Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

Yerevan should clarify as soon as possible whether it is EAEU or EU. MFA of the Russian Federation

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It is necessary for Yerevan to answer the question about the strategic choice between EAEU and the EU as soon as possible. This was announced by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.


According to him, Armenia’s behavior cannot be called bona fide membership of EAEU. The diplomat added that, judging by the statements of the Armenian authorities, it turns out that participation in the EAEU is now only a temporary measure for Yerevan to prepare for EU membership.


“Pashinyan’s recent statements regarding the EAEU divert the conversation to the field of demagoguery, as it already happened in the case of the freezing of Armenia’s participation in the CSTO,” said Zakharova.

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Verelq: The outgoing National Assembly will convene an extraordinary session

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In accordance with Articles 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and 44 of the “Regulations of the National Assembly” constitutional law, at the initiative of the Government, on July 2 at 11:00, an extraordinary session of the National Assembly will be held with the agenda set by the initiator.


The agenda includes 43 issues.


It should be noted that the National Assembly of this convocation has already completed its work, in the last session, the session was solemnly closed under the sounds of the national anthem. However, as it turns out, there are unfinished business, for which an extraordinary session is convened.


The first session of the new National Assembly is scheduled for August 2.

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Sargsyan’s unique Italian clothing store in Sacramento

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· JUNE 25, 2026


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168: The National Assembly will convene an extraordinary session on July 2. What are the “urgent” issues?

Emil Lazarian Leave a comment

June: 26, 2026

The National Assembly will hold an extraordinary session on July 2 at 11:00. we learn about this from the written voting questions of the Government.

According to the draft decision of the government, the National Assembly is proposed to convene an extraordinary session on July 2, at 11:00, with the agenda set by the initiator.

From the justification of the project, we learn that the drafts included in the agenda of the regular sessions of June 16 and adopted in the first reading were included in the agenda, as well as the draft laws put into circulation by the Government, the National Assembly, which, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, the author of the project, “are urgent, because they are aimed at protecting human health, the environment, the basic regulations related to the creation and formation of the Ethics Committee of the National Assembly before the next convocation of the National Assembly, to further strengthen the values and principles established by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. approaches, public confidence in electoral processes increase and reduction of corruption mechanisms”.

Note that this is the comment of the Prime Minister’s office, but time will tell what urgent issues will be addressed in that session.

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According to Articles 99 of the Constitution and 35 of the Constitutional Law “Regulations of the National Assembly”, regular sessions of the National Assembly are convened twice a year: from the third Monday of January to the third Thursday of June and from the second Monday of September to the third Thursday of December.

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Armenia-Russia. “attacks” against the South Caucasian Railway will continue

Emil Lazarian Leave a comment

June: 26, 2026

During a recent meeting in Brussels, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Davit Khudatyan and Minister of Transport of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloglu «discussed the restoration of railway and road connections, which were actively used in the past.

Having started the necessary technical and preparatory works in our territory, we also assessed the course of preparatory and tender procedures by Armenia. In addition, we touched upon the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge between Kars and Ani and discussed steps towards the restoration of this important monument of our common historical heritage.” What if? let’s believe Yerevan Observer Khudatyan «proposed that the countries of the Turkic world or the organization of Turkic states join the Armenian-Turkish and Azerbaijani borders, as well as the reconstruction of the Ani bridge entrances and roads. According to the minister, such an approach corresponds to Armenia’s goal of multi-vector mutually beneficial dialogue»։

Moreover, the participation of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan in the conference dedicated to the restoration of Ukraine on June 25 in Gdansk is nothing more than «a clear signal to the Russian authorities that Russian assets in Armenia may be frozen, just as they have been done in the West, to be handed over to Kiev later»։

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The negative information background about Russian companies has been created by the Armenian mass media in recent months. Thus, Ruben Grdzelyan, press secretary of SCR, as early as March commented The obviously inflated and, moreover, allegedly “unfulfilled” investment volumes, broadcast on one of the Armenian TV channels, where it was said that the company should allegedly invest 2 billion 150 million US dollars during the 30 years of concession management in 2008-20029.

…”The claim that ‘obviously the obligations have already been breached’ is untrue, as the company clearly fulfills its contractual investment obligations step by step.”

«In fact, SCR’s investment obligations for the years 2008-2038 amount to 174.5 billion drams (about 500 million dollars), of which around 145 billion drams have already been invested. In other words, more than 80 percent of the investment program has been implemented at the moment»։

“South Caucasian Railway” CJSC, let’s remind, is a 100 percent subsidiary of “Russian Railways” OJSC. The company has been managing the railway system of Armenia since 2008. SCR CJSC’s 2025 investment program has exceeded 2 billion drams aimed at infrastructure modernization. In 2024 alone, SCR spent an additional 2 million dollars to restore sections of the railway damaged by the May (2024) flood in northern Armenia.

Most likely, they want SCR «rewrite» the lack of a unified railway network, hence the periodic accusations, «allegedly for defaulting on investment obligations. Meanwhile, back in 2012 last was reported About the order by SCR about the 35 km long feasibility study of the Vanadzor-Fioletovo railway project, which allows to reduce the road section from Yerevan to the border with Georgia by about 100 km. However, the SCR leadership at that time soon announced the unprofitability of the project, which is not related to the development of the nearby almost unused deposits of non-ferrous metal ores.

Government of Armenia «Russian railways»has not agreed with the development priorities of the railway network, which is one of the reasons for its insufficient connectivity. But responsibility get complicated is exclusively on the Russian side, which hardly an allowancein: to the positive perspectives of cooperation in the transport sector.

At the beginning of March, Pashinyan announced that “working level discussions are underway with Russian partners” regarding the early termination of the SCR concession. We see some understanding on this issue, for which we are grateful. There is nothing against Russia in what was said,” adding that in the current situation, Armenia is allegedly “losing its competitive advantages (in the transit sector). We have no other motivation, and I hope we will reach concrete solutions.”

Earlier, Pashinyan announced that by the end of the year, Armenia can take over from Russia’s concession as property the sections of railways on its territory that lead to Azerbaijan (three lines, including communication with the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan) and the borders of Turkey (one line):

A number of experts do not consider it unfounded that the discourse initiated by Yerevan in this field is directly related to the unknown «Trump route» and, accordingly, with the line of the Trump administration, which is not interested in Armenia and, thein general, in the presence of Russia in Transcaucasia, not excluding transit projects.

ALEXEI BALIAND:

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan




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Armenian Court Opens Hearings On Appeals Against Election Results

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  • Astghik Bedevian
June 26, 2026
Armenia – Opposition supporters rally outside the Constitutional Court at the start of its hearings on appeals against election results, June 26, 2026.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court began on Friday hearings on appeals against the official results of the June 7 parliamentary elections filed by six opposition groups and one pro-government party.

In their separate appeals, they allege serious fraud which they say influenced the results giving victory to the ruling Civil Contract party. The three main opposition contenders accuse election officials of miscounting many ballots and claim that the Armenian authorities forced many public sector employees and security personnel to vote for Civil Contract. They also pointed to mass arrests of their members and supporters, which continued on election day.

The official election runner-up, the Strong Armenia alliance led by billionaire Samvel Karapetian, suggested that the Constitutional Court alternatively order a run-off vote between it and Civil Contract.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party won the elections with 49.8 percent of the vote. Strong Armenia came in second with 23.3 percent, followed by former President Robert Kocharian’s Hayastan alliance (almost 10 percent) and Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) (almost 4 percent).

The BHK fell just short of a legal threshold for entering the Armenian parliament after the CEC cancelled results in three precincts and refused to rerun elections there. This and other opposition contenders portrayed the controversial decision as further proof that the vote was rigged in the ruling party’s favor.

Armenia – The Constitutional Court starts hearings on appeals against election results, June 26, 2026.

Also challenging the election results are three other opposition parties that fared worse in the ballot. One of them is led by former human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan.

Pashinian and his political allies reject the fraud allegations. They say that the three opposition heavyweights themselves secured hundreds of thousands of votes through illegal vote bribes.

The vote-buying allegations are at the heart of the appeal filed by For the Republic party allied to Pashinian. Representatives of Civil Contract as well as three law-enforcement agencies are expected to echo the allegations during the court hearings.

Opposition leaders seem skeptical about the success of their appeals, mindful of the fact that eight of the court’s nine judges have been installed by Pashinian’s party. The court excluded two of those judges, both of them former pro-government politicians, from the consideration of the appeals, citing their “prejudicial attitude” towards the opposition. It ignored opposition demands to also recuse another judge, Seda Safarian, who ran in the 2021 elections on the ticket of a pro-government bloc that comprised For the Republic.

Under Armenian law, the court must rule on the appeals by July 4.

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Armenia flags disinformation over fabricated earthquake warning

Emil Lazarian Leave a comment
Armenia16:35, 26 June 2026
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia has warned that false information is being circulated on X, including a fabricated video falsely presented as an official communication from the Seismic Protection Territorial Service of the ministry, which falsely claims that a warning has been issued about a possible 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Kotayk Province in the coming weeks.

The Ministry said in a press release that the post constitutes disinformation that misuses official branding and includes a fabricated reference to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

No such earthquake warning has been issued by the seismic protection agency.

The agency reports that specialists from the Seismic Protection Territorial Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia carry out 24-hour ongoing seismic hazard monitoring, and that timely and appropriate updates on earthquakes are published as necessary.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Armenia’s NPM hosts discussion on the International Day in Support of Victims

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Armenia17:00, 26 June 2026
Read the article in: Armenian:

A discussion dedicated to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture took place in Yerevan, organized by the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

Human Rights Defender of Armenia Anahit Manasyan, in her opening remarks, emphasized the importance of the event and the topic for all actors engaged in the protection of human rights.

“I would like to particularly note that this field is quite large, multi-layered, and has many dimensions, and work in this direction presupposes the existence of a number of mechanisms. The primary one is, naturally, the prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, which again implies a multi-layered process and the availability of proper preventive mechanisms, such as the Office of the Human Rights Defender as a national preventive mechanism and various monitoring groups acting as oversight bodies,” Manasyan said.

According to her, from the perspective of the prevention system, an important role is played by having a proper and favorable environment for reporting cases of torture, because if the environment is not safe and appropriate, then the mechanisms for addressing such cases are also not safe for victims in terms of reporting.

“It is extremely important that representatives of all systems, especially in places of deprivation of liberty—whether penitentiary institutions or detention facilities—and, of course, we also carry out very serious functions in this regard within the armed forces, that service members have proper information about what ill-treatment is and how it should be prevented,” the Human Rights Defender emphasized, highlighting the importance of working in an appropriate format to create an enabling environment, so that, in addition to preventive mechanisms, a safe environment is formed for reporting relevant incidents.

UNDP Resident Representative Natia Natsvlishvili, expressing readiness to continue and strengthen existing cooperation, noted that the European Commission, in its 2023 report, recorded a number of very positive developments in Armenia in terms of the prevention of torture.

However, she added that there are also challenges related to the situation and conditions in specific institutions.

The UNDP representative also emphasized the importance of using digital tools in the prevention of torture in order to increase the effectiveness of monitoring mechanisms through systematic oversight.

Tomasz Ostropolski, Deputy Head of the Political Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia, said that the European Union remains committed to continuing its support to Armenia in this field, as well as to strengthening the work of human rights mechanisms.

From the perspective of protecting the rights of vulnerable groups in Armenia and preventing torture, the speaker emphasized, alongside state and other human rights institutions, the role of civil society, describing it as irreplaceable.

Elīna Šteinerte, member and Vice-Chair for NPM of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, speaking online, noted that a four-year cooperation has already been established with the responsible bodies of Armenia’s National Preventive Mechanism.

“This event is truly a very important opportunity to understand Armenia’s approach in this field, and I wish us all a truly fruitful discussion, which is very important from the perspective of making Armenian society more protected,” Šteinerte said.

Afterwards, panel discussions began, focusing in particular on existing mechanisms for supporting victims of torture and other topical issues in the field.

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Strong Armenia fugitive parliamentary candidate apprehended

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Law17:25, 26 June 2026
Read the article in: EspañolՀայերենRussian

One of four candidates for parliament from the Strong Armenia bloc who are fugitives from justice, Artur Abrahamyan, has been apprehended and placed in pre-trial detention, the Investigative Committee said on Friday.

A total of six Strong Armenia parliamentary candidates were earlier indicted on charges of vote-buying and money laundering.

Two of the suspects were taken into custody and placed in pre-trial detention. Following the latest arrest, three suspects are still at large, with outstanding arrest warrants. 

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Khudatyan and Grigoryan visit Armenian Nuclear Power Plant

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Armenia21:25, 26 June 2026
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan visited the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant on June 26 together with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

According to the ministry, the officials first toured the nuclear power plant, after which an expanded working meeting was held.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Narek Apitonyan, Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Director Eduard Martirosyan, Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Mesrop Mesropyan, Acting Director of the Nuclear Safety Committee Khachatur Khachikyan, and heads of companies operating in Armenia’s energy sector.

During the meeting, Eduard Martirosyan presented the progress of work on extending the operational lifetime of the second power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant.

The participants also discussed a number of other important issues related to the sector.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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