More Armenian servicemembers choose military career after mandatory enlistment

Military13:14, 20 March 2026
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The number of servicemembers choosing to continue their military careers after completing mandatory service is on the rise, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan told lawmakers on Friday.

He said that 5,200 servicemembers have signed up for voluntary service through the “Homeland Defender” contract program so far.

“Under the servicemember certification process, 3,270 personnel were certified in 2025 and continue to serve. Since the process was introduced, 73% of applicants have been certified.1,777 servicemembers have joined the Homeland Defender program, through which enlisted personnel move from mandatory service to [voluntary] contract service. Compared to 2024, the number of participants has increased by 180, bringing the total in 2025 to 4,234. Currently, this figure has surpassed 5,200,” Papikyan said during a parliamentary committee hearing on the Defense Ministry’s 2025 performance under the 2021–2026 government program.

As part of the rollout of the new NCO system, roughly 120 sergeant positions have been added, and servicemembers who completed the required training have been assigned to these posts. In addition, around 200 trained instructors have joined the military through instructor training programs.

Men called up for Armenia’s 1.5-year mandatory military service have the option, under the Homeland Defender program, to sign a five-year contract with the possibility of extension, giving them additional benefits and career opportunities. 

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Ambassador meets members of newly formed Uruguay–Armenia Parliamentary Friend

External policy11:22, 20 March 2026
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Armenian Ambassador to Uruguay Mariam Gevorgyan met with members of the newly established Uruguay–Armenia Friendship Group in the South American nation’s parliament.

Welcoming the formation of the friendship group, the ambassador expressed confidence that it will serve as a new impetus for inter-parliamentary exchanges and the strengthening of parliamentary diplomacy, the embassy said in a press release.

During the meeting, Ambassador Gevorgyan answered questions from Uruguayan parliamentarians regarding Armenia’s security situation, the process of normalizing relations with neighboring countries, and various issues related to Armenia–Uruguay bilateral relations.

The parties mutually emphasized the high level of bilateral relations and expressed their readiness to continue efforts to further develop cooperation.

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Akhurik checkpoint now manned exclusively by Armenian Border Guards, NSS confi

Armenia14:49, 20 March 2026
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Russian border guards who were previously on duty jointly with their Armenian counterparts at the Akhurik border checkpoint on the Armenia–Türkiye land border, currently closed, have been withdrawn.

As of now, only Armenian border guards are stationed at the Akhurik checkpoint, the Director of the National Security Service, Andranik Simonyan, reaffirmed to reporters on Friday.

During a press briefing, a reporter asked whether Russian border guards are still serving at the “Akhurik” checkpoint. Simonian responded:

“Since the beginning of 2026, only servicemembers of the NSS Border Guards have been serving at the Akhurik checkpoint.”

On a follow-up question about whether this means there are no Russian border guards at the checkpoint at all, the NSS director replied:

“At the checkpoint — no.”

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Armenian authorities say leaked text is not final constitution draft

Armenia15:16, 20 March 2026
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Armenian authorities said Friday that a text leaked to the media and presented as the new Constitution draft is not the final document.

“The Constitutional Reform Council continues its work, and both substantive and editorial changes are being made in the process of shaping the final version. Accordingly, there are numerous working documents, including draft versions and analytical reviews based on the current Constitution’s text,” the ministry of justice said, urging the public to rely only on official information and to wait for the official publication of the new Constitution draft.

The Ishkhanutyun media outlet published on Friday what it said was a leaked draft of the Constitution that the authorities plan to put to a referendum. Various clauses in the current Constitution were shown as removed.

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The state apparatus discusses Pashinyan’s “circus”

“Hraparak” newspaper writes:


Nikol Pashinyan, who is trying to turn the state apparatus into his loyal electorate with billions of bonuses ahead of the elections, is not perceived by ordinary civil servants, even by those who sympathize with the CP.


Our acquaintances who work in the departments told us that the “happy bus” of the KP and especially Pashinyan’s unrestrained eating on live air, how he eats pie, sujukh, lavash by chewing on both sides, is actively discussed in the ministries. They ask each other when we will come to our senses, have a serious leader and get rid of this circus.


By the way, some even doubt that Pashinyan is fasting, because even the average housewife knows that yogurt is also added to the dough of the pie, and food of animal origin must be excluded from the fasting menu.

The plot of land in the territory of the Ijevan city park was returned to the community

On March 10, 2025, the General Prosecutor’s Office submitted a claim to the Anti-Corruption Court against a natural person, a third party, with a request to terminate the development right to a plot of land with an area of ​​18 sq.


According to the judgment of the Anti-Corruption Court on January 26, 2026, the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office was satisfied. According to the decision, the construction right of a natural person was stopped for the 18 square meter plot of land located at 18/3 Theater Street, Ijevan.


The decision of the anti-corruption court has entered into force.


On March 19, 2026, on the basis of the application of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Cadastre Committee terminated the development right of an individual over the plot. the plot was returned to the Ijevan community.

34,576 people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh received RA citizenship. minister

As of now, 34,576 people who were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh have received RA citizenship, there are zero cases of rejection. RA Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan said this during the regular session of the RA NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security Issues.


“The number of minors displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh is 28,000, 12,000 of them acquired RA citizenship through passporting,” said the minister.


As for the number of applications for RA citizenship in general, according to Sargsyan, if in 2025 In the 1st semester, the Ministry of Internal Affairs received about 4,000 applications for RA citizenship, then in 2026 according to the data of the first two and a half months, this number reached 5,000.


To remind, according to the data of the migration and citizenship service of the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs, after September 2023, 115,365 people were forcibly displaced from Artsakh.

Garegin B was forbidden to go to Tbilisi for Ilia B’s funeral

Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan, the president of the Pan-Armenian Council for the Protection of the Armenian Church, made a statement regarding the denial of the opportunity by the Armenian authorities to the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II to travel to Tbilisi and participate in the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia.


“This is no longer the floor. The authorities of the day displayed their sick revenge and the most ridiculous degree of moral depravity. By effectively holding Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II hostage and forbidding him to travel to Tbilisi to bid farewell to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, this regime proves that it is ultimately devoid of any sanctity.



This is petty and cowardly hooliganism. When the state apparatus cannot restrain its cheapness even in the face of death, mourning and the last farewell, we are dealing not with the government, but with national shame.


This is a blow to the dignity of our state. By depriving the Patriarch of All Armenians from participating in the funeral of his spiritual brother, you are not humiliating His Holiness. You are turning Armenia into a mockery, showing the world that our country is run by mentally ill people who do not care about centuries-old Armenian-Georgian relations.


This is blatant blasphemy. Where normal people keep quiet and bow their heads, you build your cheap maniac walls. This is an encroachment not only against church order, but also against basic human morality.


We strongly demand that this disgraceful ban against the Catholicos be lifted immediately and without cheap legal veils. Your hostile and destructive campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church has crossed all the borders of insanity.


Calm down! Whoever remains silent and tolerates this disgrace today becomes an accomplice of this spiritual terror carried out at the state level. You are not hurting the Church, you are exposing your own moral bankruptcy, your fear and pettiness. Your image does not evoke feelings other than disgust and pity,” the statement reads.

Ara Fidanyan was dismissed from the position of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

20.03.2026

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a decision, according to which Ara Fidanyan was dismissed from the post of Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.


“Guided by Article 16, Part 1 and Article 37, Part 1, Clause 1 of the Civil Service Law, Ara Khoreni Fidanyan shall be dismissed from the position of Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from March 20, 2026,” the decision states.

Innocent Armenian Laid To Rest