Category: News

A Russian pipeline that supplies natural gas to Armenia

Russia on Tuesday warned of a steep surge in gas prices in Armenia if Yerevan chose to abandon agreements that provide advantageous pricing for Armenia.

A review of allied relations with Moscow by Yerevan could lead to the loss of advantages Armenia enjoys regarding the price of Russian gas, Mikhail Kalugin, a high ranking Russian Foreign Ministry official said in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday.

“We have an extensive treaty-based legal framework with Armenia that enshrines the privileged, allied status of our bilateral relations,” Kalugin said.

“It is within their right if the Armenian authorities wish to revise this status as part of a ‘diversification’ of their foreign policy. However, in that case, it would also be necessary to forgo the advantages that Moscow grants only to its allies,” Kalugin said, adding that one example of the advantages would be the price of gas.

The Russian diplomat said that Moscow had no objections with Armenia purchasing gas from other countries, explaining that such a possibility is stipulated in the 2013 Russian-Armenian agreement.

Kalugin explained that up to 85 percent of the gas consumed in Armenia—around 2.2–2.7 billion cubic meters annually—is supplied by Russia without export taxes and at a fixed price of $177.5 per thousand cubic meters. Armenia also receives other petroleum products from Russia duty free, he said.

By comparison, the market-based gas price in the European Union currently stands at roughly $875 per thousand cubic meters.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan linked the shift in Armenia-Russia relations to the new situation that has emerged in the region following what he called “the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

“Now that we have established peace with Azerbaijan, Armenia-Russia relations will naturally change, and it is our desire that these relations develop based on the principles of friendship and mutual respect,” Pashinyan told the UN General Assembly on September 25.

Pashinyan had also said that Armenia would diversify its gas supply—at whatever cost. Soon after, the newly appointed National Security chief Alen Simonyan echoed that sentiment, by saying that Yerevan was open to purchasing gas from Azerbaijan and Turkey.

“Who said we intend to replace dependence on one country with dependence on another? We plan to source from all possible places: if Russia supplies gas, we buy from Russia; if Azerbaijan supplies it, we buy from Azerbaijan; if Iran supplies it, we buy from Iran; and if Turkey has the capacity to supply gas from somewhere, we should buy from them as well,” Simonyan said last month.

Paula White-Cain meets with Catholicos Karekin II in Etchmiadzin on Oct. 4

Over the weekend, two high-ranking Trump Administration officials visited Etchmiadzin and one of them met with Catholicos Karekin II, as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his party have renewed their push to oust the leader of the Armenian Church.

President Donald Trump’s adviser to the White House Faith Office Paula White-Cain met with the Catholicos on Sunday at Etchmiadzin and late attended Sunday Mass. Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes also visited Etchmiadzin and was greeted by the Holy See’s head of protocol Archbishop Natan Hovhanessyan.

Both were in Armenia to attend the second “prayer breakfast” organized by the Pashinyan government, which has not invited the Catholicos of All Armenians to the event promoting Armenia’s spiritual and religious legacy.

According to a statement from the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, Catholicos Karekin II and White-Cain “emphasized the role of religion and spiritual values in building a safe, prosperous, and flourishing life for peoples.”

“In this regard, they highlighted the importance of spiritual leaders working together to advance peace throughout the world and contribute to a brighter future for peoples,” the Etchmiadzin statement added.

Etchmiadzin also said that Karekin II also praised White-Cain for organizing a meeting between Trump and Armenian religious leaders in the United States at the White House on September 16.

Barnes also visited Khor Virab and Madenataran, according to the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.

“An incredible first visit to Armenia—blown away by Armenia’s rich heritage and culture. Thank you to His Eminence Archbishop Hovhannisian and to my gracious hosts at Khor Virap and Madenataran,” Barnes wrote in a social media post.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party announced on Monday its decision to set up a hoc commission of the Armenian parliament tasked with investigating “the church’s failure to fulfill its unique mission.” The parliament’s two opposition groups have already made clear that they will not take part in the parliamentary inquiry they say violates the church’s separation from the state guaranteed by Armenia’s constitution.

The commission is supposed to look into a report released late last month by a government agency regarded by Pashinyan’s critics as one of his main propaganda mouthpieces. The report essentially repeats Pashinyan’s allegations against the top clergy and Karekin II in particular.

LOS ANGELES — The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA will host Dr. Edita Gzoyan, lecturer at the American University of Armenia and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies, for a lecture titled “From Rescue to Resettlement: Post-Genocide Recovery and the Search for a Home from the Middle East to Madagascar.”

This event will take place on Sunday, October 11 at 2 p.m. at the UCLA James West Alumni Center, Founders’ Room.

Registration for in person attendance is required and free. Click here to learn more and RSVP. The event will be livestreamed on the Promise Armenian Institute’s YouTube Channel.

This talk explores the interconnected processes of post-genocide recovery and resettlement, tracing humanitarian efforts across the Middle East and examining international initiatives and proposals to establish new homes for Armenian refugees, including the little-known plan to resettle Armenians in Madagascar. It highlights the complex transition from rescue to reconstruction and the broader search for security, community, and a viable future in the aftermath of genocide.

Dr. Edita Gzoyan is a lecturer at the American University of Armenia and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies. She holds a PhD in International Relations from Yerevan State University and an LL.M. from the American University of Armenia. Her research focuses on the history and legal dimensions of the Armenian Genocide, humanitarian responses and refugee assistance, gender-based violence, forced child transfer, and the post-genocide recovery of Armenian women and children.

This event is co-sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Research Program of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, UCI Center for Armenian Studies, and the Armenian Studies Program at CSUN.