Month: April 2026

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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Focus on Learning: Armenia Hosts Courses for Freestyle Coaches and Referees

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
United World Wrestling Press
April 28 2026

Focus on Learning: Armenia Hosts Courses for Freestyle Coaches and Referees

By United World Wrestling Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (April 24) — Other the past few years, Armenia has conducted multiple coaching and referee courses.

Last year, it held a course specifically designed for Greco-Roman coaches. This year, Armenia organized the same course but with an emphasis on Freestyle. The coaching course was conducted from April 10 to 14 in Yerevan.

In addition to the coaching course, a Referee Foundations course was conducted from April 14 to 17. Both courses were conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, Armenia NOC, and United World Wrestling.

The Level 2 coaching course was led by Yusup ABDUSALAMOV and was attended by 37 participants. The course focused on performance analysis, developing training plans, risk management, athlete well-being, and athlete safeguarding. The coaches participated in theoretical and practical sessions that helped provided a better understanding of the concepts.

“The participants demonstrated a positive attitude and engagement throughout the course. They showed a willingness to learn and apply new coaching methodologies, which is a good indicator of future development potential. Abdusalamov said.

“We highly appreciate the organization and delivery of the UWW Level 2 coaching course in Armenia. The program introduced modern coaching approaches and provided valuable knowledge for our coaches.” Arayik BAGHDADYAN, Secretary General of Armenia Wrestling Federation, said.

Following the U20 National Championships, the Level 2 Referee Foundations course was led by Igor LIGAY. This course was attended by 25 participants which included national and international referees, coaches and the head Greco-Roman coach from Armenia.

This course covered various topics that included the updated UWW rules, evaluating actions, referee positioning, and coordination of the refereeing team. The participants learned through interactive sessions and practical on-the-mat experience.

“This seminar had a significant impact on my athletic development. As an athlete who participates in international competitions, I found the technical details and practical approaches presented to be especially valuable, as they can be directly applied on the mat,” Srbuhi HOVAKIMYAN, who participated in the coaching course, said.

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Photos show demolition of Christian churches by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh

George Mamian
April 28 2026

Satellite imagery reveals Holy Mother of God Cathedral and Church of St Jacob destroyed in city of Khankendi, known as Stepanakert to Armenians
A view of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert, or Khankendi in September 2023 (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)
By Alex MacDonald

Satellite photos have confirmed the destruction of two churches in the city of Khankendi – known to Armenians as Stepanakert – in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

Reports that the Holy Mother of God Cathedral, which was consecrated in 2019, had been destroyed first emerged in Armenian media in April.

New photos published by Radio Free Europe showing satellite imagery appear to confirm the reports. The Church of St. Jacob also appears to have been destroyed.

According to Radio Free Europe, the Holy Mother of God Cathedral was the main centre of worship for Christians in the city. 

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which oversees the Armenian church, accused Azerbaijan earlier in April of “deliberately target[ing] Armenian Christian holy sites, seeking to erase the Armenian presence” in the region.

Nagorno-Karabakh was, until 2023, a majority Armenian enclave. It was governed by the self-declared Republic of Artsakh after the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, but in 2023 Azerbaijani forces swept into the enclave and captured it.

The conflict saw the vast majority of ethnic Armenians forced to flee the region into the neighbouring Republic of Armenia. 

The area is recognised as Azerbaijani territory under international law.

Armenian separatists still remain jailed in Azerbaijan, an issue which been a source of anger for many in the Republic of Armenia.

Middle East Eye contacted both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani foreign ministries for comment, but received no response at the time of publication.

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Armenian cathedral demolished in disputed region

Nahapetian Zhanna
April 28 2026
Edgar Beltrán
Apr 28, 2026

The Azerbaijani government demolished in early April an Armenian cathedral located in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to local media reports, stirring up a long-running conflict in a border region whose territory has been disputed between both countries since the 1990s.

The Armenian Apostolic Church decried the demolition of the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in the city of Stepanakert, saying it aimed to “erase the Armenian trace” from the region.

The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in 2024. Credit: Golden/wikimedia CC BY 4.0

The development comes less than three years after a military offensive by Azerbaijan led to the dissolution of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, an area internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but historically populated and controlled by ethnic Armenian Christians until 2023.

The 2023 offensive prompted the flight of more than 120,000 ethnic Armenians and left hundreds dead. Human rights groups and Armenian leaders have described the exodus as a case of ethnic cleansing.

Armenia, a country roughly the size of the state of Maryland, has a population of roughly three million people. It is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Around 95% of the population belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church and 0.6% belong to the Catholic Church.

Several human rights organizations and Armenian activists described the demolition of the cathedral as a part of a broader pattern of systematic cultural erasure in the region.

The demolition took place shortly before the 111th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, during which an estimated 1 to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed and millions more were forcibly deported by the Ottoman government during World War I.

Satellite images before and after the reported demolition of the cathedral. Credit: Google Maps.

The Azerbaijan government has not announced the cathedral’s demolition or publicly explained it, though pro-government media outlets said the Armenian government was responsible for the destruction of Azeri religious monuments in the region, seeming to suggest retaliation for those alleged crimes as justification.

Armenian news outlet Hetq claimed to have verified the church’s demolition with satellite images that showed the white paving stones around the cathedral, but not the church itself, which prompted several human rights organizations and media publications to verify the reports.

The cathedral started being built in July 2006 and consecrated in April 2019 and was the largest Armenian church in all of Nagorno-Karabakh. The cathedral was used as a bomb shelter during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 but did not suffer significant damages.

Armenian cultural heritage watchdog Monument Watch had reported that the Church of Saint Jacob, built in 2007 and located in the same city, had also been demolished in early April.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the ancient national church of Armenia, and is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, a roughly 70 million-strong communion that also includes the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches diverged from the Church after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., largely because of differences over formulas used to define Christ’s nature. In recent decades, the disagreement has come to be seen as primarily semantic, with all sides professing the same faith in Christ’s divinity and humanity, albeit in different language.

The Armenian Apostolic Church said in an Apr. 23 statement that “It is obvious that the Azerbaijani government continues to target Armenian Christian holy sites with the aim of erasing the Armenian trace from Artsakh.”

“This state-level vandalism once again proves that Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy has not changed, which makes statements about establishing a stable and lasting peace with Armenia questionable.”

Church authorities also called Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to take “urgent and effective steps” to stop the Azeri regime from wiping out Armenian cultural heritage in the region.

However, when asked about reports of the cathedral’s destruction on April 18, Pashinyan said: “My concern is the historical and cultural monuments located in the territory of Armenia.”

Last week, Pashinyan was asked again about the demolition, and he said that the Armenian government was currently seeking to obtain more information but said he was reluctant to make the destruction “a subject of international discussions at the state level.”

‘On such issues, especially at this stage, one must be prudent, because they are a double-edged sword’, Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan’s government recognized the Azeri sovereignty over the region in 2022 and has repeatedly said that the issue is closed for his administration.

The demolition comes amid a confrontation between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian government.

Prosecutors opened a criminal case against the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and barred him from leaving the country in February.

Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, was due to travel to Austria for a Feb. 16-19 meeting of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Bishops’ Synod, of which he is president.

Armenian authorities accuse Karekin II, who has led the Armenian Apostolic Church since 1999, of the obstruction of justice. The Church dismisses the charges as unwarranted interference in its internal affairs.

On Jan. 4, 2026, Pashinyan, who has served as PM since 2018, posted a video in which he read aloud a statement that set out a “roadmap” for the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The text called for the removal of Karekin II, the election of a new Catholicos of All Armenians, and the introduction of new measures to ensure financial transparency and upright conduct among clergy.

The video showed eight Armenian Orthodox bishops signing the document at Pashinyan’s residence. Two others, who were not present, also endorsed it.

One of the 10 signatories of the reform roadmap text was Bishop Gevork Saroyan, head of the Diocese of Masyatsotn. On Jan. 10, Karekin II removed Saroyan from his post, citing abuse of office.

On Jan. 14, a civil court ordered that Saroyan be reinstated. Karekin II responded on Jan. 27 by dismissing Saroyan from the clerical state.

On Feb. 14, the Prosecutor General of Armenia opened a criminal case against Karekin II, accusing him of obstructing the court order to reinstate Saroyan. The Church leader was also reportedly blocked from attending the synod of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria.

Karekin II’s legal representative described the move as “direct interference in the internal affairs of the Church.”

Pashinyan claimed that the meeting in Austria was part of a plan to create a “puppet Catholicosate” outside of Armenia.

He said: “I will not allow this. Armenia is not going to remain an observer. The reaction will be very tough. We will redirect the attention of those who have their eyes on the treasures of Etchmiadzin, hidden under the mask of benefactors, in a completely different direction. If additional measures are needed, they will be taken.”

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The Vatican has been criticized for its ties to the Azeri regime, which is accused by human rights organizations of ethnically-based persecution of Armenian Christians in border territories.

Azerbaijan signed agreements in September with the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital and the Vatican Apostolic Library and Apostolic Archives, alarming critics who accuse the Azeri regime of human rights abuses against the Armenian minority and of practicing “caviar diplomacy” by using its cultural and economic power to shape Vatican policy in the South Caucasus region.

In April 2025, the Azeri regime held a conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, prompting widespread backlash.

The conference was entitled “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity.” But Armenian activists and Church leaders called the event part of a broader campaign to erase Armenian Christian heritage from disputed territories.

Promotional materials for the conference included distinctly Azeri reads on West Asian history, including a display of the medieval Armenian monastery of Dadivank, with the claim that it belonged to the “Caucasian Albanian” culture, an Azeri government claim widely disputed by historians.

“This has no basis in reality. They say these are Caucasian Albanian churches, but Caucasian Albanians disappeared in the 8th century,” Orthodox Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, ecumenical director of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, told The Pillar back in April 2025.

Despite these controversies, the conference received a letter of congratulations from Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

Months before the 2020 offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva was awarded the Order of Pope Pius IX at the Vatican.

Ilqar Mukhtarov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the Holy See, received the same distinction on April 3, 2025.

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation lists the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Museums among its partners and several restoration projects that it is supporting at the Vatican.

The list includes the Roman Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter, the Catacombs of Commodilla, and the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, the restoration of a statue of Zeus in the Vatican Museums, the restoration and translation of more than 3,000 books and 75 manuscripts in the Vatican Apostolic Library, the restoration of a bas-relief with the encounter between Pope Leo the Great and Attila the Hun in St. Peter’s Basilica, and the restoration of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

According to Italian outlet Irpi Media, the donations amounted to 640,000 euros (around $730,000). But an Azeri official said publicly in 2020 that the figure was “over 1 million euros.” Many of the restoration works came after 2020, suggesting the actual sum could be even higher.

One of the largest restoration projects was unveiled in 2024, when the Vatican City State Governorate announced an agreement between the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Observers suggest links between the Vatican and the former Soviet republic were strengthened thanks to Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, who is now prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches and was the apostolic nuncio to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 2001 to 2011.

During Gugerotti’s service as nuncio, Azeri authorities signed a bilateral agreement with the Holy See in 2011, appointing an ambassador the same year, and began to have frequent meetings, both in Azerbaijan and the Vatican, with Holy See officials, among them then-Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the then-president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

According to Irpi Media, Ravasi is another central figure connecting Azerbaijan and the Vatican.

Ravasi opened the doors to Azeri-funded restoration projects in the Vatican with a 2012 agreement to restore Roman catacombs, as well as another to translate and restore manuscripts in the Apostolic Library.

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Israeli strikes kill 14 in Lebanon

George Mamian
Near East10:56, 27 April 2026
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Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 on Sunday, Reuters reported citing Lebanon’s health ministry, as the Israeli military warned residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” ‌it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities.

Sunday’s death toll included two children and two women. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said in a statement on X that Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and that Israel would act against it, telling people to head north and west away from the towns.

According to Reuters, the towns are ⁠north of the Litani River and the zone in southern Lebanon occupied by Israeli troops, who have continued military operations despite the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said that it struck Hezbollah fighters, rocket launchers and a weapons depot.

“From our perspective, what obliges us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, the security of our communities,” Reuters quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

“We act vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and also, by the way, with Lebanon.”

Hezbollah said it would not cease its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and on towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continued its “ceasefire violations.”

The Iran-backed group added in a statement that it would not wait for diplomacy that has “proven ineffective” or rely on Lebanese authorities that had “failed to ‌protect ⁠the country.”

Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah said it had attacked Israeli troops inside Lebanon as well as the rescue force that came to evacuate them. The Israeli military said one soldier was killed and six more were wounded.

More than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the most recent war between Hezbollah and Israel began on March 2, days after the U.S. and Israel launched ⁠strikes against Iran, according to Reuters.

The toll includes 277 women, 177 children and 100 medics, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Hezbollah attacks have killed two civilians in Israel while 16 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, according to Israeli authorities.

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Published by Armenpress, original at 
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