The British PR company damages the reputation by attacking Hay Dat h

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

Investors are becoming more cautious. what was happening in the crypto market?

In February 2026, the cryptocurrency market went through one of the most tense phases in recent months. Pressure from macroeconomic factors, reduced risk appetite and high market leverage led to a marked deterioration in investor sentiment. According to a report by Binance Research, the market sentiment index was in the “extreme fear” zone throughout the month, reflecting the caution of market participants and a gradual cooling after previous bullish phases.

Analysts note that the acceleration of the decline in February is largely related to macroeconomic uncertainty. Markets continue to consider several risk factors simultaneously: changes in monetary policy, trade restrictions and global geopolitical tensions. At the same time, the report emphasizes that the market has already partially priced these risks. Under these conditions, inflows of institutional investments through bitcoin spot ETFs can become a possible source of new growth.

The research also pays special attention to the influence of the technological sector. Large-scale sell-offs in software and artificial intelligence-related companies have indirectly pressured the crypto market as well. As many institutional investors view Bitcoin as an asset linked to the technology sector, the correction in software company stocks has also led to additional BTC selling.

However, fundamentals remain relatively stable. Analysts estimate that the software sector is still showing around 14% year-over-year earnings growth, and current valuations for technology companies have already been revised down significantly. If tensions around the topic of artificial intelligence and questions about the profitability of software companies subside, the pressure on cryptoassets may also ease.

One of the interesting trends in recent months has been the redistribution of capital within the crypto ecosystem. The N7 index, which tracks a basket of NeoFi protocols, is up about 3.5% year-to-date, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and a number of major DeFi assets. This shows a change in investor preferences. more and more attention is paid to projects that have sustainable sources of income and real economic models, rather than protocols whose value is mainly built on token management mechanisms.

Prediction markets have become another direction of development. After the phase of rapid growth, this sector begins to pass into a phase of more stable development, which is facilitated by the gradual formation of regulatory frameworks. At the same time, the functionality of the platforms is also expanding. In addition to dual outcomes, tools for assessing public sentiment and trading expectations are emerging, bringing such services closer to full financial markets.

From a technological point of view, important changes are also taking place in the Ethereum ecosystem. The development of zk-virtual machines and network scaling are gradually changing the role of second layer solutions. If previously the main narrative was built around speeding up and cheapening transactions, now analysts are more often discussing the redistribution of activity between the L1 and L2 layers.
According to the report, the ratio of L2 to L1 daily active users has declined from a peak of 10.43 in June 2025 to around 1.12 in February 2026, a year-on-year decline of nearly 68%.

In general, these processes indicate that the crypto market is entering a phase of structural transformation. Volatility remains high, but the main changes are not so much in prices as in which models and technologies begin to attract capital.

The full version of Binance Research’s report can be viewed at the appropriate link.

And will you change the life of your son, husband, brother, grandson, father to a three-room apartment?

The announcement of the Prosecutor’s Office that “773 million US dollars in property and funds” was allegedly returned to the state in the last 7 years claims to be a balloon for the Day of St. Nicholas preachers.


I put aside that these official numbers, like any other reported information, should always be checked.


We put aside the fact that the vast majority of such cases proceed and end with flagrant illegalities.


I fully accept that in some cases the solutions can be objective.


And with all this.


A hungry group talks about filling the state budget, during which:


The foreign debt of the country increased by 8,000,000,000 US dollars.


Weapons worth 6,000,000,000 US dollars were donated to Azerbaijan.


A reward of 200,000,000 US dollars was distributed.


Several tens of billions worth of property, resources, territories in Artsakh were donated to Azerbaijan.


Not to mention thousands of human losses. To imagine the level of their insolence, do the math: 773,000,000. 5,000 = 154,600 USD.


This is how much one loss of life is “worth” during their tenure, the price of a three-room apartment.


And would you change the life of your son, husband, brother, grandson, father with a three-room apartment?


 RPA Vice-President Armen Ashotyan




The temporary threshold for parties has decreased, for alliances it has increased. the choice

Amendments were made to the Electoral Code, which entered into force on February 7. According to the amendments concerning the National Assembly regarding elections, the temporary threshold of parties has decreased to 4 percent, the threshold of alliances has increased to 7-8 percent and 10 percent. CEC President Vahagn Hovakimyan said that during the press conference.


“Alliances consisting of up to 3 parties are under the 8 percent threshold, and alliances consisting of 3 or more parties will have to overcome a temporary threshold of 10 percent,” he said.


The other change is that in the case of parties, the amount of bail was reduced from 10 million to 7.5 million, in the case of alliances it was set at 15 million.


“This was done with the intention that the legislation would contribute to the enlargement of political forces, political forces of the same ideology would be more inclined to unite, and the parties would become larger,” he said.

Some CP candidates will take a drug test

“Hraparak” daily writes:


CP MP Karen Sarukhanyan is not the only one in the ruling team whom Nikol Pashinyan urged to take a drug test. They say that there are still such candidates on the pre-election list who are suspected of systematically using drugs, and Pashinyan told some of them to take a test.


We were told that Pashinyan told the “suspects” not to aspire to become a deputy, but they will not remain idle, if they do well in the elections, they will get a position in the executive.

Verelq: The director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute will be dismissed d

Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Edita Gzoyan, has written a resignation letter. This was reported to Sputnik Armenia by the museum-institute.


“The application has been written, but there is no legal act regarding it yet,” said the museum.


They did not comment on the remaining questions, suggesting to send a written request. Gzoyan himself does not comment on the situation either.


Let’s remind: “Hraparak” newspaper wrote a few days ago that Minister of Education and Culture Zhanna Andreasyan urged Edita Gzoyan to write a resignation letter, and even threatened to fire her if she did not voluntarily write. According to the news, the official reason was that Gzoyan allegedly did not properly supervise the construction of the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex, which is not his function. There are also rumors that the situation around Gzoyan is related to the February visit of US Vice President JD Vance. Gzoyan presented the history of Sumgait and Baku pogroms and the Artsakh conflict to Vance, and the term “Artsakh” was used in the museum’s official statement.

Pashinyan Takes Campaign Against Church and Opposition to European Parliament

Supporters flock to Etchmiadzin where heavy security was present on Dec. 18, 2025


BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has opted to take his relentless campaign against the Armenian Church and the opposition forces in Armenia to the European Parliament, where during a speech on Wednesday, he seemed to be appealing to the European lawmakers by insisting they are foreign agents.

Since he unleashed his crusade against the church almost a year ago, Pashinyan has always underscored the importance of his campaign as being crucial to the well-being of every Armenian domestically. He elevated his attacks on the Church, Catholicos Karekin II and other high-ranking clerics by suggesting that they were foreign agents and former KGB agents.

This comes as Pashinyan and his administration have overtly called on the EU to provide assistance in combatting so-called “hybrid threats” ahead of the June parliamentary elections. The EU leadership identified Russia as a “threat” as a foregone conclusion and offered financial assistance. In recent weeks, the Armenian government reportedly has asked the EU to dispatch teams to combat these threats.

Pashinyan weaved his campaign against the Church and the opposition during his speech on Wednesday at the European Parliament when he was boasting of his “heroism” for unilaterally demarcating and delimiting a portion of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in Tavush, as a result of which four Armenian villages were essentially ceded to Azerbaijan. This move sparked a movement led by the Primate of the Tavush Diocese, which Pashinyan has used to advance his campaign against the Church.

He said this demarcation process is “a symbol of peace, because we established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan by recognizing each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence on the basis of the Alma Ata Declaration of December 21, 1991, according to which Soviet Azerbaijan became independent Azerbaijan, Soviet Armenia became independent Armenia, and this is the outline of the map of the territory of independent Armenia.”

Pashinyan claimed that the areas Tavush “which the leaders of the church-opposition movement had made their symbol” is thriving and the population has increased by 50 percent, without presenting data backing that claim.

“I would not have touched upon the topic of the involvement of some clergy in this process against peace, if I had not seen how the emissaries of these clergy and representatives of some lobbying organizations affiliated with them are trying to spread in the European Parliament and other authoritative international structures that the Armenian Government is restricting freedom of conscience, that a dictatorship is being established in Armenia, that there are political prisoners in Armenia,” he segued into his criticism of the church at the European Parliament.

“The reality is that some clergymen, who cynically violated all the rules of spiritual good conduct, thus making themselves vulnerable to foreign special services (by the way, the fact that some of them were agents of the USSR KGB is proven by documents), have assumed the leadership of the war party in the Republic of Armenia, consolidating around them the former leaders of Armenia, some forces associated with them, some pro-Russian and pro-Belarusian oligarchs, and are trying to sacrifice Armenia’s independence to the interests of third countries,” Pashinyan asserted.

“We will not allow a new conflict, a new war. We will not allow the consciousness, peace and independence gained at the cost of thousands of victims to be sacrificed for anti-Christian purposes. In the text of our liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, the word peace is mentioned more than 40 times, and it is not only about the person, the soul, but also about world peace, about which there are dozens of supplications in the canonical text of our liturgy, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and today some are using the altar of Christ to preach conflict, war and/or intra-Armenian violence, trespassing the boundaries of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. This cannot be tolerated in any democratic country,” Pashinayn said.

Pashinyan claimed that the opposition is attempting to “exploit” and play on the emotions of Artsakh Armenians who were forcibly displaced from their homeland after Azerbaijan launched a massive attack in September 2023, while he and his administration sat idly by. Later he and his allies not only disavowed Artsakh and its citizens but went as far as to characterize them as second class citizens in Armenia and provoking enmity against them.

Yet at the European Parliament on Wednesday, Pashinyan said that his policies have ensured the well-being of the Artsakh “refugees” as he called them, if and only if they acquire Armenian citizenship, without mentioning that at the time of the exodus to Armenia, he revoked their Armenian citizenship, which was already granted to them.

“Our strategy in this regard is very clear: our Karabakh sisters and brothers must receive Armenian citizenship and be permanently settled in the Republic of Armenia. We have already launched their resettlement program, which has benefited 4,886 families so far. We need the greatest possible support from our international partners to solve this problem aimed at strengthening peace,” Pashinyan told the European Parliament.

For a person who claims to deplore foreign interference in Armenia’s election process, Pashinyan and his administration have gone to great lengths to engage foreign powers as active participants in the process. By appealing to the EU for assistance Yerevan has effectively invited the bloc to be conduit in ensuring their re-election in June. It seems the EU’s inference is not considered a “hybrid threat.”

A day before Pashinyan’s speech at the European Parliament, Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service issued a cryptic statement warning of a campaign by unnamed foreign powers to engage Armenians living abroad to support opposition forces in Armenia during the elections. The statement suggested that these foreign entities allegedly were drafting Armenians to go and vote in the June elections.

In his speech, Pashinyan made it clear that the unnamed foreign powers were the “pro-Russian and pro-Belarusian oligarchs,” who “are trying to sacrifice Armenia’s independence to the interests of third countries.”

A little over a month before the election, Pashinyan has received endorsements by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Vice-President JD Vance, who during his visit to Armenia last month, said the prime minister is the only person who could ensure that documents signed at the White House last year would effectively be implemented. This coupled with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan continuously hinting his tacit support for Pashinyan, has already signaled that the Armenian authorities are open to foreign interference, only if it ensures their return to power for another five years.

Meanwhile, the EU, which has crowned itself as the protector of democratic rights in the world, seems unmoved by the Pashinyan administration’s ongoing efforts to quash any movement that opposes its agenda by advancing the notion that a vote against him and his Civil Contract Party would be a vote for war and conflict.

It remains to be seen how the electorate will respond to these antics.

Ara Khachatourian is the Executive Editor of Asbarez.




Pashinyan, who has 23 percent support, has no right to the entire Armenian society

March: 11, 2026

During the last 2 weeks, Nikol Pashinyan and his teammates rarely remember about the campaign they started against the Apostolic Church and Vehapar. Did the authorities divert their pre-election campaign from the anti-Church and anti-Catholic campaign, or are they just working behind the scenes, with the bishops who have joined them and have been called “tiradav”, or have they simply realized that they cannot fight against the Church, and have decided to “retreat”?

Reverend Vrtanes Baghalyan, spiritual pastor of St. Hovhannes Church in Byurakan it is difficult to say what the authorities have understood, only God knows what they are thinking.

The clergyman believes that the government’s lack of activity regarding the topic of the church before the upcoming elections indicates that the anti-church campaign has no support in the society.

“If the government had full support from the people in this campaign, it would have been more active before the elections. But this is an indicator that society does not support them in this matter. According to me, this campaign is also directed from outside, by Erdogan, Aliyev and Pashazade, the government knows that the society inside the country does not support their campaign.

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I don’t know if they will be elected in the elections or not, but if they try to reactivate this program after being elected, it will mean that they have made some promises to foreign forces. It is clear that if they are not elected, this movement against the Church will never be renewed.” of 168.am said Vrtanes Baghalyan in a conversation with

Reverend Vrtanes Baghalyan reminded that the authorities started an anti-church movement in 2018, failed and stopped it, and the authorities resumed it again in May last year.

“I have witnessed myself, both in the Mother See and in other places, how the people, ordinary citizens, are fighting for St. Etchmiadzin and the Catholicos.

Hopefully, people with legal education warned Nikol Pashinyan that what he is doing against the church is not part of his authority, it is an abuse of authority.

In any case, the movement of the authorities against the Apostolic Church and His Holiness is doomed to failure,” added the clergyman.

According to our interlocutor, for a long time, the authorities have, so to speak, “worked” with various clergymen, they have given them cheap promises in order to provide against the Apostolic Church, Vehapar, but the authorities have not found much support among the priestly class. If 2 out of 20 priests support the government, it turns out that 10 percent of the entire priestly class supports this government campaign.

“If we take into account that we have about 57 bishops and archbishops, the government managed to attract only 9 of them to its side. His Highness, unlike the authorities, does not have the Prosecutor’s Office, Investigation, National Security and other structures. In other words, we are spiritually subordinate to the Mother See. We see that government officials are also providing state protection for all those clergy who join the Prime Minister’s anti-church movement. Even with this state support and protection, the government could not have more than 10 percent support among all church members. More than 90 percent of church members are on the side of His Holiness, moreover, more than 90 percent of the Armenian society also supports the church and His Holiness,” added Father Vrtanes Baghalyan.

Continuing, the priest said that according to various inquiries: Nikol Pashinyan is supported by only 23 percent of society, therefore, Pashinyan, who has 23 percent support, has no right to start a movement on behalf of the entire Armenian society against the Patriarch, who has the support of 90 percent of society.

“The Church is a divine structure, the society loves the Reverend Father very much, despite the fact that false news against him is circulating on the Internet, especially those people who do not know the Reverend Father personally. Myths and legends are circulating about Vehapar, spreading negative information. In addition, the government is exerting pressure by detaining His Holiness’s brother, nephew, sister’s son, i.e. His Holiness’s relatives, his beloved clergymen, Saints Mikael and Bagrat, Saints Mkrtich and Saints Arshak, as well as priests.

Until this moment, the investigative agency has not returned my phone, this speaks of the attitude of their organization towards us. In October, I was questioned as a witness, my phone was confiscated. They haven’t been able to look at the contents of my phone for so long and return it to me? This speaks of the poor work of the Investigative Service,” emphasized priest Vrtanes Baghalyan.

In the USA, they are hinting at military mobilization. youth will flee to Canada or Me

March: 11, 2026

168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program It’s Arthur Khachikyan, Ph.D. in political science at Stanford University:

During the conversation, the main focus was on the current tension around Iran.

The strategic calculations of Israel and the USA, the possible consequences of their actions, the possible impeachment of Trump and changes in the world order were discussed.

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A separate part of the conversation was about the risks of the Kurdish factor and the involvement of Azerbaijan in the conflict.

In addition, the issues of a possible humanitarian corridor between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through the territory of Armenia were touched upon, as well as the policy pursued by the Armenian authorities and its possible consequences for the national interests of the country were discussed.

The positioning of Russia and Turkey in the current geopolitical configuration and the impact of the ongoing processes on the regional security of the South Caucasus were also considered.

Hayk Derzyan




RFE/RL – Pashinian Slams Armenian Church, Opposition In EU Parliament Speech

March 11, 2026


France – Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, March 11, 2026.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused the Armenian Apostolic Church and his political opponents of seeking to reignite Armenia’s conflict with Azerbaijan when he addressed the European Parliament on Wednesday.

Pashinian defended his administration’s crackdown on the church’s top clergy that led to the arrests of three archbishops and one bishop facing criminal charges rejected by them as politically motivated. He insisted that neither they nor opposition figures and supporters also prosecuted last year are political prisoners.

“The reality is that some clergymen, who have cynically violated all the rules of spiritual morality, thus making themselves vulnerable to foreign special services … have assumed the leadership of the war party in the Republic of Armenia, gathering around them Armenia’s former leaders, some forces associated with them and some Russia-based and pro-Belarusian oligarchs, and are trying to sacrifice Armenia’s independence to the interests of third countries,” he said.

“We will not allow a new conflict, a new war, we will not allow the consciousness, peace and independence gained at the cost of thousands of victims to be sacrificed for anti-Christian purposes,” he added in a 25-minute speech delivered in Strasbourg.

Pashinian went on to mention the Armenian parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, saying that they should make peace with Azerbaijan “irreversible.”

In recent weeks, senior members of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party have signaled concerns that three opposition groups led by former President Robert Kocharian, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian and another wealthy businessman, Gagik Tsarukian, may collectively win a majority in the next Armenian parliament and form a coalition government. They have said that the Armenian authorities “will not allow” such an outcome, raising more opposition fears of vote rigging or other foul play.

Opposition leaders maintain that agreements with Azerbaijan regularly touted by Pashinian will not lead to real peace between the two nations because they are based on unilateral Armenian concessions to Baku. They say that Pashinian’s appeasement policy will only encourage Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to make more demands on Armenia.

Pashinian launched his controversial campaign to depose Catholicos Garegin II shortly after the supreme head of the Armenian Church accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and illegally occupying Armenian border areas during an international conference in Switzerland last May. The four senior clergymen were jailed in the following months. Three of them have been moved to house arrest in recent weeks.

Earlier this year, law-enforcement authorities also indicted Garegin himself as well as six other archbishops and bishops. They were banned from leaving the country to attend an emergency episcopal conference held in Austria last month. The 25 participants of the conference voiced support for the Catholicos and condemned the crackdown on the church in a joint statement.

Critics maintain that Pashinian’s drive to oust Garegin violates Armenia’s constitution and laws guaranteeing the autonomy of the ancient church and its separation from the state. Two Western religious rights groups echoed these claims earlier in February. One of them, the Vienna-based the Forum for Religious Freedom Europe, spoke of “grave threats to freedom of religion or belief” in Armenia.