Month: April 2026

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin issued a statement. “The Mother See of St. Etchmiadzin strongly condemns the statement of the Department of Muslims of the Caucasus, which attempts to justify the destruction of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, in particular, the destruction of the foundation of the St.

The desecration, usurpation or destruction of holy places cannot be justified by any political, administrative or false legal formulation. Calling the churches built during the period of Artsakh independence “illegal constructions” is unacceptable, and destroying the sanctuaries on that basis, razing them to the ground, is a clear violation of the international principles of protection of religious and cultural heritage and cultural abuse.

The accusation of the Department of Muslims of the Caucasus against the Armenian Church regarding the obstruction of the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is clearly unfounded and false. Peace is hindered by the falsification of the historical truth, the violation of the rights of forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians, the usurpation of Artsakh’s Armenian heritage and the consistent erasure of the Armenian trace.

Mother See Holy Etchmiadzin calls on international religious and human rights organizations, all responsible structures for the protection of cultural heritage to take active steps to stop the planned policy of destruction of Armenian culture by Azerbaijan.

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The Central Electoral Commission of RA convened a session on the agenda of incompletely presented documents of the political forces nominated to participate in the regular elections of the National Assembly on June 7, 2026, at the extraordinary session of April 30.

According to the Electoral Code constitutional law, the commission gave 48 hours to the nominated parties to complete the incompletely filled documents. Incompletely completed documents can be corrected until May 2 at 18:00.

Those entities are:

“NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC POLY” ALL-ARMENIAN PARTY

ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PARTY

“REPUBLIC” PARTY

“ALLIANCE” PROGRESSIVE CENTRIST PARTY

DEMOCRACY LAW DISCIPLINE PARTY

COCHAR NATIONAL REVIVAL AND AWAKENING OF THE NATION PARTY

ALLIANCE OF DEFENDERS OF DEMOCRACY FOR THE REPUBLIC” PARTY

“NEW FORCE” REFORMIST PARTY

The registration of the electoral lists of nominated parties/alliances will be carried out in the extraordinary session of May 3.

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Yesterday, on April 29, the delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Demarcation and Demarcation Commission Shahin Mustafayev arrived in Armenia.

Armenia first learned about this from the Azerbaijani media, then the Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed the information without revealing the details of the visit. Then it became known that the delegation led by Mutafaev was taken to Aghvera, where there was also a meeting with Armenian businessmen.

Today, after the Government session, Nikol Pashinyan said that the list of mutual trade between Armenian and Azerbaijani businessmen was initially transferred through the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan, but now both sides communicate without intermediaries. He also said that he is aware of which Armenian businessmen met with Azerbaijanis under the pretext of not targeting them, but he could not name names.

international scholar, “HayaVote” member Menua Soghomonyani According to him, there is no information regarding the visit of the delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan to Armenia, therefore, one can make assumptions about the purpose of the visit.

“Mutafaev is the person who coordinates the so-called demarcation and demarcation processes from the Azerbaijani side. Naturally, here we are talking about some kind of arrangements to continue that process, but this can be an assumption, since we do not know any information related to the visit. But it can be assumed that Azerbaijanis, who bet on Pashinyan and support Nikol Pashinyan’s re-election in every possible way, have something to gain.

At this stage, the demands of Azerbaijan will refer to Tigranashen, Verin Voskepar, the adjacent areas of Azatamut, which are conventionally called Sofulu and Barkhudarlu. This is my rational assumption, and the agenda should be about these issues, moreover, we see that they are in some kind of secret agreements.” 168.amMenua Soghomonyan said in a conversation with

According to our interlocutor, using the current pre-election period, the events in it, when various forces are focused on their pre-election organizational issues, they probably chose a suitable period to secure some agreements with Azerbaijan.

Regarding the news circulating since yesterday that Mustafayev had expressed his desire to be in Jujevan village of Noyemberyan region, where he was born during the Soviet Union, and considering in this context the problem of Artsakh Armenians who do not have the opportunity to go to Artsakh and visit the graves of the deceased, Menua Soghomonyan said that the Armenian nation has fallen into a big trap built by Pashinyan-Aliev, and this trap is being served to the public. as peace. Mustafaev’s visit to Armenia is presented in that “sauce” of peace.

“It is impermissible to give consent to Mustafaev’s visit to Jujevan, it is impermissible at all levels. People who are patriotic and have a sense of statehood will not agree, and if they don’t agree, everything happens with violence. Probably, what pro-Azerbaijani programs were conducted during this entire period, they were conducted through violence. Although there was resistance, they managed to pass. Even now, they are taking advantage of this pre-election period and they want to wrap their agenda around the neck of the people once again,” emphasized the international expert.

He also emphasized that today Pashinyan and Aliyev want to wrap everything in “peace”, including the upcoming visit of representatives of the European community to Yerevan and everything that is happening around Armenia today.

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On April 28, a meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group for the restoration and operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway took place in Kars.

In the context of the expansion of transport communications in the region, the parties emphasized the importance of the early launch of the Gyumri-Kars railway.

This statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia was followed by the statements of the EU and the USA that they welcome the concrete steps taken in the direction of reopening the economic and public relations between Armenia and Turkey.

On the American side, in addition to the US Embassy in RA, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barak also responded to this event, considering the meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group and the agreements on the restoration and operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway as an important milestone for regional communication and peace.

“Armenian and Turkish officials met in Kars, Turkey to announce the creation of a joint task force to repair the Kars-Gyumri railway, a vital trade and transit link that united the region for more than a century until the last train crossed the Turkey-Armenia border in July 1993.” X noted on his page he

And what question does the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway solve for Armenia, Turkey and the entire South Caucasus? Is this a purely economic project or a geopolitical one?

On the mentioned issues 168.amhas talked Analytical “Base”. of the center expert Shiraz Khachatryan with

– It is clear that the restoration of the Kars-Gyumri railway is primarily a geopolitical game, where each interested party tries to strengthen its position in the region.

The “optimistic” agenda presented by the Armenian authorities actually collides with the hard logic of geopolitics, where any infrastructure for other actors first of all turns into a tool of influence, and for us, you don’t know what?

In essence, any theoretical route through Armenia is considered for the West from the point of view of a channel bypassing Russia and Iran. And here a double situation is created for Armenia. on the one hand, talk of economic activation, and on the other, new addictions. The factor of Turkey is especially sensitive, the operation of the railway can form a disproportionate interdependence, where Ankara theoretically gets leverage to influence the economic viability of Armenia.

At the same time, the project can reshape the regional balance, especially for Georgia. The activation of the Kars-Gyumri direction reduces the “exclusivity” of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will inevitably affect the transit role of Tbilisi and may cause tension in Armenian-Georgian relations. However, the key issue remains the issue of control. as long as the railway system of Armenia is governed by the agreements concluded with Russia, the talk about “sovereign infrastructure” will become limited.

The lack of technical and operational control means that any geopolitical pressure can quickly turn into practical constraints. In any case, if the blockade is not accompanied by clear political guarantees, security mechanisms and real control over the infrastructure, then it can turn into a new form of dependence rather than development.

– Last year Kars–Put it on–Do it–Diluju railway construction of the program in context one other in the interview talk we are Gyumri–Akhuryan sector recovery of necessity about: At that time you noticed that Along with the information about the construction project of the Kars-Igdir-Aralek-Diluju railway, official announcements are silent about the Gyumri-Akhuryan section, which contradicts the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative presented by Pashinyan himself, one of the components of which was the restarting of that railway.

Moreover, you mentioned that if it becomes possible to bypass Armenia with the Azerbaijani-Turkish plan, having a direct railway exit from Turkey to Nakhichevan, then in that case, Armenia is left out of the regional logistics map, and the promised, so to speak, crossroads of peace actually turns into a one-way crossing line, which Armenia is not the beneficiary of.

More late in February of this year, Armenian side russian side with to discuss was Gyumri–Akhurik–Turkey and: Pledge–Nakhichevan railway infrastructures recovery the questions: Time will tell what will happen in the final calculation.

– The projects you mentioned fit into Turkey’s long-term strategy aimed at deepening its influence in the South Caucasus and expanding control over regional communications. It is clear that Ankara today seeks not only to open new channels, but also to form a transport architecture in which it is the key hub and intermediary, connecting Transcaucasia with Central Asia and the wider Turkish-speaking world. Especially important is the fact that Turkey, by creating bypass communication channels, is trying to reduce the geographical “isolation” factor of Armenia, not for the sake of Armenia’s interests, but for the purpose of strengthening its own regional positions.

In other words, Armenia is brought out of “isolation”, but at the same time it is involved in the system of other dependencies, where the key levers of control are located in external centers.

In this logic, the Gyumri-Akhuryan direction is seen as an additional access for Turkey to the territory of Armenia and the region, while the Yeraskh-Nakhijevan section has a wider strategic importance in connection with ensuring a direct connection between Azerbaijan and Turkey. This second direction is already included in the processes that are often characterized as “corridor politics”, where the priority is not the sovereign control of the given state, but the fast and uninterrupted transit for external actors. In the context of all this, the rhetoric about overcoming Armenia’s isolation can actually turn into a new geopolitical arrangement, where the country is not freed from restrictions, but appears at the crossroads of various influences, especially those distributed among Turkish forces.

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Recently, a meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group took place in Kars. According to the statement of the RA Foreign Ministry, in accordance with the agreements reached within the framework of the regulation of Armenia-Turkey relations, on April 28, a meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group for the restoration and operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway was held in Kars.

“In the context of the expansion of transport communications in the region, the parties emphasized the importance of the early launch of the Gyumri-Kars railway,” the message stated.

It is noteworthy that the event was welcomed by Armenia’s western partners, the USA and the EU, describing it as a significant, historical event. The US Embassy in Armenia issued a statement and welcomed the taking of these concrete steps in the direction of reopening economic and social ties between Armenia and Turkey, which had been closed for decades.

“Historical progress on the way to building a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus.

A meeting of Armenian and Turkish officials took place in Kars to form a joint working group on the reconstruction of the Kars-Gyumri railway. The restoration of this key link between Armenia and Turkey is an important step in opening regional channels and ensuring regional stability.

Grounds for such turning developments were prepared at the Washington summit hosted by President Trump on August 8.

The US Embassy in Armenia welcomes the taking of these concrete steps in the direction of reopening economic and social ties between Armenia and Turkey, which have been closed for decades,” the message said.

The EU also welcomed the April 28 meeting of the Armenia-Turkey bilateral working group in Kars, which, according to official reports, aimed to promote the restoration of railway connections between the two countries.

“The stable progress of the Armenia-Turkey relations normalization process reflects the broader positive dynamics emerging in the region, which is important for long-term peace and stability. The EU encourages the full normalization of relations between the two countries.

Once operational, the Kars-Gyumri railway connection will strengthen regional communication and provide concrete benefits for the entire population of the South Caucasus. The EU is committed to developing communications in the South Caucasus in line with our interregional connectivity agenda, the Global Gateway strategy and the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, where Armenia and Turkey both play an important role,” the EU statement said.

Russian Turkologist Viktor Nadein-Raevsky 168.amsaid that judging by the fact of the meeting and the limited information spread, no historical progress was registered during that meeting. “It is not clear what the parties agreed on,” he said.

And if progress was registered, then, according to him, there should have been some information about it included in the message.

“All this at this stage looks like a process with mostly artificially inflated results. The opening of the border or the restoration of diplomatic relations would be a historic event, but the meeting of the working groups is like a meeting of special representatives, moreover, it is unclear what issues were discussed, what progress is being made and what will follow this process. It is also not known what is the progress of the agreements reached during the meetings of the special representatives. There are meetings, but there is no real progress, implementation of agreements, because Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet signed a document by which and the real Armenian-Turkish progress is determined,” Victor Nadein-Raevsky said.

According to him, the parties interested in the process are trying to give the impression that it is moving forward with great pace and results.

“And why are they doing this, because they cannot provide real results, as a player, and they want to show results, so that there is an impression that peace in the region is being strengthened, peaceful processes are unfolding,” the analyst said.

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On April 29, with the article “Is Anna Vardapetyan saving the director of the NSS or did she resort to “innocent manipulation”?” article: have published, which you don’t know why, caused “commotion” in the General Prosecutor’s Office, when it is based on dry facts, and we only tried to show that mentioning the cases recorded in the border guard troops under the National Security Service among the number of deaths recorded in the RA Armed Forces or in the context is misleading and manipulative.

And today, on April 30, during the briefing organized after the Government session, Nikol Pashinyan, referring to the service of the border guards, said the following wording did

“I am the prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, but I may not know if there is a question about how the border guard of the Republic of Armenia performs his service, with what logic, because it is a matter of my agenda. no”.

Let’s remind that the Border Guard troops are under the National Security Service, and the Security Service is directly subordinated to Nikol Pashinyan.

In particular, attached to Nikol Pashinyan’s decision of June 28, 2018 on approving the RA NSS statute and structure հավելվածի՝ In the section related to NSS administration and management, it is stated that “The National Security Service is managed by the Prime Minister.” And the director of the National Security Service “manages the organizations and institutions assigned to the national security service”.

In other words, how the border guard will serve, what will happen in the border guard troops, both Nikol Pashinyan and NSS director Andranik Simonyan, and of course the NSS border guard troops commander, are responsible here. Now, when Nikol Pashinyan, who a few days ago, again with pride declared that in the demarcated part of Tavush Marz, the border guard troops of Armenia and Azerbaijan carry out their service without helmets, without body armor, and with rifle magazines not on rifles, but in bags.

Can we say that Nikol Pashinyan puts all the responsibility in this case on the director of the NSS? And in the event that, during the question-and-answer session with journalists, he stated that Armenian border guards will be stationed in the border areas with Iran and Turkey step by step, along with the strengthening of the state’s capabilities.

“According to the agreement signed with Russia in the early 1990s, it is envisaged that along with the capacity of the RA border guard troops, we should take the border under the control of our border guard troops. We also make payments to the Russian border guards for guarding the border. It happened in the past when the Russian partners raised the issue of increasing these amounts, because these amounts are not enough to provide that service.

We also calculate that there is a topic of increasing these funds, we can spend them on developing our border guard capabilities, and little by little, as much as we have the opportunity, the Russian partners will fit in the amount, which is not too difficult for us to pay, and we will take over the control of the remaining parts of the border. This is provided for in the contract,” Pashinyan elaborated.

It should be noted that the Armenian border guards have already replaced the Russian border guards on the border with Turkey At the “Akhurik” checkpoint. The same practice also applies to those on the border with Iran At the “Agarak” checkpoint.

Armenia-Turkey state border from February this year “Prophet” the border service at the crossing point is also carried out exclusively by the forces of the RA border guard troops.

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