On April 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Abbas Araghchi, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

“Abbas Araghchi informed Sergey Lavrov of the Islamic Republic’s position regarding ceasefire violations committed by the United States, including an illegal naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and a seizure of an Iranian container ship,” it reads.

According to the foreign ministry, the Russian side reiterated the need to maintain the ceasefire which must be observed within the parameters initially agreed upon and announced by Pakistani mediators. 

“The importance of continuing diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing the situation from escalating uncontrollably and avoiding a relapse into armed confrontation was emphasised.

Russia also reaffirmed its readiness to facilitate the achievement of mutually acceptable agreements between Iran and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian side, for its part, reaffirmed its readiness to take all necessary steps to ensure unimpeded passage of Russian vessels and cargo through the aforementioned waterway,” it reads.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan began the moment his administration adopted the “balanced and balancing” foreign policy.

He made the remarks in a video message broadcast on social media, where he presented the Civil Contract party’s election program for the upcoming elections.

The Prime Minister first read out the provision enshrined in the election program regarding a balanced and balancing foreign policy.

‘A balanced and balancing foreign policy has proven its effectiveness, making it possible to stabilize the external environment of the Republic of Armenia. This approach will be adopted as a strategy, whose key objective is to prevent imbalances in foreign relations or to have tools to offset such imbalances.

Regionalization plays a central role in this policy, with the main goal of making it not only possible but also comfortable for the Republic of Armenia to live within its own environment without external support. In this regard, the further development of relations with Georgia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Türkiye, and the Republic of Azerbaijan is of great importance, and the party will pursue this path.

In this context, the full unblocking of the region’s transport infrastructure—including both the implementation of the TRIPP project and the launch of the Gyumri–Kars railway—will not only further strengthen peace and cooperation in the region but also turn it into a key hub of East–West and North–South connectivity, a Crossroads of Peace.

We also attach importance to the further development of the 3+3 format as a practical tool for advancing regionalization, and the Republic of Armenia will contribute to this. The involvement of the Russian Federation in this format also makes it important for the constructive transformation of Armenia–Russia relations.

The Republic of Armenia has also adopted the “Regionalization-2” concept, encompassing Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries, as well as India. Alongside the development of relations with other countries in the previous period, a significant step was the establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This direction will gain new momentum during 2026–2031.

In the preceding period, the Republic of Armenia has established strategic partnerships, dialogues, or agendas with the United States of America, Georgia, the Netherlands, China, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, the European Union, Germany, and Luxembourg. At the same time, relations with the Russian Federation are in a phase of constructive transformation. Armenia will continue to develop mutually beneficial and constructive relations with the Russian Federation.’

The Prime Minister then again recalled that until recently Armenia had no diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

‘We established diplomatic relations with those countries, and accordingly, this provision of the election program first and foremost demonstrates the effectiveness of a balanced and balancing foreign policy. It should also be noted that, by and large, the peace process began from the moment we adopted the concept of a balanced and balancing foreign policy—when we started to look at ourselves, our region, and the world from a different perspective. Viewing things from this new perspective has led to concrete results,’ the Prime Minister of Armenia stated.

He rejected accusations by some representatives of the political opposition in Armenia that the ruling force—and he personally—is allegedly “pro-Azerbaijani or pro-Turkish”, and explained why these allegations arise.

‘But what has actually happened and is happening? In reality, the following has taken place: in our relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, we had almost always acted through third countries—in other words, 90 percent or more of our messages and agendas had been communicated via intermediaries. And what did we observe? A very simple thing, with both objective and subjective grounds: when you communicate with someone through a third party, you can never be certain that your messages are conveyed accurately to the recipient, or that their messages are transmitted back to you precisely. A third party may have its own perceptions, interests, and interpretations, and we can never fully know what those interests are.

This has also been one of the reasons why peace was not established in our region for many years. We have changed our approach. We have said: if we have something to discuss with Türkiye and Azerbaijan—and clearly we do—why should we not speak directly? This is the only guarantee that we can be confident our message has been delivered correctly and that we are receiving an accurate response. Whether the response is good or bad is another matter; what matters is avoiding distortions in communication. And I want to assure you that such distortions always occur when communication happens through third parties—sometimes deliberately, sometimes unintentionally.

There are nuances and subtleties, including mental and perceptual aspects related to the region, that distant countries may fail to grasp. In situations involving decades-long, sometimes even centuries-old conflicts, every nuance can be crucial. We have achieved peace precisely by understanding that messages conveyed through intermediaries are not always transmitted as intended—on either side.

It is this change in our approach that gives some people grounds—or is used by them—to accuse us, or me, of being pro-Turkish or pro-Azerbaijani. For decades, our practice was: if we had something to say to Türkiye or Azerbaijan, whom should we call to get our message across? We have chosen, and will continue to choose, direct communication—while not excluding the involvement of third countries. There are agendas where third-party involvement is necessary and even mandatory, as they concern broader issues. But in bilateral relations, we must keep communication active. It is thanks to this understanding that we have peace today,’ the Prime Minister of Armenia elaborated.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has expressed confidence that business ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be established in the near future, which he described as one of the key means and tools for institutionalizing peace between the two countries.

Pashinyan made the statement while presenting the provision of the ruling Civil Contract party’s election program for 2026 on institutionalizing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“The institutionalization of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in 2024 with the delimitation and demarcation of the state border in the Tavush region of the Republic of Armenia, followed by the signing and ratification of the regulation on the joint activities of the delimitation commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and continued in 2025 with the initialing of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as the Washington Declaration on the principles of peace and the unblocking of transport infrastructure,” Pashinyan said, reading from the party program.

Commenting on this provision, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the ruling party is recording that the institutionalization of peace has in fact already begun.

“I also want to remind that it has a de jure binding legal basis. I am referring to the regulation on the joint activities of the State Border Delimitation Commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which were signed by the deputy prime ministers of the two countries, then underwent ratification procedures in both states, becoming an integral part of the legal systems of both countries. And it is stipulated in those regulations that Armenia and Azerbaijan accept that the basic principle for the delimitation process between the two countries is the Alma-Ata Declaration, which in turn means that the territory of independent Armenia is identical to the territory of Soviet Armenia, and the territory of independent Azerbaijan is identical to the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also presented the priority steps that must be taken for the further institutionalization of peace.

“The priority steps for the further institutionalization of peace are the continuation of the delimitation process; the implementation of the TRIPP project in line with the content of the Washington Declaration of August 8, 2025, and the TRIPP Implementation Framework adopted by the Governments of Armenia and the United States on January 14, 2026, which will lead to the full unblocking of regional transport links; as well as the final signing and ratification of the initialed Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the subsequent implementation of the steps envisioned therein,” the Armenian Prime Minister said.

According to him, the listed steps for institutionalizing peace are not limited to those mentioned. Contacts between civil society and business community representatives, bilateral trade, and political, cultural, and humanitarian dialogue are important tools for institutionalizing peace, and the Civil Contract party will encourage and support the activation of these areas in the context of Armenia–Azerbaijan relations.

“I am pleased to note that some initiatives are already becoming a reality: bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan is developing in small steps, contacts between civil society representatives are already taking a concrete shape, and I hope and am convinced that business ties will also be established in the near future, which is one of the key means and tools for institutionalizing peace,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia’s relationship with Russia is in a phase of “constructive transformation.”

“Armenia will develop mutually beneficial and constructive relations with Russia,” he said on social media while presenting the Civil Contract party’s election program for 2026.

“I repeat once again: it is difficult to overestimate the importance of our relations with Russia. I also want to clarify what I mean by ‘constructive transformation.’ Essentially, Armenia’s relations with Russia were entirely shaped in the context of the Karabakh movement. Now that we are no longer continuing the Karabakh movement, that peace has been established, and the conflict is over, the relationship must naturally be adjusted and developed in line with this new logic.

Let me give a simple example: in the past, under conditions of conflict, we never had railway communication with Russia; now we do. Will this have an impact on our relations? Absolutely. Will that impact be constructive? Absolutely. It is in this logic that we will continue our path, and we will not allow any attempts to create problems in Armenia–Russia relations. Indeed, some forces in Armenia are trying to provoke and incite crises in our relations. We will not allow that. We will direct all our efforts toward the further development of constructive relations with Russia.

The nuance is that this must take place within the framework of the formula of a balanced and balancing foreign policy,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has outlined under what conditions Armenia would officially apply to the European Union for membership.

Pashinyan addressed the topic while presenting the pre-election program of the ruling Civil Contract party in a video address. 

“Since 2023, the EU civilian mission operating in Armenia has contributed to the stability of our country along the eastern borders. In 2024, the EU’s ‘Resilience and Growth’ plan supporting Armenia was adopted and is being implemented. EU member states, by consensus decision, provided support to Armenia under the European Peace Facility. In 2025, the law on the launch of the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union was adopted. The Armenia–EU visa liberalization dialogue was launched, and an action plan in this direction was handed over to Armenia. Armenia–EU consultations on security and defense were launched. In the same year, the Armenia–EU strategic partnership agenda was signed. Since 2018, the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union has been in force. The Republic of Armenia will continue implementing the necessary reforms to meet the criteria for joining the European Union until it fully complies with those standards. Once Armenia meets those criteria, EU membership will become a matter of political decision and will depend on whether the EU is ready to accept Armenia. If yes, the Republic of Armenia will apply for full EU membership. If not, the implementation of the aforementioned reforms will still be a strategic achievement for the Republic of Armenia, because Armenia will have become a country fully compliant with European standards,” Pashinyan said.

Speaking about relations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and a provision included in the ruling party’s pre-election program, Pashinyan noted that the Armenian authorities understand it is not possible to be a member of both the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union at the same time.

“However, as long as the reforms aimed at alignment with the European Union and meeting EU accession criteria are compatible with membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the Republic of Armenia will continue its membership in the EAEU and will develop trade and economic relations with its member states,” the Armenian Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other top government officials on Monday attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Arthur Abraham Youth Sports Complex in Yerevan.

Arthur Abraham, the former professional boxer, was also in attendance.

Arthur Abraham held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF middleweight title from 2005 to 2009, and the WBO super-middleweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.

The sports complex in the Shengavit district of Yerevan is under development under the coordination of the Urban Development Committee.

Pashinyan and Abraham signed a letter addressed to future generations, which was placed in a time capsule and embedded in the foundation of the building.

The sports complex will consist of two buildings: one underground and three above-ground floors. The first building will include general training gyms, boxing and wrestling halls with changing rooms, saunas, medical and massage rooms, as well as administrative offices. The second building will house a basketball arena, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

The total cost of the project is 2.3 billion drams (approximately $5.9 million), allocated by the government. The land plot for the sports complex was acquired years ago by Arthur Abraham.

The Prime Minister congratulated those present at the groundbreaking ceremony and expressed confidence that the project would be completed on time and to a high standard. He added that the sports school named after weightlifting champion Simon Martirosyan is already open, while the groundbreaking for the sports school named after wrestlers Roman and Malkhas Amoyan in the village of Alagyaz will take place in May, after which construction will begin.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, this government policy is aimed at recognizing athletes who have achieved success on the international stage, promoting the development of sports in the country, and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday that Armenia will not seek a return to “active” participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), of which Armenia is officially a member but in which it has frozen its participation for several years due to the bloc’s failure to fulfill its obligations.

Pashinyan made the remarks in a video address, presenting the Civil Contract party’s election program provisions regarding multilateral cooperation formats.

“As you know, the Republic of Armenia’s membership in the CSTO is frozen, and no steps will be taken to return to active participation. This is also recorded in our pre-election program,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

Addressing Armenia’s participation in other multilateral formats, Pashinyan noted that Armenia’s engagement in such frameworks is important for making its balanced and balancing foreign policy more effective.

“In the UN and its specialized agencies, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the CIS, the International Organization of La Francophonie, and the European Political Community, the Republic of Armenia will continue to remain an active member. The Republic of Armenia has also become a member of the Board of Peace initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump and will continue its work in that format,” the Prime Minister said.

He reminded that from October 2026, the Republic of Armenia will assume the presidency of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, becoming, for about two years, a country playing a central role in global decision-making on environmental protection. This, he said, will provide Armenia with significant opportunities both in environmental terms and in strengthening its international positioning.

“We are also interested in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In the context of a balanced and balancing foreign policy, Armenia will also consider its participation in other multilateral formats or cooperation with them,” the Prime Minister of Armenia noted.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has presented the provisions on external security included in the pre-election program of the ruling Civil Contract party.

The Prime Minister said that the external security component is a very important part of the party’s program.

“I would like to draw special attention to this section, because here we have clarified what we mean when we say that if the army is the primary factor in ensuring external security, it effectively means that external security does not exist. We must place additional security factors before the army in order to consider that we have real security. The question now is the following: what are those factors that should ensure Armenia’s external security before the army?” Pashinyan said in a video message, presenting the party’s election program.

He elaborated that, in the view of the ruling party, the first such factor is international legitimacy, which is the primary tool for ensuring Armenia’s external security.

“International legitimacy is the primary instrument for ensuring the external security of the Republic of Armenia. The international community recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity within the borders of the Armenian SSR of the Soviet Union.

This principle also underpins the established peace framework: Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, according to which the Soviet republics that joined it became independent states within their administrative borders.

Having undisputed—meaning internationally lawful—territory, as well as legitimate positions and expectations in foreign relations, is a primary tool for ensuring external security. While it is not an absolute guarantee, it remains an important cornerstone,” Pashinyan said.

He recalled a recent discussion in parliament, when one of the opposition representatives said that peace is possible when the causes of war are resolved. Pashinyan stressed that this is a very accurate wording, noting that it is precisely why the authorities have said that the Karabakh movement should be abandoned, as the cause of the war and conflict lies in the differing interpretations surrounding Karabakh.

“But when we mutually recognize each other’s territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, the cause of war disappears—the fundamental cause of war disappears—and it is on this basis that it becomes possible to establish peace,” the Prime Minister of Armenia emphasized.

He again warned that tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party, former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance, and business magnate Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia party, whom he described as a “tripartite war party,” seek to restore the Karabakh movement and spark war.

“Essentially, from 1991 to 2024, we have never had peace. There has always been war, and the proof of that is that every year there were casualties at the border. Peace is when there are no deaths or injuries at the border. What we have had is war of varying intensity. If people are being killed at the border, that is war—the level of intensity is a different matter.

We have had war because there was the Karabakh conflict, there was the Karabakh movement. The Karabakh movement has been incompatible with peace and security, and we acknowledged this and said: what is our choice? And we made a choice in favor of peace and security. And today we have security, we have peace.

The other day I read that representatives of the ‘war party’ are presenting maps and making statements… I should note that the Karabakh conflict also began with seemingly innocent humanitarian issues. Now they speak about the right of return to Karabakh. Azerbaijan will counter this with the issues you are familiar with, and at that point it will start to escalate and turn into conflict. We say that these issues must be closed bilaterally. This is a realistic and legitimate approach from the perspective of international law, and it is the approach that guarantees peace.

Because if we now say that our dear compatriots from Karabakh must return to Karabakh, they will say that their refugees must also return. When we say, wait a minute, the Karabakh case is different, they say, wait a minute, our case is different too. I want to say this directly to you. When does peace become real? When we propose—and are proposing—a strategic deal to Azerbaijan.

What is that strategic deal? Have we recognized each other’s territorial integrity on the basis of the Alma-Ata Declaration, meaning within the borders of the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijani SSR? Then we recognize it clearly, carry out delimitation, and leave each other in peace. We stop digging into who lived where and when.

Because that is what peace is.

We must acknowledge that we have our own truth, but everyone has their own truth, and it is not the case that when we present our truth in international forums, the international community applauds us. In all countries there have been both pro-Azerbaijani and pro-Armenian circles. The pro-Armenian ones came to Armenia, stood in front of cameras, and said: what you are saying is true—what about historical justice, what about Woodrow Wilson’s Arbitral Award, what about the Treaty of Sèvres—we are with you, we stand by you. There have been various circles—official and semi-official.

But no one showed us that another group from the same country had gone to Azerbaijan a month earlier or later and said the same thing to them. And what was the result? The result was the escalation of the conflict, from which others mainly benefited, while we suffered and incurred losses,” Pashinyan said.

He denied accusations of having made concessions.

The Prime Minister said that peace is the point of balance around which agreements can be reached, and that such an agreement has been achieved.

“They keep telling us that we have made concessions. But what have we conceded, if we proceed from the logic of our international legitimacy? We have not conceded anything that, under international law, belongs to us. Even today, we speak about approximately 200 square kilometers of Armenia’s occupied territories, but through a legally binding document we have recorded that this issue will be resolved within the framework of delimitation. And it will be resolved within that framework because, from the perspective of international law, it is a legitimate issue.

International legitimacy is not an absolute guarantee, because the world is very turbulent right now, but it is nevertheless an important cornerstone. We must not set illegitimate goals for ourselves and then tell our 18-year-old soldiers to go and resolve them. Our security must be based on legitimacy,” Pashinyan said.

The Civil Contract party’s pre-election program also states that interconnectedness and connectivity with the outside world is the next key tool for ensuring external security. This factor allows a country to become such an important part of global supply chains and economic circulation that its security and stability become important for many other countries, including its neighbors; conversely, its instability is perceived as a threat by the region and the international community.

“The ‘Crossroads of Peace’ project and the resulting TRIPP initiative, through which goods will flow across the territory of the Republic of Armenia from east to west and from north to south, create such opportunities for our country, and we rely—and will continue to rely—on this strategic vision,” the party’s program states.

The next factor, according to the ruling party, is long-term predictability.

“In the short-, medium-, and long-term perspective, other countries should increasingly perceive the Republic of Armenia less and less as a threat, and commitment to the peace agenda should become a long-term and strategic perception of the Republic of Armenia for other states.

To achieve this, not only declared policies are essential, but also the content and discourse in the socio-psychological, educational-cultural, and public-political spheres. A clear demarcation between history and the future, and a practical linking of present realities not so much with the past as with the future, are vital for ensuring the sustainability of the Republic of Armenia. The ‘Future is Today’ formula also serves this purpose,” the party program states.

The program of the Civil Contract party also states that the army is a reserve instrument for ensuring external security, to be used only in cases where the aforementioned diplomatic tools aimed at ensuring external security have not been effective.

“The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia should not be used outside the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia (except for participation in international peacekeeping missions based on international treaties) and should serve exclusively the purpose of defending the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia.

In recent years, tremendous efforts and resources have been invested in strengthening the defense capability of the Armenian Armed Forces. Modern weapons and military equipment have been acquired, including domestically produced systems. Armenia’s military-industrial complex has developed significantly, large-scale and innovative fortification works have been carried out, and dozens of fortified areas have been established.

To increase the attractiveness of military service, major (publicly known) reforms have been implemented in the areas of remuneration and professionalism of contract servicemen, as well as in the duration and structure of compulsory military service.

The parliamentary majority formed by the Civil Contract party and the Government will continue reforms of the Armed Forces in accordance with the concept of transformation of the Armenian Armed Forces. A comprehensive defense and security system (CDSS) will be gradually introduced,” the program states.

Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan received Kevin Hamilton, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, in Yerevan on Monday.

According to a readout, Minister Papikyan congratulated Special Representative Hamilton on assuming office and wished him success.

“During the meeting, issues related to the current state and prospects of Armenia–NATO cooperation were discussed. The sides also addressed regional and international security issues,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, met on Monday in Yerevan with Kevin Hamilton, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

According to a readout from the Security Council Office, Grigoryan congratulated the Special Representative on “assuming the responsible position,” wishing him effective work and new successes.

Secretary Grigoryan and Special Representative Hamilton discussed the “current agenda of Armenia–NATO relations and prospects for their development.”

“Grigoryan emphasized the positive dynamics in strengthening Armenia–NATO bilateral relations. In turn, Kevin Hamilton highlighted the cooperation that has developed as a result of Armenia’s involvement in NATO peacekeeping missions. During the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on issues related to regional and international security,” according to the readout.