Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan discussed “regional issues” with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, in a phone call reported by his press office on Friday.
The call marks the second contact between the two top diplomats since the start of the war in Iran.
“The ministers noted with satisfaction the positive developments in the further normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the ministry’s readout of the phone call said.
It added that the sides also discussed “regional issues” and “engagements within multilateral platforms.”
The previous phone call between Mirzoyan and Bayramov took place on March 5, hours after Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave was struck by what Baku described as drones launched from neighboring Iran. At the time, the two sides “expressed concern and noted the importance of refraining from actions that could further escalate tensions.”
Regular contacts between the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan come as the leaders of the two South Caucasus countries describe their long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh as being over.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reached agreements during a summit in Washington hosted last August by U.S. President Donald Trump, paving the way for normalization of relations.
Following those agreements, Azerbaijan allowed transit of goods to Armenia through its territory and began exporting energy products to Yerevan.
However, Aliyev has linked the signing of a final peace agreement – initialed by Mirzoyan and Bayramov in Washington – to constitutional changes in Armenia. He has called on Yerevan to remove a reference to the 1990 Declaration of Independence, which Baku says implies territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Pashinian has pledged to hold a national referendum to adopt a new constitution that, in particular, will have no reference to the declaration that cites a 1989 act on the unification of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which was controlled by ethnic Armenian forces since the early 1990s, remained at the core of the dispute for decades. Azerbaijan regained control of the region militarily in 2020-2023 in conflicts that left thousands of soldiers dead on both sides.
The fighting displaced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the region, most of whom relocated to Armenia.
In his recent statements, Pashinian has reaffirmed that the Karabakh movement has been discontinued under his government and that Armenia does not seek the collective return of Armenians to the region.
Advancing a peace agenda with Azerbaijan is central to Pashinian’s campaign ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June.
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Armenian pair make historic top-10 debut at World Figure Skating Championships
A figure skating duo representing Armenia has secured a landmark result for the firsttime, finishing in the top ten at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague.
Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin placed eighth in the short programme on their debut appearance, performing to music from the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
The Figure Skating Federation of Armenia hailed the result as historic, noting it is the first time an Armenian pair has broken into the top ten at the event.
Their performance also secures Armenia an additional pair entry at next year’s championships and earns two qualification spots for the senior Grand Prix series, awarded by the International Skating Union.
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Pashinyan, citing intelligence, dismisses last-stand narrative of 2023 Karabak
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday, citing intelligence data, that contrary to widely held claims, Karabakh forces did not put up any significant resistance during the Azerbaijani military operations in 2023.
Speaking at a press briefing, Pashinyan said that up to 90% of the Karabakh military arsenal remained unused, according to intelligence assessments. He added that discussions held at Armenia’s Security Council produced findings that contradict claims that resistance in Karabakh was sustained “until the very end” in September 2023.
“I would prefer not to address this topic, but I want to say that after the 2023 events, a meeting of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia was held, where the outcomes of the military operations were analyzed. Without being able to disclose much, I want to note that claims about fighting and so on are, to put it mildly, not consistent with reality, because according to data available to our intelligence—and not only intelligence—the vast majority of the available weapons and ammunition, perhaps 80% or even 90%, remained untouched,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister also referred to preceding political processes, noting that prior to the military actions, an opportunity had been created for political solutions; however, according to him, certain representatives of Karabakh’s leadership obstructed that process.
“Before that, we had created an opportunity for a political process to take place, and certain representatives of the ruling circles in Karabakh not only hindered it but also carried out a change of power in Karabakh,” he said. According to Pashinyan, the September events occurred shortly afterward.
Pashinyan also asserted that some representatives of the former authorities of Karabakh left the region while accusing the Armenian government of keeping the borders closed.
“I said that the border is not closed, but I also want to note that I warned representatives of Karabakh at the time that if they left, there would be no possibility of return,” he said.
Addressing claims that the events in Nagorno-Karabakh amount to genocide, the Prime Minister said it is necessary to refrain from competing in such characterizations, emphasizing the importance of achieving peace in the region.
“It is enough to feed our people with claims about new genocides, and this race of genocides must stop altogether. In our region, everyone accuses everyone else of genocide,” he noted.
Pashinyan emphasized that the main goal of Armenia’s policy is to establish peace and focus on the Republic of Armenia.
“Our policy and strategy are as follows: we must become peaceful. As Charents once said, ‘There is the Republic of Armenia, and nothing else.’ Therefore, we must focus on the Republic of Armenia and build our lives there,” he said.
He did not rule out that additional data related to the 2023 events could be made public if necessary.
“As for these myths that they fought to the end and so on—if necessary, we will declassify that data. I am confident that this issue will unfold in due course; we will let it develop properly so that, as in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process, I can make the right decision at the right moment and publish everything. It is false; no such thing happened. They fled, they escaped,” Pashinyan said, clarifying that he does not blame the people of Karabakh and that all accusations are directed at the Karabakh “elite.”
Published by Armenpress, original at
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PM press secretary denies reports alleging withdrawal of Karabakh war awards
The press secretary of Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, has dismissed reports alleging that the Armenian government plans to revoke awards granted to participants of the Karabakh war, describing them as “false and misleading”.
Information published by the website Dikgazete.com, claimed that authorities intend to review and withdraw state awards given to war participants.
In a post on her Facebook page, Baghdasaryan stated that the claim is “completely false and has no relation to reality.”
She emphasized that the disinformation appears to be deliberately structured to target specific segments of society. According to her, the issue of the social and moral status of war participants is highly sensitive, and such narratives are designed to undermine trust in state institutions and government policies.
Baghdasaryan noted that the information was initially published on an unknown platform, then quickly reproduced by several Turkish and Azerbaijani media outlets. The information was further amplified on X through suspicious and interconnected accounts, and circulated via Telegram channels of Russian origin.
She added that the disinformation has also been widely disseminated within Armenia’s information space by certain opposition circles and affiliated media outlets.
“This indicates that information threats against the Republic of Armenia are, in some cases, coinciding with and being amplified by certain political actors operating within the country,” Baghdasaryan said.
According to her, the claim bears clear signs of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).
Baghdasaryan urged the public to refrain from spreading unverified information and not to contribute to the further dissemination of disinformation.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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Parliament approves bill to phase out single-use plastics
The government-authored bill proposing amendments to the law on trade and services, which seeks to ban polyethylene bags and single-use plastic products starting January 1, 2027, passed parliament at its second reading with 67 votes in favor and 30 abstentions.
According to the bill, starting January 1, 2027, the sale or provision of polyethylene bags and sacks, as well as single-use containers and tableware made of plastic or foam plastic, will be prohibited at retail outlets, public catering establishments, fairs, exhibition sales, and outdoor or mobile trading locations. Exceptions are bags used for pre-weighed packaging, plastic containers with lids, and garbage bags made from recycled materials. Penalties for violating the ban are set as follows: a first violation will result in a warning, while a second or subsequent violation will incur a fine of AMD 100,000 to 150,000.
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Trump seeks to delay China visit
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is planning to delay a visit to China later in March by about a month because of the Iran war, the BBC reported.
“We’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” the BBC quoted Trump as saying at a press briefing in the White House, adding that it was important that he remained available to oversee the war.
Trump said he had proposed the delay solely to make sure he was around to manage the war.
“I’m looking forward to being with him,” he said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We have a very good relationship.”
“There’s no tricks to it either,” Trump added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the meeting’s delay would not be due to Washington’s request that Beijing help in the Gulf, or any trade disagreements.
Bessent said: “The President wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort… Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”
The latest development comes a day after Trump told the Financial Times that he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for the Gulf’s energy shipments.
He also called on other nations to help ships transit safely through the channel.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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A new batch of diesel fuel was sent from Azerbaijan to Armenia
A batch of diesel fuel with a volume of about 4.5 thousand tons from Azerbaijan is going to Armenia, Gegham Gevorgyan, the chairman of the RA Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, told the “ARKA” agency on Monday.
“He should have arrived already. I cannot say exactly where the cargo is now, but it is definitely on the way,” said Gevorgyan.
On February 25, 2026, Azerbaijan sent a shipment of about 4.5 thousand tons of diesel fuel to Armenia through the territory of Georgia. It was reported that a train consisting of 39 tank cars left Guzdek station in the direction of the Georgian border.
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Pashinyan to address European Parliament
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will address the European Parliament on March 11.
Pashinyan will deliver the speech on Wednesday at 12:00 local time in Strasbourg, the European Parliament’s press service said in a statement.
“Mr Pashinyan’s address comes ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections on 7 June 2026, which are expected to chart the way forward for the country’s rapidly evolving relations with the EU and peace process with neighbouring Azerbaijan. The Armenian government is committed to achieving a lasting peace with Baku and a normalisation of relations with Türkiye, rapprochement with the West, and a possible future EU accession bid. In addition, the European Union is currently holding a visa liberalisation dialogue with Armenia and a dedicated EU-Armenia summit is planned for 5 May. This will be Mr Pashinyan’s second speech in the European Parliament, following a previous visit in 2023,” the European Parliament’s press service said.
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The Prosecutor’s Office returned 5.4 billion drams worth of assets to the state in 2025. cloud
More than 14 million dollars in real estate and funds have already been returned to the state budget of Armenia as part of a large-scale confiscation process of properties of illegal origin. The General Prosecutor’s Office of the country summarized the results of the profile department’s work in 2025 and published the statistics recorded since the beginning of the application of this legal mechanism.
The expanded session of the board of the department was held on March 7, 2026, RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan with the presidency. Deputy Prosecutor General acted as the main speaker Edgar Arsenyan, which presented in detail the previous year’s activities of the Department for confiscation of property of illegal origin. According to him, only during 2025, 157 studies were initiated, based on which 42 lawsuits were submitted to court.
With the lawsuits that are currently being examined, the supervisory body demands the confiscation of 230 immovable and 68 movable properties in favor of the state, as well as participation in 76 legal entities. The total value of claims submitted during the year is close to 36 billion drams. Moreover, during the past year, one reconciliation agreement was successfully concluded, as a result of which almost 69 million drams were transferred to the state treasury.
Evaluating the general picture recorded since the establishment of the profile department in the fall of 2020, the representatives of the prosecutor’s office voiced unprecedented indicators. As of March 1, 2026, 166 lawsuits with a total value of more than 612 billion drams are being examined in the courts. The state claims to return 1568 immovable properties and 356 vehicles. The department emphasizes that the submitted financial claims have a steady growth trend, as the process of evaluating the market value of a number of assets and corporate shares is still ongoing.
The practical results of the five-year work of the confiscation mechanism are expressed in the assets actually returned to the state. As of today, nine immovable properties and two vehicles have been handed over to the state based on one legal judgment and nine settlement agreements. The total value of already confiscated property and funds is about 5.45 billion drams, which is equivalent to about 14.46 million US dollars.
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Armenpress: Israeli strike hits Beirut’s Armenian-populated district of Bourj
An Israeli strike has hit a residential apartment building in Burj Hammoud, a suburb northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, according to multiple reports.
AP reported that the Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Nabaa neighborhood, leaving it engulfed in flames. Nabaa, on Beirut’s northern outskirts within the densely populated Burj Hammoud district, is home to a sizable Armenian community.
No casualties were immediately reported.
Local authorities reported that Israeli airstrikes had earlier targeted the southwestern suburbs of Beirut, killing one person in Jnah.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.
Israel began a military campaign targeting Hezbollah after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, which prompted Hezbollah to target Israel. Lebanese authorities say that nearly 690 people have been killed in the attacks.
Shahan Kandaharian, Editor-in-Chief of the Beirut-based Aztag Daily, told Armenpress that no Lebanese-Armenian residents were injured or killed in the attack allegedly targeting a Hezbollah member in Nabaa.
Update shows comments by Mr. Kandaharian.
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