Category: News

The Armenian government has spent around 290 million drams for the purchase of branded gifts for the COP17 summit, but the opposition voices the unjustified inflation of prices and the lack of technical specifications in the contracts.

Deputy of the opposition “Strong Armenia” faction Liana Manukyan in his speech, he presented the results of the study of state procurement contracts, pointing out the possible waste of state funds.

As an example, the deputy mentioned the purchase of 16,500 thermoses, each of which was paid 7,800 drams. According to his data, the retail price of quality thermoses on the market ranges from 2,000 to 3,500 drams. “Including the cost of brand printing (1,000 drams), the maximum cost would be 4,500 drams,” Manukyan emphasized.

The cost of other products is also problematic. According to the MP’s analysis, 19,700 threads of badger were purchased for 1,248 AMD each, while their market price is 55 AMD, and the best branded version is at most 600 AMD.

Eco bags cost the state 3,432 drams, although their ready-made versions are sold in the retail market for 3,000 drams. The price of badges was 2,340-2,964 drams, while the price of the highest quality on the market is 1,800 drams.

Summarizing his report on state expenses, the deputy spoke about the volume of wasted funds. “The market research carried out in just one day showed that it was possible to save 84,984,600 drams in this contract,” concluded Liana Manukyan.

Deputy of the “Armenia” bloc Mesrop Manukyan and in his speech he severely criticized the government for diverting public funds to the private sector and for “inefficient management”.

He mentioned the government’s decision by which a preferential state loan of 1 billion drams (at only 1% interest rate) and additional billions of drams were allocated to the “Meridian” expo center, where events related to COP17 are to be held.

The deputy raised the question whether the state could not have built its own infrastructure with those funds, which would have remained for the people, instead of paying at least 302 million drams for rent. “You are robbing the state budget money. Looting happens just like this, it doesn’t happen by face and tail,” Manukyan stated, stressing that the opposition is fighting against the waste of citizens’ taxes.

A heated debate took place in the Armenian parliament over the costs of organizing the COP17 climate summit. In response to the opposition’s accusations of multimillion-dollar waste, the representatives of the ruling “Civil Agreement” faction stated that the expenses were aimed at increasing the country’s international reputation, while the opponents, according to them, are trying to present the country as a backward suburb.

Previously, the parliamentary opposition had severely criticized the government for the unjustified high prices of the souvenirs bought for the event and the rented premises. In particular, the alleged waste of about 85 million drams was pointed out in the process of purchasing branded thermoses, badges and bags (for example, the thermoses were bought for 7,800 drams instead of 4,500 drams), as well as the allocation of more than 300 million drams to rent the “Meridian” expo center instead of building state infrastructure was condemned.

Addressing these claims, the deputy of the ruling faction, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly Vahagn Aleksanyan emphasized that the real target of the opposition is not specific products, but Armenia’s statehood. According to him, the opponents cannot come to terms with the idea that an independent Armenia can host 15,000 delegates from 190 countries, including world leaders, which will bring enormous political and economic benefits to the country.

“According to your imagination, the scabby region has put itself in the place of the state, it is organizing an event,” Aleksanyan noted, adding that the maximum limit of the state’s possibilities for the opposition is the “Armenia-Kaluga” business forum. Turning to the prices, he explained that the one-time acquisition of 15 thousand units of goods in the market has other challenges, and it is not always possible to ensure cheap retail prices.

This position was also supported by a deputy Taron Chakhoyancalling for the costs to be assessed in line with the scale of the event and the high status of the participants. He responded harshly to the indignation over the rental of chairs worth 16,000 drams and vehicles serving the presidents. “What should we do? Should we bring the presidents to sit on a rickshaw, or transport them in an exploded raft?” asked the parliamentarian.

Chakhoyan accused the political opponents of trying to destroy the honor and dignity of the country, concluding that Armenia will never become a peripheral province.

Yerevan Municipality is intensifying the fight against traffic jams paralyzing the capital city. From now on, drivers involved in a traffic accident will be fined if they block the traffic for more than 15 minutes after the accident without serious consequences.

The mayor announced this innovation during the regular procedural session of the municipality Tigran Avinyan. The decision was based on studies that show how accidents with minor property damage and cars parked in the second row cause huge traffic jams by the chain reaction of up to the 1,000th car.

“The third problem is car accidents: two cars that collide with each other can stop traffic and create a two-kilometer traffic jam,” Avinyan said. As an example, he cited Miasnikyan Avenue, where the average speed can drop sharply to 8 km/h due to lane closures. To combat such violations, video surveillance devices will be activated and the issue of active use of tow trucks will be discussed with the government.

According to the mayor, with the new legislative amendments, a clear fine was established for parking for more than 15 minutes, provided that the accident did not cause health consequences. He addressed the insurance companies with a special message, urging them to get out of the “comfort zone” and use innovative methods of recording damages, instead of closing the streets for hours for paperwork.

“This state has said that the uninterrupted mobility of our road traffic is more important than your risk of 50 or 60 thousand drams,” the mayor emphasized, predicting that the insurance companies will lose in the courts in the context of the new regulations.

Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Khalil Shirgholami visited the National Assembly on October 12, having meetings with the newly formed factions of the parliament. The strengthening of Armenian-Iranian relations, regional communication channels and border security issues were at the core of the discussions.

The representatives of the parliamentary forces qualified the meetings as an accepted diplomatic practice, at the same time emphasizing the special nature of relations with Tehran.

Secretary of the opposition “Armenia” faction Artur Khachatryan according to him, relations with Iran cannot be compared with relations with any other country.

“We discussed issues of bilateral interest, issues of uninterrupted operation of the Armenia-Iran border, communication,” Khachatryan told reporters. Referring to the TRIPP transport project, the deputy noted that a wide range of issues were addressed, including regional communication channels.

For the Iranian side, the stability and resilience of Armenia is key. This was stated by the leader of the “Strong Armenia” faction Narek Karapetyanpresenting the details of the negotiations with the ambassador.

According to him, the parties talked about the activation of cooperation, and the diplomat specially emphasized how important it is for Iran to see a strong Armenia. As for the discussions about the TRIPP project, Karapetyan confirmed their existence, but added: “Yes, but I can’t make it public.”

At the session of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security Affairs of the National Assembly, a heated discussion was held on the security incidents recorded in Shaki and Syunik. Narek Karapetyan, head of the opposition “Strong Armenia” faction, demanded from the authorities to ensure transparent control or create a special investigative commission.

Addressing the chairman of the committee during the session convened on October 12 Vilen GarberalyanKarapetyan emphasized the growing concerns and panic moods among the public.

“People are panicking, there is fear after Shaki’s case… Look, for the second time in 15 days, we have heard… about the presence of strange persons in the Meghri region,” said the opposition MP, demanding to urgently identify those responsible and understand the systemic problems, whether there is a need for new funding or video surveillance devices.

He warned that if the defense committee does not respond and rejects the proposal by voting, they will initiate the formation of a new investigative committee.

In response: Chairman of the commission Vilen Gabrelyan noted that the commission is carrying out its normal work and does not see a systemic problem or the logic of creating a separate investigative commission for one incident.

“I don’t see any ineffective work, especially in this case,” he said, adding that they also have many questions and are going to invite the representatives of relevant departments to the National Assembly for closed discussions in the near future.

According to official data, on October 1, 2026, at 2:15 p.m., in the Shaki settlement of Syunik region, an Azerbaijani soldier who illegally crossed the Armenian border entered the house of one of the residents and shot an RA citizen in the leg.

The Azerbaijani serviceman was arrested, an investigation is being conducted on the incident.

On October 7, during the debate in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that this is a criminal incident, the person in question was not a saboteur, and the case should be investigated so that at least part of the punishment takes place in Armenia.

The security forces are finding out exactly how the Azerbaijani soldier crossed the border and ended up in the settlement.

Moscow does not intend to stop military operations or make concessions to the leadership of Ukraine, despite the so-called “energy truce” announced by US President Donald Trump.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov emphasized that the Russian side will continue to consistently achieve the goals set in the military operations. Answering journalists’ questions about the possible easing of pressure on the battlefield, the minister reaffirmed the Kremlin’s tough stance against the President of Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky in relation to

“I don’t think he deserves a break. I don’t think we will be fooled by assurances and promises once again,” the diplomat said, writes Interfax.

Lavrov also reminded that the problems of the Russian operation remain unchanged from its very beginning, in contrast to the political direction of Kiev and its Western allies. “The president has made it very clear: we continue to achieve the goals of the special military operation. We have never changed them, unlike the zigzags and dodges of Zelensky and his European masters. Therefore, we do not need to justify ourselves to anyone,” concluded the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Let’s remind that yesterday US President Donald Trump announced the so-called energy truce between Moscow and Kiev. Head of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky initially denied the existence of such an agreement, but later ordered the armed forces to refrain from striking Russian energy facilities.

Western media note that Russia has not yet given final agreement to the proposed terms, which only provide for a mutual cessation of strikes against oil refineries. In Kiev, this condition is considered unequal, insisting that Moscow should stop attacks on the entire Ukrainian power grid.

The activity of the American administration regarding the conclusion of the deal is largely due to concerns about the increase in fuel prices in the United States.

Along with these energy ceasefire processes, Trump previously announced an agreement with Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel fuel to the American and global markets.

Against the background of these events, as well as statements made by the head of the White House about the need to elect a new leader in Ukraine, Zelensky came forward with an initiative to impose a comprehensive 60-day ceasefire on Moscow, which would allow elections to be held in the warring country.