1- Cong. Fine Should be Kicked Out of Congress
For his Anti-Armenian Racist Remarks
By Harut
Sassounian
2- Armenia And The Disappearing Mountain
3- My speech at the Diaspora Mobilization Conference in Paris, April 11-12, 2026
4- Pashinyan announces legal action against Samvel Karapetyan over psychedelic mushroom claims
5- Most popular baby names revealed in Armenia
6- Washington summit opened new chapter in Azerbaijan – U.S. partnership
7- Now is the time for a US ‘grand deal’ with Azerbaijan
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1- Cong. Fine Should be Kicked Out of Congress
For his Anti-Armenian Racist Remarks
By Harut Sassounian
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Randy Fine, a Jewish-American Republican Congressman from Florida, made a highly insulting remark by telling the audience on a nationwide podcast — the Jenny Beth Show — on April 30, “We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress.”
Cong. Fine made this controversial comment while criticizing Dan Bilzerian, a social media influencer with 29.6 million Instagram followers and a U.S. veteran, who is running against him in the Republican Primary in Florida. Pres. Trump has endorsed Fine, calling him a “MAGA Warrior.”
Fine said that Bilzerian “lives in Las Vegas when he’s not in his foreign country of Armenia. But you know, he’s just a terrible anti-Semite. I think what he’s trying to show is that this group of hate-filled lunatics and losers can take hold in the Republican Party…. The little Armenian said, I think that President Trump was a pedophile rapist who should be impeached. That’s not a winning argument. It may work in Armenia, where he’s from, but that’s not an argument. That’s not gonna work in the United States. So, it’s bad. We have to take it seriously because we don’t want this to take root in our party. We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress. But I’m not gonna lose too much sleep about it.” Bilzerian is not from Armenia. He was born in Tampa, Florida, and became a dual citizen of Armenia in 2018.
If Cong. Fine had simply criticized Bilzerian because he did not like his controversial views, that would have been understandable. However, targeting all Armenians because of his disagreement with one Armenian-American is completely unacceptable and foolish. This is pure and simple racism. Fine was rebuked by several members of Congress, including Cong. Brad Sherman (Democrat-CA), Cong. Laura Friedman (Democrat-Ca), Cong. Brendan Boyle (Democrat-PA), and Cong. Delia Ramirez (Democrat-Illinois). Fine was also criticized by several members of the U.S. media, and online commentators.
“This isn’t just racist — it’s disqualifying,” stated ANCA National Grassroots Director Gev Iskajyan. “Saying Armenians shouldn’t be allowed to serve in Congress is blatant bigotry. No elected official who traffics in this kind of hate should be running for office.”
Rather than apologizing for his unsavory remarks, Fine doubled down on his insults by posting on X two days later: “Armenians should not serve in Congress. Neither should Somalis. Or Guatemalans. Or — wait for it — Israelis.” He made matters worse by adding several other nationalities to his racist remarks.
How would Jewish Cong. Fine feel if someone says: “We don’t want Jews to be able to serve in Congress?” I am sure all hell would break loose. There would be nationwide condemnation of that person for being blatantly anti-Semitic. And if such a racist thing was said by an incumbent member of Congress, there would have been calls for his immediate resignation. The least Congress should do now is strip Fine of his membership on the prestigious House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I disagree with a lot of the controversial things Bilzerian says about Jews, such as calling Cong. Fine “a fat Jew.” The Israeli government has ranked Bilzerian number one on its list of the 10 most prominent anti-Semitic influencers.”
Cong. Fine himself “has a long history of making bigoted comments about Muslims, and suggested in 2025 that nuclear weapons should be dropped on Gaza. He has also used racist and Islamophobic language toward Muslim politicians in the U.S., such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he called ‘little more than a Muslim terrorist’, adding that his citizenship should be stripped and he ‘should be deported to the Ugandan shithole he came from,’” Nate Ostiller reported in OC Media.
Fine introduced last October the “Disqualifying Dual Loyalty Act” (H.R. 5817), but Congress has not taken any action on his proposal. Serving as a dual citizen in the U.S. Congress is not against the law and cannot be an excuse for making racist comments about such individuals.
Over the years, many dual citizens have served in Congress, such as Sen. Ted Cruz who held joint U.S. and Canadian citizenship until 2014, and Congresswoman Michele Bachman who held joint U.S. and Swiss citizenship until 2012.
There are several other serious problems with Cong. Fine. Along with five other members of Congress, Fine is a cosponsor of H.R.6534, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 9, 2025. If adopted, H. R. 6534 would repeal Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act and lift longstanding restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, including providing military weapons.
Doing further research using the recently formed website GovItUp.com, I discovered that Ezra Friedlander, the principal of the Friedlander Consulting Group, a lobbying firm hired by Azerbaijan, donated $1,000 to Cong. Fine’s campaign on Sept. 18, 2025. In addition, the Friedlander firm reported to the U.S. Department of Justice that it had arranged two meetings in June and July 2025, for Nigar Shiralizade, Political Officer at Azerbaijan’s Embassy, and Sanan Farajov, Second Secretary of Azerbaijan’s Embassy, with Cong. Fine’s Chief of Staff, to discuss “U.S.-Azerbaijan relations.”
As the _expression_ goes, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at other houses.”
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2- Armenia And The Disappearing Mountain
RFE
Something seems to be missing from Armenias new biometric passport. That’s according to many in the country, who have flagged an unusual image in the document.
Among pages showcasing Armenia’s heritage and culture is a picture of Khor Virap. The 17th century monastery is famous largely for its spectacular backdrop of Mount Ararat. In the passport, however, the monastery is depicted from an angle showing only nondescript mountains on the horizon. Critics have called the unusual image a ploy to avoid including Ararat in the official document.
Mount Ararat is situated inside Turkey and officially known by its Turkish name Mount Agri, but the landmark rises prominently above Yerevan on clear days.
The 5,100 meter mountain was a part of ancient kingdoms of Armenia, but ethnic Armenians were driven from settlements around Ararat amid the Ottoman state-led killings, which have been recognized as genocide by dozens of countries including the United States. When borders in the region were redrawn following World War I, Ararat’s twin peaks were included within the eastern edge of modern Turkey.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian recently hinted at the controversy over the passport depiction of Khor Virap,saying during a live stream with Interior Minister Arpine Sargsian that, we’ve chosen such a perspective to suit our policies and what we have discussed for a long time.
Given it is the passport of the Republic of Armenia, Pashinian added, the passport reflects the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
The absence of the mountain in the passports, which are set to be rolled out in the fall of 2026, follows a government decision late last year to remove snow-capped icons of Mount Ararat from passport stamps. That decision led to an uproar in the country, including a lawsuit filed against the government.
Opposition politician Hayk Mamijanian condemned the removal of the mountain from passport stamps at the time, telling reporters it never ceases to amaze how zealously Pashinian is ready to please Turkey or Azerbaijan.”
Since Azerbaijan’s military recapture of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2023, Armenia has sought to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan and Turkey, both historic foes of Armenia.
Armenia and Azerbaijan initialled a peace agreement in 2025 that includes a clause indefinitely forbidding either country from making territorial claims on the other. Turkey, a close ally of Baku, has long objected to Armenia’s use of Ararat as a national symbol, including in the coat of arms of the Soviet Republic of Armenia.
Joshua Kucera, a senior analyst for International Crisis Group, says the Khor Virap image appears to be, part of the larger real Armenia narrative that [Pashinian] is promoting, trying to refocus Armenians’ attentions to the issues within their own borders rather than historical Armenia outside its borders.
The Caucasus expert says that reframing effort also includes the recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
Some fear a more consequential target for the Pashinian government could be the current Armenian coat of arms, which features Ararat as its centerpiece, topped with Noah’s Ark. The mythical vessel is believed by some Christians to have settled atop Mount Ararat following the biblical flood. In 2023, Pashinian criticized the emblem for representing “a dichotomy between historical Armenia and real Armenia.
Edmon Marukian, a politician and former ally of the Armenian prime minister, called the 2025 erasure of Mount Ararat from passport stamps a potential precursor to Armenias coat of arms being remade. Removing [Ararat] would require changing the constitution and the law, the politician noted, adding, are we, as citizens, ready to tolerate this?
In April, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service asked Pashinian about the potential for Ararat to be removed from the coat of arms. The prime minister responded only that “I am not raising such a question.”
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3- My speech at the Diaspora Mobilization Conference in Paris, April 11-12, 2026
By Harut Sassounian
Diaspora Armenians often proudly say, “Azerbaijan has oil, Georgia has a sea, and Armenia has a Diaspora.”
Unfortunately, until now, the potential of the Diaspora has not been fully utilized. Many measure the support of the Diaspora only in material terms, and for this reason some call the Diaspora a “cash cow.”
In 1997, the Armenian government approved the law on dual citizenship, an important step towards strengthening Diaspora-Armenia relations. Unfortunately, the government did not encourage Diaspora Armenians to become dual citizens of Armenia.
In 2008, President Serzh Sargsyan established the Ministry of Diaspora. I proudly served on the Board of the Ministry for ten years, from the day it was established until its closure in 2018.
When Nikol Pashinyan came to power, he closed the Ministry of Diaspora and appointed Zareh Sinanyan as High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs. This was a hugely unsuccessful appointment, as Sinanyan destroyed the existing bridges between Armenia and the Diaspora.
Sinanyan ignored traditional Armenian organizations and parties and replaced them with individuals who have no influence in their communities but are supporters of Pashinyan.
Sinanyan wastes his time praising the Prime Minister and even suggesting that Arabs immigrate to Armenia, something that has nothing to do with Diaspora Armenians.
At the 2024 Diaspora-Armenia conference, Pashinyan surprisingly dared to tell the present Diaspora Armenians: “We do not need your humanitarian aid.”
These words caused deep offense, because he not only does not encourage the Diaspora, but also openly refuses their support.
During his eight years in office, Pashinyan has become a great disaster for Diaspora-Armenia relations.
He said in Istanbul that the Prime Minister of Armenia is not responsible for all Armenians around the world. “Don’t rely on me. Diaspora Armenians should solve their problems in their communities.”
And this week, Pashinyan declared, “There are some offices, groups, clubs in the Diaspora who claim to speak on behalf of the Diaspora. These people are not the Diaspora at all, they are no longer the overwhelming majority in the Diaspora, they are marginal organizations. And the Armenian government will have less to do with these organizations in general and will ultimately have nothing to do with them at all.” This approach completely undermines pan-Armenian unity.
In addition, Pashinyan has taken steps that belittle our national sanctities:
— Criticized Mount Ararat because it is outside the borders of Armenia.
— Criticized the lion on the coat of arms, not understanding that the lion is a symbol of courage.
— Criticized the national anthem.
— Gave up Artsakh, despite his 2018 statement that “Artsakh is Armenia and that’s it.”
— Ceded more than 200 sq. km. of Armenian territory to Azerbaijan.
— Did nothing to release the Artsakh leaders imprisoned in Baku.
— Considers the Artsakh issue closed and calls Artsakh Armenians “escapees.”
— Harshly criticizes the Armenian Apostolic Church and imprisons its clergy.
— Questions the veracity of the Armenian Genocide.
— Renames “Armenian History” textbooks “History of Armenia.”
— During his visits, he carries a map of “real Armenia” on his lapel, consigning historical Armenia to oblivion.
— Has compiled a blacklist for Diaspora Armenians who are banned from entering Armenia. My name is on that list. Armenia is not Pashinyan’s personal home to decide who can enter Armenia and who cannot.
Last week, Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party announced a new program to further divide the Diaspora. I quote: “Organize a conference of state-centered organizations of the Diaspora with the aim of adopting a concept of Armenia-Diaspora cooperation in peace and forming mechanisms for its implementation.”
With such steps, Pashinyan is concealing our national identity, history, and millennial heritage. The concessions he has made violate the laws and constitution of Armenia.
If Pashinyan remains at the head of government after the June 7 elections, the very existence of Armenia will be endangered.
Finally, I would like to present my proposal to unite the Diaspora in one sentence: “With the vision of uniting millions of our people in the Diaspora into one unified structure, I am trying to create a Diaspora Armenian Parliament with representatives elected by Diaspora Armenians.”
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5- Most popular baby names revealed in Armenia
Panarmenian.net
Armenia’s Statistical Committee has published the list of the most frequently given names to newborns in 2025, topped by Nare for girls and Davit for boys.
The top ten female names also include Arpi, Luse, Maria, Angelina, Eva, Mane, Ameli, Mari, and Mariam.
The top ten male names also include Narek, Hayk, Robert, Mikael, Tigran, Mark, Areg, Leo, and Monte.
In 2025, a total of 15,246 girls and 16,796 boys were born in Armenia.
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6- Washington Summit Opened New Chapter in Azerbaijan-U.S. Partnership
By Alyona Pavlenko
30 Trend
LACHIN, Azerbaijan — A new momentum for cooperation has
emerged in the relations between Azerbaijan and the United States following the
Washington summit, Amy Carlon, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Azerbaijan, told
journalists on Saturday during a visit to East Zangezur and Karabakh, Trend
reports.
“I am very glad to have the opportunity to come to
this part of Azerbaijan. I have never been to Shusha or Lachin before, so I am
truly happy to be here and see the situation with my own eyes,” she said.
Carlon noted that since last year’s Washington summit, a
new impetus has been injected into the bilateral relationship. “Our focus
is on issues of connectivity, trade and economic development, as well as
cooperation in the fields of defense and security. Since the signing of the
agreement [Charter on Strategic Partnership], we have been engaging technical
specialists and other experts to implement concrete projects and advance this
cooperation in practice,” she added.
The visit of representatives of the diplomatic corps
accredited in Azerbaijan to East Zangezur and Karabakh commenced on May 1,
2026. The delegation is accompanied by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs
Department of the Presidential Administration. More than 150 ambassadors,
diplomats, military attaches, and other representatives from 62 countries and
international organizations are participating in the trip.
This marks the 21st visit of the diplomatic corps to the
liberated territories. Such trips are of significant importance for forming an
objective understanding of the scale of projects being implemented and the
results achieved in the region. On the second day of the visit, the diplomatic
representatives visited the Lachin district.
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7- Now is the time for a US ‘grand deal’ with Azerbaijan
By Andrew D’Anieri and Mercedes Sapuppo
Atlantic Council
Bottom lines up front
- The Trump administration should propose a “grand deal” with Azerbaijan that lifts US arms sale restrictions in exchange for Baku releasing dozens of political prisoners.
- This effort would build on the model the White House has used in talks with Belarus, which has released more than five hundred political prisoners.
- Shifting US relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, upcoming Armenian elections, and the need for a final peace agreement could make such a deal more likely to succeed.
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration’s dealmaking blitz with Belarus has secured the release of hundreds of detainees. By trading targeted sanctions relief for the release of political prisoners in Belarus, the White House has helped free more than five hundred people from unjust captivity. A similar deal with Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus would produce major rewards, with much less risk.
To pursue this “grand deal” in Azerbaijan, the Trump administration should work with Congress to propose ending a ban on arms sales to Baku in exchange for the release of unjustly detained individuals—some with US ties—sitting in the country’s jails. This is a rare moment for a bipartisan win-win and a relatively cost-free way to upgrade US relations with a key strategic energy and transport partner that borders both Iran and Russia. With proper timing, Armenia, too, could be supportive, if the release includes at least some Armenians currently held in Azerbaijan.
What to do with Section 907
The Trump administration should engage Congress to resolve Baku’s number one concern on Capitol Hill: the repeal of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act that bans US arms sales to Azerbaijan. Congress originally adopted the measure in 1992 to punish Azerbaijan’s treatment of Armenians in Karabakh and its blockade of Armenia. In 2001, the US Senate passed an amendment that allowed the White House to waive Section 907 restrictions. Almost every year since, both Republican and Democratic presidents have indeed waived Section 907. This renders the text inconsequential to the United States, but it is highly symbolic to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s government, which views it as an impediment to closer relations with Washington.
Furthermore, the relationships between Washington, Baku, and Yerevan are changing. Armenia and Azerbaijan received unprecedented US attention when Vice President JD Vance became the highest-level US official to visit the countries in February, following the tripartite leader-level summit in Washington, DC in August 2025. In Yerevan, the vice president announced billions of dollars in nuclear energy support, talked up a major US-funded supercomputing project, and slipped in a tacit endorsement of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Vance’s Baku visit saw an agreement for the United States to work with Azerbaijan in a range of areas, but no concrete agreement.
The timing of any deal is essential, and the next few months represent a unique opportunity. Armenia holds parliamentary elections on June 7, and Pashinyan may face a strong test in his reelection bid from pro-Russia parties skeptical of his efforts toward peace with Azerbaijan. The Kremlin is conducting an extensive fake news operation to undermine Pashinyan’s campaign. Officials and experts in Baku rightly see Pashinyan as their best chance to finally agree to a formal peace deal and may be inclined to furtively support his candidacy. What better way to defang Pashinyan’s pro-Russia detractors and maintain pathways to peace than to release high-profile Armenian prisoners ahead of the election?
Additionally, Azerbaijan has found more support on the Republican side of the aisle in the United States and may want to move on the issue now while Congress is in GOP hands.
That’s also why, with US midterm elections just six months away, the Trump administration may find it advantageous to push forward, as unified Republican control potentially makes it easier for the Trump administration to work with Congress to repeal Section 907. While passing any legislation is a difficult task on gridlocked Capitol Hill, Azerbaijan could offer something in exchange that both parties and the White House would value highly: the release of prisoners that officials, senators, and experts all consider unjustly detained. This group should include anti-corruption advocate Gubad Ibadoghlu, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America journalists, and some Armenian detainees. The impact of freeing unjustly detained people would be far more valuable to the United States than maintaining a statute that is rendered moot almost every year.
Such a trade would present fewer potential downsides to US interests than recent engagement with Belarus. US Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale has pursued a blunt sanctions-relief-for-prisoner-releases policy, a high-risk game that some worry could make it easier for Russia to evade US export controls and sanctions. Those fears haven’t yet been borne out, but with Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka still beholden to his Kremlin patron and aiding Moscow’s aggression, the United States risks undermining its own efforts to limit Russia’s ability to continue its war on Ukraine.
The stakes in Azerbaijan are thankfully much lower. The United States would not be dropping sanctions, merely giving itself the option to continue to provide security assistance to Baku. US military aid today is negligible: Since 2002, the United States has delivered approximately eighty million dollars’ worth of defense assistance to Azerbaijan in total. Vance did promise new aid on his February visit: an unspecified number of maritime patrol boats to better secure the country’s ports. These are tiny amounts of nonlethal security assistance made possible because the United States waives Section 907 every year.
That figure could increase if Section 907 were repealed and Washington and Baku began arranging multiyear security assistance packages. Even so, that aid would likely still focus on nonlethal border security. Azerbaijan already acquires offensive capabilities from Turkey and Israel, at lower prices than US firms and stocks can offer. With Iran and Russia’s restive southern regions persistently unstable, Azerbaijan needs early-warning and border security capabilities more than it needs lethal capabilities.
The only thing the United States stands to lose by repealing Section 907 is leverage. US President Donald Trump can use that leverage by building on his administration’s success in freeing political prisoners in Belarus to simultaneously promote peace in the South Caucasus. Aliyev may even be more open to dealing than Lukashenka has been. Compared to Belarus, whose pro-democracy movement currently functions in exile but remains a powerful diplomatic force, the Azerbaijani government faces a much more muted opposition and could release detainees without fearing any real threat to its authority.
How to sequence the agreement
The full “grand deal” should therefore be structured as follows. In the run-up to the Armenian parliamentary election in June, Azerbaijan should free some of the Armenians it captured in 2023 in Karabakh as a gesture of good faith toward a deal. Washington and Baku then would work to agree to repeal Section 907 in exchange for the release of Azerbaijani detainees and additional Armenian prisoners. This would require the White House to work with Congress to secure the repeal ahead of the planned release, but with renewed faith in Azerbaijan’s seriousness about the deal.
This proposed deal has something for everyone. Baku gets a two-for-one: It retains a true partner for peace negotiations in Pashinyan and resolves its main issue in front of the United States. Team Trump gets to free unjust detainees and bolster the president’s peacemaking image at essentially no cost. Congressional Republicans get the president a foreign policy win, while Democrats can tout their role in notching a rare human rights victory; both mollify the ever-active Armenian diaspora by securing the release of Karabakh Armenians. Yerevan gets citizens back and a steadier track toward normalization with its neighbors. This arrangement must include a clear warning to Baku that the benefits it receives are contingent on maintaining the hard-won peace.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have made major progress in the last several months to normalize relations, most recently boosting energy trade ties and agreeing to joint border demarcation. With some more nudging from the United States, Baku and Yerevan can take another step toward a final peace deal by freeing detainees. Crucially, all parties get to come out with a foreign policy win at almost no cost.
This plan would test the White House’s dealmaking diplomacy and Congress’s legislative creativity. But with so many potential benefits on offer in a short window of time, it’s worth exploring.
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