RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Austria Andranik Hovhannisyan received the delegation representing Armenia in “Eurovision 2026”.
The ambassador highly appreciated the great work done by the delegation in the international competition and, congratulating SIMÓN, wished him a brilliant performance and victory.
Let’s remind that in “Eurovision 2026” SIMÓN will perform in the second semi-final on May 14, under number 6.
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Quite expectedly, the topic of the war against our immediate neighbor Iran completely disappeared from the Armenian public agenda, but its influence has not gone anywhere, on the contrary, it has strengthened (when you enter the store, you are dealing with it, seeing the price tags of the goods).
But now let me share something else that enables two important implications.
The American media, referring to the sources of the US intelligence services, note that in the background of the ongoing negotiations, Iran has not prepared for peace, but on the contrary, it has managed to restore most of the losses it suffered in the first weeks of the war (including missile launchers), thus increasing its stock of resistance.
Consequence 1:. your position in negotiations is solid when your opponent sees principle rather than concession.
Consequence 2:. nothing is finished in our region.
This is especially relevant when you remember that exactly 5 years ago these days, Azerbaijan entered the sovereign territory of Armenia in Syunik, and the de facto ruling group of Armenia announced that they would negotiate for the Azerbaijanis to leave.
They did not come out, they went deeper and they are preparing to go deeper in the strategic quagmire.
Turkic scholar Varuzhan Geghamyan
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The ombudsman of Artsakh’s cultural heritage, the vice-president of “Azkayin” historical and cultural NGO Hovik Avanesov is sounding the alarm.
“As a result of the monitoring of social networks, it became obvious that the cemetery of the fallen freedom fighters of the village of Vaghuhas, Martakert region of the temporarily occupied Artsakh Republic, became the next target of the Azerbaijani authorities’ vandalism. The study and analysis of the video published in the Azerbaijani social network domain, in the context of the destruction of cultural heritage, ethnic hatred and gross violations of international humanitarian law, allows us to record a number of highly worrying and reprehensible manifestations.
First of all, the circumstance of ethnic and religious targeting is obvious. The Armenian inscriptions on the tombstones and the images of the fallen freedom fighters clearly show that it was not just a cemetery that was targeted, but an important place of Armenian identity, national memory and spiritual heritage. This is not ordinary vandalism, but a deliberate act based on ethnic hatred, the purpose of which is to eliminate the Armenian trace and erase the historical memory.
The actions recorded in the video are characterized by exceptional cynicism and blasphemy. The author of the video deliberately walks over the tombstones, stands on the portraits of the deceased, hits and desecrates them. This behavior is not only damage to the graves, but also a deliberate disrespect to the memory of the dead, the sanctity of the funeral and human dignity. Such actions contradict not only international legal norms, but also the most basic principles of universal morality.
The video also clearly shows many broken, cut, displaced and damaged tombstones, which proves that the cemetery was systematically and purposefully destroyed. The scope and nature of the damages do not indicate an isolated incident, but a deliberate policy of destruction of cultural values. Such operations against Armenian cultural and memory sites in the territories temporarily occupied by the dictatorial regime of Baku have been of a continuous and systemic nature for a long time.
The component of psychological terrorism is also particularly dangerous and reprehensible. The video recording of the actions and their dissemination on social platforms, as well as the Azerbaijani expressions in the video, prove that the purpose of what happened is not only to destroy the traces of the Armenian cultural presence, but also to exert psychological pressure on the relatives of the victims, forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians and the entire Armenian society. This is an attempt to create an atmosphere of open humiliation, fear and defenselessness, which also has a propaganda character.
Considering the fact that the video may have a heavy psychological impact on the relatives of the fallen freedom fighters and the public, we do not publish it. The video is preserved in the archives of the Artsakh cultural heritage ombudsman’s office as factual evidence of another criminal operation against the Armenian cultural heritage.
It should be emphasized that this is not the first recorded case of desecration of the memory of those who died for the defense of the motherland in Vaghuhas village. Back on January 5, 2024, our partner, the State Service for the Protection of the Historical Environment of Artsakh, PUAK, alerted that Azerbaijani soldiers had destroyed the khachkar erected in 2021 in memory of Mkhitar Aghabekyan, who was killed during the large-scale war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh in 2020, on the roadside of the village. The author of Khachkar was Yura Mangasaryan. This fact once again proves that the actions against the Armenian memory and cultural presence are not random or one-time manifestations.
The authorities of Azerbaijan in the temporarily occupied Artsakh destroy and desecrate the monuments and cemeteries commemorating the heroes who were martyred for the defense of the motherland with particular cruelty and consistency. These actions have already gone beyond the scope of individual cases of vandalism and turned into a coordinated policy implemented at the state level, the purpose of which is the elimination of Armenian historical and cultural heritage and erasure of national memory. More than a dozen similar facts have already been recorded in different settlements of Artsakh, which document the consistent process of cultural genocide.
The silence and inadequate response of the international community continue to contribute to the deepening of the atmosphere of impunity. Meanwhile, such actions against cultural heritage, sanctuaries and cemeteries should receive a clear political, legal and moral evaluation. When the graves of the dead and the places of national memory are targeted, not only the rights of one people are threatened, but also the universal values on which the existence of the civilized world is based,” he said.
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As a result of the explanatory work of the police, another number of cases of voluntary surrender of illegally stored weapons and ammunition were registered.
Calling the Kotayk department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 112 operational management center, the citizen reported that he left weapons and ammunition near the fence of one of the restaurant complexes in Abovyan city.
The officers of the Kotayk community police department found four 9 mm pistols, three 12 mm hunting sniper rifles, two 7.62 mm assault rifles, an “AKS” type assault rifle, and 29 bullets at the mentioned place.
A case of voluntary surrender of illegal weapons and ammunition was also registered as a result of the explanatory work of the officers of the Hrazdan Community Police Department.
The citizen who called the police reported that he had left weapons and ammunition in the pavilions near the Hrazdan reservoir.
Community police found a “Kalashnikov” assault rifle and 55 bullets of different calibers at the mentioned place.
The police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs urges to voluntarily hand over the illegally stored weapons and ammunition in order to avoid criminal liability.
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The spokesperson of the RA MFA spoke about the removal of bans on bilateral trade by Turkey with RA.
“We welcome Turkey’s decision to remove the ban on bilateral trade with Armenia, which is another result of the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.
The decision is significant in terms of expanding trade and business ties between the two countries, promoting economic connectivity in the region, and ensuring peace and prosperity.
Let’s emphasize that this is an important step in the direction of the development of full and normal relations between the two countries, which can have its logical continuation through the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border and the establishment of diplomatic relations,” said the post on Facebook.
As we have already reported, direct trade between Armenia and Turkey in the customs sense, without reformulations, has become possible.
Let’s remind that yesterday, during the campaign in the Shengavit administrative district of Yerevan, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan approached Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan live and said something in his ear.
Later, Pashinyan clarified that it refers to the change in the wording of the export of goods from Turkey to Armenia.
According to him, according to the legal regulations of the Turkish side, Armenia was not included in the list of countries, which is why the goods were first of all formulated as being exported to a third country, and then re-exported to Armenia.
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Looking at global developments, today’s visit of Donald Trump to China is primarily expected to be an attempt to stabilize US-PRC relations, not a “great historical agreement”.
The main topics on the agenda are trade, technology and especially the United States, the situation around Taiwan, issues related to the Iran conflict, and the global economy and communications.
The most likely developments are:
Extension of the trade “ceasefire”. After mutual threats over tariffs and restrictions on rare metals, both sides are interested in reducing tensions, at least temporarily. This is exactly what the global markets expect.
Partial economic agreements. The US wants to:
• expand purchases of American goods by China,
• ensure stable supplies of rare metals,
• reduce pressure on American businesses.
China, for its part, is seeking to loosen US restrictions on the export of chips and high-tech products.
In general, breakthrough results should not be expected in reducing the risks of a trade war. However, the maintenance of “managed competition” between the world’s two largest economies should be considered a success.
No final decisions are expected regarding Taiwan. This is one of the most sensitive topics. Beijing will demand a reduction in American support for Taiwan, but Trump’s opportunities for real concessions are limited due to the position of the US Congress.
President Trump will try to get China involved in some way or at least come to an agreement in putting pressure on Iran. Washington is interested in Beijing helping to reduce risks around the Strait of Hormuz and exerting influence on Tehran. Whether or not China will accept this as a bargaining chip is hard to say. Most likely, it is related to the agreement to be reached regarding sanctions and technologies.
A possible discussion is also expected regarding Russia and Ukraine. Many experts believe that here the US is unlikely to achieve significant concessions from Beijing.
Politically, the visit is also important because it is Trump’s first full visit to China in many years. Both sides want to show that they can maintain a direct dialogue despite existing antagonisms and the existing regional conflict.
If we look more broadly, the main question for the world is whether the current US-China rivalry will turn into a long-term “cold economic conflict” or whether the parties will be able to keep it under control. This visit of Trump most likely refers to the second option.
Former RA Deputy Defense Minister Artak Zakaryan
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On May 11, around 11:00 p.m., an argument-fight took place between a group of people near the car wash near the Masis-Echmiadzin highway from Dashtavan village of Ararat marz, reports Shamshyan.com.
The dispute lasted for about 40 minutes, and during that time, no policeman of the Masisi department of the main community police department and no patroller of the Ararat Marz battalion of the RA MIA Police Patrol Service arrived at the scene.
In a conversation with the website, several citizens, who refused to speak on camera, said: “For 40-50 minutes, more than 15 people, mostly idiots, slaughtered each other, no matter how much they cursed. We don’t know who they were because it was dark. But for 50 minutes there will be a fight reminiscent of an action movie in that crowded place and neither the patrol nor the police will arrive?
According to the website, 24-year-old Vahagn H., a resident of Ararat region, 31-year-old Robert A., a resident of Yerevan, 22-year-old Hayk M., 31-year-old Manuk M., 36-year-old Gurgen K., 48-year-old Vahagn H. and about 10 other people participated in the argument.
2 “BMW”, “Mercedes”, “Honda”, “Opel” cars were found at the scene of the incident, with traces of blood on them.
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Trump released a map of Venezuela with the 51st state of the US written on it. He did it on his social media page. Trump said two days ago that he was considering such an option. The acting president of Venezuela stated that this is unacceptable.
Trump will probably run him out like Maduro.
If you are serious, at first glance, that topic that Trump brings up is quite epic, in fact immediately precedes his visit to China, where Trump is expected to have a very difficult conversation with Xi Jinping. The US president seems to be leaving for China already today.
What does Venezuela have to do with this? In recent years, China has strengthened its relationship with that country. China signed serious agreements and contracts in the field of energy, infrastructure, gave Venezuela billions of dollars in loans, invested in the oil industry.
Trump understands that abducting Maduro may have provided him with a supermacho image among his voters, but he did not resolve fundamental issues related to China’s presence in Venezuela, because Beijing is, to put it mildly, not the last entity in geopolitics, therefore it is not possible to simply “drive him away”.
At the same time, before his visit to China, Trump could not take a significant position towards Iran, but even got stuck in Hormuz. Trump’s situation inside the USA is also complicated. In fact, if his April visit had not been postponed, Trump might have tried to postpone the current visit to China, leaving it for a more favorable time or moment. But, delaying the visit for the second time could already be a serious blow to him.
According to that, before the visit to Beijing, Trump is trying to strengthen his position with statements, one of which was about making Venezuela a US state, and the other about the possibility of visiting Russia by the end of the year. To what extent those two statements of Trump will affect Xi Jinping, it will be clear perhaps as a result of the negotiation, where, of course, difficult issues are certainly not only for Trump.
Analyst Hakob Badalyan
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The foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan held talks on regional events today.
As reported by “Tasnim” agency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, discussed the latest developments related to diplomatic processes, the regional situation and bilateral relations during a telephone conversation held this afternoon.
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The Central Electoral Commission reiterates that administrative resources are the human, financial, and material resources possessed by public office holders and public service officials during elections, due to their control over personnel, finances, and allocations in the public sector.
“During the organization and implementation of the pre-election campaign, the use of administrative resources by those in public service, employees of healthcare or medical organizations, educational institutions, preschool educational institutions while exercising their powers or acting in their capacity is prohibited.
Once again, we call for the pre-election campaign to be carried out within the framework of the Electoral Code constitutional law,” said the statement released by the CEC.
It should be noted that today, on May 13, the teachers and students of schools in the settlements of the region were brought to the CP campaign in the Aragatsotn marz by buses, moreover, during class time. One of the teachers frankly told NEWS.am that for the sake of Nikol Pashinyan, the classes were shortened.
The Ministry of Education and Culture responded to this, stating that the Ministry will conduct an investigation into the registered cases of participation of schools in the campaign in Aragatsotn marz.
“One of the similar cases was registered today, May 13, in the city of Aparan. A number of teachers and students of educational institutions of Aragats and Kuchak villages participated in a political campaign during working hours. The Ministry will initiate a separate investigation to find out the details of the case and apply the consequences prescribed by law in cooperation with the relevant authorized body.
According to the appropriate procedure, the Ministry also sends all alarms to the law enforcement agencies in order to conduct an investigation”, – noted the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
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