Author: Vanyan Gary

We will get our country out of this situation, be sure. Gagik Tsarukyan

Vanyan Gary
26.03.2026

I was walking around our villages all day yesterday. I visited the villages of Nalbandian, Nor Armavir, Amasia, Nor Kesaria, Shenavan of Armavir marz.

I communicated with hundreds of people, we talked, they invited me home, I went, I heard pleasant and difficult words. It is the greatest happiness when a person can freely walk through the villages of his country, say hello, hug hundreds of strangers, listen to their concerns, and try to find solutions. I always go to the villages, I am familiar with the problems. I helped whomever I could, I did what I promised, I didn’t say anything in the air. I entered our villages in plain sight and my compatriots accepted me like a relative. This is indeed happiness, but also a great responsibility.

In the village of Amasia, Radik invited them to his home, the home of an honest and fair Armenian. We talked, we listened to each other. Radik says: “Dear Tsarukyan, if you stand by our villagers, we will break a log.” I said: the village should be next to Tsarukyan so that we can break the log.

The problem is the poverty that has engulfed us, which is not really acceptable to us, the desperation in which our country has found itself, the many problems that have a solution, which should have been solved a long time ago, but have not been solved, the injustice in which people live, the thousand and one problems that make people’s lives difficult…
We will break that log, we will defeat poverty. We have discussed all the issues that concern people one by one, from big issues to small everyday issues. I admire the wisdom of our people. In the near future, I will visit the villages of all marzes of the republic, listen to people’s questions, and present the approaches of our team.

We will get our country out of this situation. Be confident.


Gagik Tsarukyan



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RA borrows 39 million euros for something that is absolutely not urgent

Vanyan Gary

Yesterday it became known that the Armenian government is taking a new loan of 39 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.


What is that loan for? Some customs terminal for imports and exports will be built, which will be located on the North-South highway, probably in the parts of Proshyan village.


The question arises, did the Armenian government not have 39 million euros to build the terminal itself, instead of increasing the state’s foreign debt? Well, the government probably thinks that it is better to spend the money of the taxpayers of Armenia on bonuses, and to spend other important expenses by increasing the external debt on the shoulders of the taxpayers.


But the question arises, what is the so-called center of foreign economic activity needed for? Does Armenia’s economy have the volume to provide sufficient workload for such a center? To put it mildly, no. So, let’s repeat the question: why is that center being built? Is there a visible prospect that there will be such a volume of cargo transportation on the North-South highway of Armenia that there will be a need for such a center? To put it mildly, there is no such visible prospect, if the north-south should be built for at least five or six years, according to the preliminary estimate.


Therefore, it is obvious that the Armenian government is borrowing 39 million euros for something that is absolutely not urgent from the point of view of Armenia’s needs.


Armenia’s economy needs investments that provide stable jobs, in the case of the “economic policy” of the Armenian government, only the foreign debt is growing steadily.


Analyst Hakob Badalyan




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Armenia supports immediate peace in Middle East

Vanyan Gary
Read the article in: EspañolFarsiHayerenРусскийTürkçe中文

Armenia supports the immediate establishment of peace in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.

He told reporters that Armenia wants to see peace fully preserved around its borders.

“We are interested in the full maintenance of peace around Armenia. In the case of our brotherly Iranian people, we are saddened by the deaths and the attacks on infrastructure. Their neighboring Arab states are also our friendly countries. We support the immediate establishment of peace, and we are even more—tenfold or a hundredfold—committed to maintaining peace around Armenia,” Mirzoyan said at a press briefing when asked about the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military operations in Iran and the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Read the article in: EspañolFarsiHayerenРусскийTürkçe中文

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Pashinyan calls Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian refugees ‘runaways’ in argument on m

Vanyan Gary
OC Media
Mar 23 2026
by Arshaluys Barseghyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced backlash after calling Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians ‘runaways’ during an argument with a refugee from the region on Sunday. After initially denying that he had used the insult, he later apologised the same evening.

The argument, which was caught on video and spread widely across social media, took place on the metro while Pashinyan was conducting his Civil Contract ‘inter-party campaign’ in Yerevan. While on the campaign trail, Pashinyan has traveled across Armenia to meet constituents. As part of his travels, Pashinyan has been gifting pins with the shape of Armenia’s internationally recognised borders. The ‘Real Armenia’ narrative — meaning that Armenians must accept modern Armenia within its current borders — has been a key part of Pashinyan’s political messaging.

The heated discussion lasted around five minutes and began after Pashinyan asked if he could give a pin to a boy with his mother, which they refused.

The woman, later identified as Armine Mosiyan, was a refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh. In her rejection of the gift, Mosiyan told Pashinyan that they have a ‘different map’.

Although Pashinyan initially appeared to accept the disagreement, after a few seconds he returned to the woman, pointing the pin again and telling her to take into account that her son ‘will live within this map’.

He also added they would not allow their ideology, appearing to refer to conceptualisations of Armenia beyond its internationally recognised borders. ‘You won’t allow us to live in our Artsakh? You have already not allowed [us to live there], but you can’t deprive us from our hope to live in our Artsakh, the return and the rest’, Mosiyan said.

The woman asked Pashinyan to stop arguing with her, explaining that they were on their way to a chess tournament, and otherwise would have left the car upon seeing Pashinyan enter. However, Pashinyan said that because he had listened to her arguments, she was obliged to listen to him.

‘We have done everything so that you would live in Artsakh, in [Nagorno-Karabakh]. In 2023, it was you who were accusing me that I had closed the borders so that people would not come from Karabakh to Armenia, and you were demanding that I open the borders and you were saying that I had deliberately closed them so that the people would not leave Karabakh. Now you come here and say, “Oh, but we wanted to return” ’, Pashinyan said.

In September 2023, after Azerbaijan’s final offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent surrender of the authorities in the region, Pashinyan controversially stated that the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh was ‘not under direct threat’, despite calls for the Armenian government to help facilitate evacuations to Armenia.

During the argument on Sunday, Pashinyan angrily told Mosiyan that Yerevan had spent ‘billions […] so that you would stay there, so why didn’t you stay there?’

After Mosiyan told him not to wag his finger at her and to lower his voice, Pashinyan responded: ‘Then, next time, do not try to say, you runaways, don’t try to say that I gave away Karabakh’.

Pashinyan’s remarks fueled public outcry online, in what many perceived as a continuation of his government’s rhetoric targeting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. Criticism became harsher after social media users learned that Mosiyan’s father, Meruzhan Mosiyan, had served as a field commander and been killed in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Pashinyan accused of hate speech towards Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians

As criticism spread on Facebook later that day, Pashinyan denied using the word ‘runaways’ during a press briefing.

‘No, I could not have said such a thing. If it was perceived that way, it was perceived incorrectly. If I said something the wrong way, I apologise’, Pashinyan said.

However, amid growing criticism online, he later apologised to Mosiyan and her son for ‘for [his] emotions’ that evening while summing up the day with members of his Civil Contract party.

He acknowledged that he had ‘said something not in the [right] way, I didn’t say it with the right gesticulation, I didn’t say it with the right tone, I didn’t say it with the right facial _expression_, somewhere I also did not treat the content correctly’.

In the same video, Pashinyan confessed that he was still unable to address issues regarding ‘the events of 2023 without emotions,’ assessing it as a ‘big flaw’.

The last bus out of Nagorno-Karabakh

He further expressed hope and readiness to meet with Mosiyan again and ‘speak calmly’, foreseeing that his offer would be rejected, and ‘then [Mosiyan]might say two harsh words afterward — I accept that humbly’.

In a separate Facebook post, he again invited Mosiyan to meet with him at the government building or another place of her choosing to personally offer his apology.

On Sunday, the Human Rights Defender’s Office issued a statement underscoring the ‘need to ensure sensitivity towards forcibly displaced persons and refugees’. The statement did not include any condemnation of Pashinyan’s actions.

For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.


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Blackmail of war. Pashinyan turns fear into an election tool

Vanyan Gary

Pashinyan again resorted to his already predictable practices, making the threat of war not a matter of responsibility, but a crude political tool.


This time he went further, actually warning, or rather, blackmailing the Armenian people, that if he loses the upcoming elections, war will be inevitable.


One could think that after the wars, years of failures, losses and disappointment under Pashinyan, such statements would at least be presented with some seriousness or restraint. Instead, they sound increasingly desperate, almost mechanical, as if repeating the same thought can restore long-lost confidence.


Ironically, the more he tries to advance this narrative, the more it works against him. There is no need to remind the Armenian society about the war. they experienced it, suffered its pain, paid the price for it. And every time he brings up the subject, it doesn’t instill fear of an uncertain future. it brings back very specific memories from his years in power. Wars during his time were not hypothetical, they were real, devastating and with severe consequences. So when he talks about war, people can’t imagine what it would be like without him. they remember what happened during his reign.


It is therefore not surprising that this argument sounds increasingly hollow. A leader who has failed in the fields of foreign policy and security is now trying to present himself as the only guarantor of peace. This might seem ironic if it were not so serious. The facts speak for themselves. Opportunities were missed, warnings were ignored, and proposals, such as the 2019 version of the Minsk Group, were not only rejected, but also hidden from the public.


But perhaps the most troubling aspect of this rhetoric is not its cynicism, but its sheer absurdity. Pashinyan speaks as if he has a unique ability to predict the time of war, as if geopolitical realities are adapted to the election results. However, the reality shows something else. On September 21, 2020, just six days before the start of the 44-day war, he presented his vision “Armenia 2050” in the hall of Matenadaran, full of great ambitions and unrealistic optimism. Not a word, not a hint, not a sign that the country is on the brink of one of the most destructive wars in modern history.


So the question remains. if he could not predict the war that would start in a few days, then on what basis is he now trying to predict a war in the fall?


These constant reminders of the war speak more not about the dangers facing Armenia, but about the incompetence and failures of the person making these statements. They reflect not strategic perception but political insanity, not leadership but improvisation. And perhaps most tellingly, this approach underestimates the very people it is trying to influence, assuming that they will forget or ignore what they have already experienced. This is perhaps the clearest proof of how far he is cut off from reality.


Former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan




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“Please clarify the specific legal status on the basis of which ICRC p

Vanyan Gary

March: 19, 2026

The letter of Ruben Vardanyan’s wife, Veronika Zonabend, to ICRC President Miryana Spolyarich Eger, about the legal status of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Relatives of Armenian prisoners held in Baku have been deprived of the opportunity to see them for more than two years. Families are deeply concerned about their health. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross last had independent access to the Armenian prisoners. The ICRC was the only organization visiting their places of detention, but on September 3, 2025, it ceased operations in Azerbaijan at the request of the country’s government.

Under these conditions, the question of the legal status of prisoners, in the sense in which it is considered by international humanitarian law, takes on a special significance. Veronika Zonabend turned to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoliarich Eger, with a request for clarification regarding this issue.

We publish the letter and reiterate the request to provide clarification on the legal status of the Armenian prisoners for the period when the ICRC representatives visited them, and to consider the possibility of answering this question.

“Dear President,

I am writing to you on behalf of my husband, Armenian citizen, philanthropist and former Minister of State of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, who was illegally detained by the Azerbaijani authorities on September 27, 2023, while crossing from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ICRC’s role and mandate are truly unique and unprecedented. In times of brutality, war and injustice, the ICRC remains a rare symbol of dignity, compassion and humanity, carrying out a noble mission to protect vulnerable people. ICRC is one of the few international organizations whose members have not lost their sense of mission and continue to approach their work with compassion and care. We sincerely appreciate the visits of representatives of the Red Cross to Ruben in the Azerbaijani detention center. For us and, I’m sure, for the families of other detained Armenians, your visits are much more important than just being an official procedure.

I am writing to you in full awareness of ICRC’s humanitarian mandate, confidentiality, impartiality and neutrality, long established principles. At the same time, it is extremely important for the families of the illegally detained to know what legal status their relatives had at the time of the ICRC representatives’ visits to Azerbaijan.

The need for clarification becomes even more urgent in light of the clearly flawed judicial proceedings in Azerbaijan, taking into account trials lacking fundamental safeguards and accusations lacking factual and legal basis. The suffering caused to their families due to illegal detention and unjustified trials is deepened when the Azerbaijani authorities publicly and regularly call these people “terrorists”, distorting the status of the detainees and spreading misleading information.

Considering the above, with all due respect, I would like to clarify the specific legal status on the basis of which ICRC delegates visited Ruben and other Armenian prisoners.

In particular, we are trying to understand whether the ICRC considered them as persons deprived of their liberty, whose deprivation of liberty was related to the armed conflict, according to which, they were considered as prisoners of war, detained for security reasons, interned or had any other status within the framework of international humanitarian law.

The clarification of this issue is extremely important. It will give families much-needed reassurance and insight into how detainees are treated under international humanitarian law and ICRC humanitarian visitation standards.

Let me conclude by expressing my sincere gratitude for the compassion and dignity that the Red Cross provides through its work. These are irreplaceable qualities, the lack of which is felt all over the world.

In the end, I want to address you not only in the form of an official letter, but also with a deeply personal appeal, as an organization whose mission has always been to put human life, dignity and justice above formalities and political considerations. For families like ours, who are experiencing the pain of long-term and illegal detention of a relative, faith in ICRC’s humanity is a source of hope. I sincerely believe that this spirit will guide you to pay attention to what is happening to Ruben Vardanyan and other detained Armenians.

Sincerely,

Veronika Zonabend”.

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Pashinyan’s statements against the Armenian Church in the European Parliament

Vanyan Gary
Aysor, Armenia
Mar 12 2026

The Chairman of the Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church, Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan, has issued a statement regarding remarks made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the Armenian Church at the European Parliament.

The statement reads:

“From the podium of the European Parliament, Nikol Pashinyan carried out an open and brazen attack against the strongest pillar of Armenian statehood – the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. Instead of defending the interests of the country, he used that prestigious platform for the insidious purpose of desecrating national sanctities and belittling the Church in the eyes of Armenia’s adversaries.

This was not merely another political mistake or an act of ignorance; it was a direct, deliberate, and treacherous blow to the two-thousand-year-old spiritual backbone of the Armenian people. When the so-called leader of the country presents his own Church to foreign audiences as a nest of conspiracies and a threat to national security, he ceases to be merely a political opponent and effectively places himself in the service of those who seek to undermine the identity of the Armenian people.

The Armenian Church is not an ‘agent’s den,’ as those who have sold their souls to foreign interests attempt to portray it. The Armenian Church is the guarantor of the Armenian people’s existence – their memory, their blood, and their inalienable sanctuary. Anyone who slanders that sanctuary on international platforms commits one of the gravest offenses against the state and the nation, undermining the spiritual security of the entire people.

This shameful campaign must be viewed as part of a single destructive chain: as Armenia’s statehood and sovereignty are consistently weakened, the attack has now reached the last bastion of the people’s resistance – the Church. Under the false and repugnant guise of “peace” and “democracy,” a program of national dismantling is being imposed on our people. The campaign against the Armenian Church is not an internal political dispute; it is a treacherous assault on the Armenian nation itself.

We strongly condemn and consider unacceptable this anti-church and anti-national behavior by Nikol Pashinyan. Offering up national sacred values in order to gain external support for attacks on the Church is a pitiful and disgraceful step.

Let it be clearly understood: the Armenian Church is not a political toy of temporary rulers and will never become their sacrificial victim. Anyone who dares to raise a defiling hand against the Mother Church will face the righteous anger of the Armenian people and the merciless judgment of history.

Pashinyan’s statements against the Armenian Church in the European Parliament represent nothing less than the height of national disgrace.

This is no longer merely a dispute between clergy and laity. It is a sacred struggle for our existence, for the Armenian gene, and for our dignity. In such a struggle, silence and compromise are tantamount to surrender.

We will not remain silent. We will not allow it.”

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Armenian President visits Chile for inauguration of José Antonio Kast

Vanyan Gary

President10:50, 11 March 2026
Read the article in: SpanishPersian Russian language

President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan is in Chile at the invitation of José Antonio Kast, the President-elect of the South American nation.

Khachaturyan, along with other world leaders, will attend the inauguration ceremony on March 11.

José Antonio Kast hosted the world leaders before the ceremony. 

During a meeting with Khachaturyan, Kast welcomed him and expressed gratitude for accepting the invitation to visit Chile.

“In recent decades, there have been significant changes in Chile; however, we continue to maintain institutional and friendly relations with our partners and are also interested in strengthening relations with Armenia and exploring new initiatives in areas of mutual interest,” the President-elect of Chile said, according to a readout issued by the Armenian president’s office.

President Khachaturyan expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and the invitation:

“I sincerely congratulate you on your election as President and wish you every success. You are taking on a very responsible position during a challenging period, in which important issues need to be addressed. Armenia has a strong interest in deepening cooperation with Chile and other countries of South America, and in recent years has been taking active steps in this direction,” the President of Armenia said.

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Canberra: #FreeArmenianHostages: Michael Sukkar MP Sponsors Armenian Political

Vanyan Gary
Armenian National Committee of Australia
Jan 5 2025

#FreeArmenianHostages: Michael Sukkar MP Sponsors Armenian Political Prisoner Bako Sahakyan

CANBERRA: The Hon. Michael Sukkar MP – Federal Member for Deakin has written to Azerbaijan’s Chargé d’Affaires, Mr Vagif Jafarov, calling for the immediate release of Armenian political prisoner and former President of the Republic of Artsakh, Bako Sahakyan, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

In his letter, Sukkar advised the embassy of his intention to act as a sponsor for Mr Sahakyan and urged the Embassy to provide monthly updates on Mr Sahakyans's physical and mental well-being.

Sukkar, who is one of the over 100 Australian Friends of Artsakh is now the second Australian elected official to sponsor an Armenian hostage illegally imprisoned by Azerbaijani authorities, since Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population living in the Republic of Artsakh in September 2023.

In his letter to Mr Jafarov, Sukkar said: “My decision to sponsor Mr Sahakyan comes in the wake of reports from the lawyers of Armenian political prisoners, in particular Jared Genser who wrote to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture detailing harrowing cases of inhumane treatment.”

Michael Kolokossian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, expressed the community’s deep gratitude to the Hon. Michael Sukkar MP for his commitment to act as a political sponsor for Mr Bako Sahakyan, underscoring the importance of such advocacy in the fight for justice.

"As the physical and mental well-being of Armenian political prisoners continues to deteriorate, we are intensifying our advocacy efforts to secure their release. Azerbaijan must understand that Australia, along with the international community, is closely monitoring the situation, and we call for the immediate release of all illegally detained individuals," Kolokossian said.

A motion debated in the Australian Federal Parliament’s Federation Chamber on the 3rd of June 2024, championed by Paul Fletcher MP similarly called for pro-Armenian measures, including the release of all Armenian hostages. Read more about the motion here.


https://www.anc.org.au/news/Media-Releases/-FreeArmenianHostages–Michael-Sukkar-MP-Sponsors-Armenian-Political-Prisoner-Bako-Sahakyan

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Asbarez: AYF Holds D.C. Protest Commemorating Anti-Armenian Pogroms in Sumgait and Baku

Vanyan Gary
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

A scene from the AYF D.C. Ani chapter protest and commemoration of Baku-Sumgait pogroms in wake of the 2023 Artsakh genocide


Armenian Youth Lead Call for Justice in the Wake of the Artsakh Genocide

WASHINGTON—The Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Washington, D.C. “Ani” Chapter organized a protest in front of the Azerbaijani embassy on Sunday afternoon in commemoration of those who were killed during the anti-Armenian pogroms of 1988 and calling for justice in the wake of the Artsakh genocide of 2023.

In late February, nearly 40 years ago, the Armenian population of Azerbaijan faced a brutal and merciless massacre organized and committed by ordinary Azeri citizens. In Sumgait, mobs of Azeris gathered to attack helpless Armenian families, while in Baku, dozens to hundreds were killed, raped, and brutally injured by similar mobs. Every year since these ambushes, Armenians around the world commemorate those we lost during the pogroms.

Although decades have passed since the annihilation of Armenians from Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha, Armenian Americans and supporters demonstrated that they have not forgotten this miscarriage of justice, spending a cold Sunday afternoon passionately chanting their pleas to “stop threats of war” and “recognize the Artsakh Genocide.” 

AYF D.C. “Ani” Chapter member Hovsep Seferian, who, last year,  had shared his family’s story of survival from Azerbaijan’s murderous attacks in Baku, roused the crowd with his speech condemning Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh Armenians, and warned of further aggression against Armenia.  “Aliyev has made his intent to take Syunik very clear and has gone so far as to claim Yerevan as historic Azerbaijani territory. Make no mistake, that’s where he’s going next,” stated Seferian. He urged Armenian Americans to “answer the call of our homeland in what will become its darkest hours if we don’t act.”  He emphasized the need to pass the “Armenian Protection Act of 2024 and the 502B legislation in the House and Senate [to] cut American aid from Azerbaijan and keep American taxpayer dollars out of the hands of dictators like Aliyev and Erdogan.” 

AYF D.C. “Ani” Chapter member Sune Hamparian, describing the 1988 Sumgait massacres, noted, “These pogroms should not and cannot be confused with the spontaneous acts of an angry crowd. Like the genocide of 1915 – they were premeditated.” Spotlighting the existential threat on the Amenian Homeland, Hamparian explains, “Having emptied Western Armenia, then Nakhichevan, and now Artsakh – they’ve turned their sights on Syunik. Their goal: An Armenia emptied of Armenians. Their weapon: Terror and violence.” 

Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian followed, urging Congressional action to sanction Azerbaijan, send assistance to survivors of the Artsakh Genocide, and ensure their dignified and safe return to Artsakh. “If you all show up, if you all turn out, we can get our Congressional delegations on board,” stated Hamparian. 

AYF D.C. “Ani” Vice Chair Matt Girardi then closed the gathering with brief remarks reminding Armenians that “[while] some see our struggle as a burden, I see it as a sign of life– because we have much to fight for!” Then adding, “Artsakh will return to us, Nakhichevan will return to us, and we will leave future generations of Armenians with peace, prosperity, and security in a free, united, and independent Armenia.”

The AYF urges all readers to take action on the ANCA website to support the passage of the Armenian Protection Act, impose sanctions on Azerbaijan by passing 502B legislation, and divest funds from Turkey and Azerbaijan.