, Karapetyan’s name had appeared on the list of key oligarchs along with a number of other Russian-linked businesspeople back in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The letters concluded by saying, ‘while the United States must remain impartial in its views about the results of Armenia’s democratic process, we cannot turn a blind eye when we see a foreign power attempt to impose its will on the Armenian people’.

‘If these efforts use platforms based in the jurisdiction of the United States, our responsibility is even greater to mitigate and prevent such efforts’.

The letters then ‘urged’ both Meta and Alphabet to ‘help ensure that Armenia’s elections remain free and fair’.

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Dutch and Belgian resolutions on Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan trigger outr

Adrine Hakobian
OC Media
April 21 2026
by Aytan Farhadova

The Belgium and Dutch parliaments adopted resolutions which also included imprisoned Armenian prisoners in Baku on 16 April,  resulting in condemnations from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and the summoning of both countries’ ambassadors on Monday.

The resolution which was adopted in Brussels by the Belgian Parliament contains 10 requests for the federal government.

The document stipulated that Azerbaijan should respect the principles of sovereignty and integrity and retreat from ‘the occupied border territories of Armenia, covering an area of over 200 square kilometers’.

According to the local Armenian media, since 2021 Azerbaijan has occupied ‘more than 200 square kilometers of Armenia’s internationally recognised territory in the regions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik’.

The resolution also calls other EU members ‘to urge Azerbaijan to finally sign the peace agreement initiated with Armenia as announced on 13 March 2025’.

The resolution addressed the situation of Armenian prisoners in Baku and demanded that the Azerbaijani government ensure their access to transparent and fair trials as a ‘gesture of goodwill’.

A separate resolution adopted by the Dutch Parliament condemned the ‘deplorable conditions’ in which the former leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian prisoners of war were being kept in Azerbaijan. It has also called for their release.

These resolutions were assessed by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry ‘as a reckless attempt to undermine Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty’.

It decried what it called ‘utterly biased and unfounded assessments’ of Azerbaijan, including ‘baseless accusations alleging violations of Armenia’s territorial integrity, the rights of ethnic Armenians, and claims regarding the so-called unlawful detention of persons of Armenian origin were strongly and resolutely rejected’’.

The ambassadors were urged not to damage the bilateral relations and to curb anti-Azerbaijani sentiments in their respective parliaments.

The Azerbaijani Parliament similarly condemned the resolutions on Monday, calling them ‘one-sided and biased’.

‘These documents, which distort the history and results of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and stem from the unhealthy and racist imagination of traditional anti-Azerbaijani and Islamophobic circles, constitute a gross violation of international law and the rule of law, as well as a provocation against the ongoing and important peace process in the region’, the parliament said.

Noting that the Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentary speakers had recently met in Istanbul, the Azerbaijani Parliament said the Dutch and Belgian resolutions ‘clearly demonstrate that the “initiators” of these documents are far removed from the real state of affairs in the region’.

‘Their true intention is not to promote peace and dialogue, but to incite hostility and revenge’.

Furthermore, the Azerbaijani Parliament said the Armenian prisoners in question had committed ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’ and that their crimes had been proven in a ‘transparent and open trial’.

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

The Azerbaijani Parliament demanded that the Belgian and Dutch parliaments ‘end the hate campaign against Azerbaijan and steps that undermine efforts to strengthen peace in the region’.

The Azerbaijani pro-government media Caliber cited political analyst Ilgar Velizade as saying these resolutions would not bear fruit.

‘In the end, all of them remained without practical implementation, but they continue to stir certain circles and stimulate new anti-Azerbaijani campaigns’, Velizade said.

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Armenpress: US seizes Iranian cargo ship, Tehran vows to retaliate

Jalatian Sonya
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to ‌run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate, Reuters reported.

The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform that the ship, called Touska, was seized by the US Navy after failing to respond to a warning to stop. Iran said it was a violation of the ceasefire and it would retaliate soon for the “act of armed piracy”.

The U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military said it fired on the Iranian-flagged cargo ship headed towards Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday after a six-hour standoff, disabling its engines. The ship was reportedly intercepted in the waters of the Sea of Oman.

U.S. marines then rappelled from helicopters onto the vessel, U.S. Central Command said.

“We have ⁠full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” President Trump wrote on social media.

Iran’s military said the ship had been traveling from China. “We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the U.S. military,” Reuters quoted an Iranian military spokesperson as saying.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric, and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”

Trump earlier warned Iran that the U.S. would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if Tehran rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.

Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab ‌neighbors.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Global fuel price stability depends on ending pressure on Iran, says Tehran

Markos Nalchajian
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has said that stability in global fuel prices depends on a guaranteed and lasting end to the “economic and military pressure” against the Islamic Republic.

“The security of the Strait of Hormuz is not free. One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others. The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone. Stability in global fuel prices depends on a guaranteed and lasting end to the economic and military pressure against Iran and its allies,” Aref said in a statement on X.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Iran claims drone attack on U.S. vessels as retaliation for cargo ship’s seizu

Ani Kharatian
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Iran said it launched drone strikes against multiple American vessels in retaliation for US forces firing on and interceptingan Iranian ship.

Iranian state media outlet Tasnim News Agency reported a statement from the Islamic Republic’s military headquarters, saying the country’s armed forces intend to continue responding to the “piracy” and attacks by the American side.

The U.S. military earlier said it fired on the Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the Touska, headed towards Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday after a six-hour standoff, disabling its engines. The ship was reportedly intercepted in the waters of the Sea of Oman.

Iran said it was a violation of the ceasefire and it would retaliate soon for the “act of armed piracy”.

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Four candidates for UN secretary-general to audition this week

Emil Lazarian
World11:37, 20 April 2026
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Four candidates to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations will audition for the job this week, far fewer than there were 10 years ago when António Guterres was selected as U.N. chief, the Associated Press reported.

Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet — one of two women and one of three from Latin America — will be the first to face ambassadors from the U.N.’s 193 member nations during a three-hour question-and-answer session on Tuesday. Bachelet will be followed by U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina.

On Wednesday, U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan will take center stage in the General Assembly hall, and finally, Senegal’s former President Macky Sall.

In 2016, a hotly contested race drew 13 candidates, according to AP.

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Major 7.5-magnitude quake hits off Japan, tsunami warning issued

Emil Lazarian
World12:41, 20 April 2026
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan on Monday, as authorities urged residents to stay away from ‌coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to 3 meters were expected, Reuters reports.

The tremor had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean and was 10 km deep, Reuters reported citing the Japan Meteorological Agency. The biggest waves were expected in Iwate, Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures, authorities said.

Reuters quoted ⁠Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as saying that the government had set up an emergency task force and urged citizens in the affected areas to evacuate to safety.

Broadcaster NHK showed ships sailing out of Hachinohe port in Hokkaido in anticipation of the waves, as an alert ‘Tsunami! Evacuate!’ flashed across the screen.

Bullet train services in Aomori at the northern tip of Japan’s main Honshu island were halted due to the tremors, Kyodo news agency reported.

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Published by Armenpress, original at 
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BTA: Progressive Bulgaria leads with 44.7% in parliamentary elections, says Ce

Emil Lazarian
Europe13:26, 20 April 2026
Read the article in: Armenian:

Originally published by BTA

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has published preliminary results from the parliamentary elections of Bulgaria held on April 19 based on 96.41% of tally sheets of the section election commissions processed at the constituency election commissions as at 11 am on Monday.

Following are the parties and coalitions which cross the 4% electoral threshold:

Progressive Bulgaria 44.732%

GERB-UDF 13.417%

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria 12.871%

Movement for Rights and Freedoms 6.668%

Vazrazhdane 4.307%.

Under the Election Code, the CEC must announce the votes received and the distribution of seats among parties and coalitions no later than four days after election day, and the names of the elected Members of Parliament no later than seven days after election day.

These were the eighth parliamentary elections in Bulgaria since 2021.

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Published by Armenpress, original at 
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