After successfully recruiting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to neutralize the Armenian Diaspora, which is their last step to conquer Armenia. Both Aliyev and Erdogan are pleased with the submissive regime in Armenia and do not want the Diaspora to stand in the way of their anti-Armenian plans.
On March 2, 2026, the London-based public relations (PR) firm Apollo Strategic Communications (ASC) attacked the Armenian National Association of America (ANCA) by sending a secret memo to the American media titled “Armenian Diaspora Voices Russia’s Interests on Capitol Hill.” ASC has ties with Azerbaijan and its Caspian oil partners. The company is registered with the UK Chamber of Companies as a “public relations and communications company”. In recent years, it has changed its name several times: Apollo Public Relations Limited (13 August 2009 – 29 August 2014) and Red Public Relations Limited (14 April 2008 – 13 August 2009).
In its memo, ASC spreads falsehoods and misinformation, claiming that “the US administration’s efforts [in Armenia] … are facing resistance and opposition from the influential Armenian National Committee of America, the largest Armenian organization in the United States, which, according to some circles on Capitol Hill, is trying to derail the peace process in Congress.” ANCA is accused of collaborating with pro-Moscow forces while acting against Armenia’s national interests, supporting Russian positions and spreading disinformation, often literally, into the heart of the American establishment.” The memorandum condemns “high-ranking ANCA officials for their passionate defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church”. The Armenian National Committee and the Diaspora are against false peace, not real peace, and they are not against the national interests of Armenia. On the contrary, they want to protect Armenia from Pashinyan’s endless concessions to Aliyev, which could lead to the destruction of the motherland.
I would like to highlight several problematic aspects of the ASC memorandum.
1. Election period. the memo makes a direct reference to “the most important general elections in Armenia”, implying that Azerbaijan and Turkey are doing everything possible to ensure that Prime Minister Pashinyan remains in power after the June 7 parliamentary elections.
2. Unusual choice of PR tool. Azerbaijan pays millions of dollars to Washington-based public relations and lobbying firms. However, it is strange that this questioning article is distributed in the American media by a London company, and not by Washington-based companies, to which Azerbaijan pays large sums of money every year for lobbying and PR. This is a waste of money and a slap in the face to PR companies hired by Azerbaijan in Washington.
3. Sources recommended by ASC to journalists. The ASC proposed the names of four individuals who “will be happy to provide additional materials and information.”
– Anonymous senior staff member at the US Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Congressional Committee). ANCA needs to find out if this person is receiving payments from any foreign company with ties to Azerbaijan while working in Congress. If so, then he should be fired.
– “Maria Karapetyan, deputy of the ruling “Civil Contract” party of Armenia and member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.” Maria should be interrogated if she cooperated with a foreign lobbying company against an Armenian organization, receiving possible compensation in return.
– “Nzhdeh Hovsepyan, a respected intellectual and historian, who can talk about the brotherhood between the Armenian Dat Committee and the pro-Russian Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Armenia, as well as the existing ties between the ARF and Russia.” He listed several positions he held in Pashinyan’s government on his LinkedIn page.
– “Garo Paylan, invited researcher of the European Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who is ready to speak anonymously about Armenian politics, Russian intervention actions, as well as ANCA’s ties with pro-Moscow actors.” Paylan, a former member of the Turkish Parliament, contradicted the ASC when he wrote on the X platform: “My attention was drawn to the fact that messages about Armenia were sent to journalists on my behalf, which I did not authorize. I speak publicly and communicate with journalists, and my opinions are widely known.”
4. Potential Violation of FARA. The ASC memo was sent to the US media by a British PR firm, not an American one, possibly in an attempt to circumvent the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires companies acting on behalf of foreigners in the US to register with the Department of Justice. This may be considered a violation of US law.
5. Lack of response from ASC. last week I sent several emails to ASC asking the company to provide more information on ANCA as promised in the memorandum, but ASC did not respond. Such unprofessional behavior can only result in negative PR for the PR firm itself.
6. Trade relations with Azerbaijan. Apollo’s parent company, RSK Group, has a wholly owned company, Azerbaijan Environment and Technology Center Ltd (AETC), which operates domestically and implements projects in the Caspian region, which is evidence of its long-term commercial activities in Azerbaijan.
The Armenian Committee of America should consider filing a lawsuit against ASC for spreading false and defamatory statements about the organization.
Harut Sassounyan
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Translation: Ruzanna Avagyan
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