March: 12, 2026
Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Edita Gzoyan, was removed from her position on his instructions.
“When the country’s prime minister says that there is no Karabakh movement, what does it mean to present a book on the subject of the “Artsakh issue” to a foreign guest? How many people can conduct foreign policy in this country?
The government conducts foreign policy in this country, and the government official of Armenia who says something contrary to Armenia’s foreign policy should be fired, what is the issue there? Are we a state or a self-made group?” said Pashinyan.
According to him, he considered the book dedicated to US Vice President James David Vance during his visit to the museum a provocative act and urged Gzoyan to write an application for his release.
—
Armenpress: Trump administration releasing 172 million barrels of oil from str
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Wednesday, after oil prices rocketed to their highest levels in years amid the U.S.’s war with Iran, CBS News reported.
The releases will start next week and take about 120 days, Energy Secretary Christopher Wright said Wednesday in a statement.
The move is part of a coordinated release by the International Energy Agency, whose 32 member countries — mostly U.S. allies — announced earlier Wednesday they would let 400 million barrels of oil flow out of their emergency reserves.
Wright said the U.S. plans to replenish the reserve with 200 million barrels of oil “within the next year.”
CBS News quoted Trump as saying at a press briefing that after the reserve is tapped, “we’ll fill it up.”
The benchmark U.S. crude oil price, West Texas Intermediate, was trading at just over $92 per barrel as of Wednesday evening at 8:15 p.m. ET. Prices had climbed about 7.2% over the course of the day and were largely unchanged following the announcement of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve release, which was widely expected, according to CBS News.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve — stored in massive underground caverns in Texas and Louisiana — held about 415 million barrels as of last week, CBS News reported citing government figures. In total, the IEA says its members have more than 1.2 billion barrels in their reserves.
Published by Armenpress, original at
—
All RA interstate and national highways are open
As of March 10, at 9:00 am, all RA interstate and national highways are open. This is reported by the Road Department.
Organizations responsible for road maintenance continue cleaning and sanding roads. Ttujur-Navur highway is closed for all types of vehicles. The Vardenyats mountain pass is difficult to pass for vehicles with a trailer.
The highways from Sisian to Kapan and the Kajaran-Meghri section are closed for vehicles with trailers. Dear drivers, we urge you to be careful, strictly follow the traffic rules and drive exclusively with winter tires.
—
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses MEPs on peace efforts with
On Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed MEPs, highlighting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and his country’s EU membership aspirations.
Pashinyan opened his address by saying that, since his last visit to the European Parliament in 2023, changes of centennial — if not millennial — significance have taken place in Armenia and in the South Caucasus. “The most memorable of these changes is the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, formalised on 8 August 2025 in Washington DC, when President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and I signed a Joint Declaration in the White House, effectively securing peace between our two nations”, he said.
Pashinyan also highlighted the Armenian government’s intention to take the next steps as regards the US-brokered TRIPP infrastructure programme, which is intended to establish unimpeded, multimodal transit connectivity on Armenian territory and connect the main part of Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Latest developments in Armenia
The Armenian Prime Minister touched upon the latest political developments in Armenia, ongoing efforts to resettle Armenians who fled the previous conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the Republic of Armenia, attempts by certain clergy and political opposition forces to undermine peace efforts, and attempts to secure the freedom of Armenian prisoners of war still held captive in Azerbaijan.
Addressing those issues is critical to the current peace process, he said: “We are criticised for the fact that the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not perfect. But I ask you: Where is peace perfect? Where has perfect peace ever existed, and when? (…) On the contrary, it is the will to care for peace that can bring it as close to perfection as possible (…).”
Continue reforms with support from European partners
Pashinyan further highlighted his country’s adoption of the law on the “Launch of the Process of the Republic of Armenia’s Accession to the European Union”, which initiates the process of Armenia’s accession to the EU. (…) Now, after the adoption of this law, many in Armenia ask: When will Armenia become a member of the European Union? Our answer is very clear: No country can become a member of the EU without meeting its standards. Therefore, our task is to continue the path of reforms with the support of our European partners and first objectively meet the EU’s accession criteria.”
He also said that one of the biggest obstacles on Armenia’s path to EU integration at this moment is the frozen state of political dialogue between the EU and Georgia. “Georgia is our path to the European Union, and we adopted the law on the Launch of the Process of the Republic of Armenia’s Accession to the European Union after Georgia received EU candidate status. This made Armenia’s EU membership perspective tangible, and our expectation and request is that the constructive EU-Georgia process will develop. This is as important for Armenia as it is for Georgia.”
The Armenian Prime Minister concluded by saying that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia on 7 June must serve to cement peace. “Our democracy must make peace irreversible, and then peace will make democracy irreversible.”
You can watch the speech again here (11.3.2026)
Contacts:
-
Viktor ALMQVIST
Press Officer- +32 228 31834 (BXL)
- +32 470 88 29 42
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- @EP_ForeignAff
—
A residential building in the Armenian-populated Majidieh district of Tehran s
A residential building in Tehran’s Armenian-populated Majidieh district was hit by a missile.
According to the Armenian Embassy in Iran, there are no reported casualties, although several residents were trapped under the rubble.
Watch the video at the link: https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2026/03/11/Tehran/2418061
—
French Defence Minister Travels To Armenia Amid Azerbaijan Tensions
- FROM AFP NEWS
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu was to travel to Armenia on Thursday for a two-day visit as tensions mount with Yerevan's arch-enemy Azerbaijan.
Lecornu's trip, the first by a French defence minister to the small South Caucasus nation, comes after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern about a "risk of escalation" between Armenia and Azerbaijan as he received Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday.
Pashinyan has warned that Azerbaijan is preparing for a "full-scale war" with its longtime foe after decades of tensions over the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"France and Armenia have a historic relationship of friendship, but the defence relationship has not been at the level of the intensity of the bilateral relationship," Lecornu's office said.
In October 2023, France announced the sale of defensive equipment to Armenia, drawing anger from Azerbaijan.
That deal was announced weeks after Baku seized the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists.
Lecornu at the time said Armenia would buy three Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar systems from French defence group Thales.
Armenia has also signed a contract to buy night-vision goggles from the French group Safran, and the French army is also set to train Armenian troops this year.
"Armenia is in a position to defend its territory and population, and defence cooperation with France is strictly in line with the objective of helping it to defend itself," the defence ministry said.
Baku, which is backed militarily by Turkey, has slammed what it called France's policy of "militarisation" in the South Caucasus.
France, home to a large Armenian diaspora, has played a mediating role in the decades-long conflict over control of Karabakh, whose recapture by Azerbaijan led to the exodus of some 100,000 Armenians.
Yerevan fears that Azerbaijan, which has been emboldened by its capture of the disputed territory, might now seek to target southern Armenia.
Last week both sides accused the other of opening fire on their volatile border in a skirmish that Armenia said left four of its soldiers dead.
7-8% growth in case of favorable conditions in 2024, forecasts Armenian economist
16:33,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian economy could grow in between 3 to 8 percent in 2024 depending on various factors, according to economist Tatul Manaseryan. Speaking at a press conference, Manaseryan, the Director of the Alternative Research Center, said that growth would comprise 7-8% in case of favorable conditions, and 3-4% in case of unfavorable ones.
He said that a number of contradictory trends could impact the Armenian economy in 2024.
“The main locomotive could be the utilization of the country’s competitive advantages, if the real opportunities arising from the creation of the free economic zone between Iran and the EEU are used, as well as further intensification of ties between Russia and other EEU countries. Effective management of the economy, as well as the use of the professional potential of the Armenian Diaspora, are no less important. As a result of possible positive changes in these directions we can forecast business [sic] activity growth between seven and eight percent. Otherwise, the maximum growth would seemingly be around three or four percent,” he said.
He pointed out the following trends in analyzing the economy: geopolitical factors, stronger domestic demand, remittance inflow, fiscal policy, the traditional growth in services, IT, real estate, finance and tourism sector (which could be insufficient without improvement in the real sector – industry and agriculture). As to foreign factors, he pointed out the processes in the Chinese economy, the Ukraine crisis, which could impact the Armenian currency. A lot would also depend on the employment and social status of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh who are now living in Armenia. Foreign policy and foreign economic policy could also affect growth, he said.
The Eurasian Development Bank has predicted 5,7% growth for 2024 in Armenia, while the IMF predicted up to 5% growth. The Armenian government seeks to achieve at least 7% growth.
Book Giving Day at the Yerevan Brandy Company
18:19,
Ameriabank set to join BOGG, a London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed financial group as a standalone entity
12:49,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Ameriabank (the Bank) has reached an agreement with the BOGG (the Group), a UK registered financial group, to join the latter as a standalone entity and the Group to become the main shareholder of the Bank, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) retaining their 10% shareholding in Ameriabank.
The Financial Conduct Authority, the financial services conduct regulator in the UK, has approved the circular of the transaction. As a next step, the transaction is subject to approval by shareholders, as well as the regulatory bodies, including the Central Bank of Armenia.
Bank of Georgia Group PLC is a UK incorporated international finanacial group listed on the Premium Segment of the LSE Main Market and a constituent of the FTSE-250 index. Among the Group’s shareholders are some of the world’s largest financial institutions, such as JPMorgan, BlackRock, The Vanguard Group, Schroders, Norges Bank Investment Management (a leading pension fund), etc.
Following approvals and closing of the transaction, Ameriabank will operate as a standalone entity within the Group under its own brand name and the current leadership in place, committed to Ameriabank’s adopted strategic goals, values, mission and vision.
Amidst significant achievements in recent years and the current stage of technological development, Ameriabank views this transaction with the Group as a one of the well-reasoned options for its long-term growth. Upon successful completion of the transaction, Ameriabank will become a member of a LSE listed Group with access to global financial markets to raise capital and investments and will continue offering the latest financial products and technological solutions to its customers.
Following the closing of the transaction and with Ameriabank on board, the Group also intends to change its name marking a new chapter in its development.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan dismissed
19:09, 14 February 2024
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. By the decree of Armenia's President Vahagn Khachaturyan, Vahan Kerobyan has been dismissed from the post of the Minister of Economy.
Vahan Kerobyan announced his resignation on February 14 in a post on social media.
“Dear residents of the Republic of Armenia. It so happened that I will no longer serve you as Minister of Economy,” he said in the statement published on social media. “For more than three years, I worked with selfless devotion, filled with love towards each and every resident of Armenia. I worked at least six days a week, on an average from eight in the morning until nine in the evening, with just fifteen or sixteen days of leave taken during three years in total. I lived each day of work with a strong pursuit of having a powerful Armenia as soon as possible. I’ve been decisive, honest and devoted to my country. In 2023, the GDP of Armenia grew approximately 100% in US dollars compared to 2020, and 50% in Armenian drams. Armenia moved from being 112nd to 86th with GDP per capita during this time, surpassing for the first time Azerbaijan, Belarus and many other countries. The budgeting programs of the Ministry of Economy grew from 12,5 billion drams in 2019 to 91 billion drams for 2024. The employment output, volume of investments and Armenia’s foreign trade turnover grew drastically. On 20th of November, 2020, when I was assuming the post of minister, there was a high probability that I would serve only for a few days or months: there was a high likelihood of change of government. During that period of time I wanted to leave this work on many occasions due to disagreements, but I subordinated myself in order to bring the value of my service to my country to its maximum. I am grateful to the Prime Minister for this opportunity to serve my country,” Kerobyan said.