Category: News

There is a holiday calm in Armenia and especially in the local political life. At the moment, the most political issue is the opening of the National Assembly (which, by and large, if current trends and practices are maintained, will not have a significant impact on the processes outside the parliament building).

Meanwhile, the political vacation is exclusively in Armenia. And important processes, including those affecting us, are taking place around our country at an unprecedented speed.

Here are three news that remained in the shadow of the “mandate fight”.

The renewed war between the USA and Iran (and did it ever stop) is entering a new phase, where the parties have left themselves with only one tool: the continuous escalation of the situation. Only one number is enough to imagine the extent of the tension. at the moment, more than 50 thousand people are directly and indirectly involved in the war on the part of the USA. And this, it seems, is only the beginning.

Aliyev consistently works with the EU to increase the weight of Azerbaijan. Moreover, he positions himself as a regional mediator (the latest news (https://www.dw.com/ru/aliev-kosvenno-podtverdil-kontakty-politikov-frg-i-rf-v-baku/a-78055386) about the meeting of representatives of Russia and Germany in Baku is very telling). When reading this situation, you should keep the following formula in mind: strong Azerbaijan = greater pressure on Armenia in all matters, from the corridor to the reduction of the Armenian army.

The NATO summit took place in Turkey, in which the relations between the two sides were strengthened. Turkey, as in the Cold War years, is now considered by the collective West as the most important defense zone, which should be helped and “whims” tolerated.

This is just a small extract from the news.

But that is enough to understand that the political processes going on around us are more than mandates.

It is necessary to look and analyze the internal life of Armenia only with that big prism. Therefore, prepare to face them for the sake of a developing and safe state.

Turkic scholar Varuzhan Geghamyan

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On August 2-8, for the fourth year in a row, under the auspices of the RA Prime Minister, annual army games will be held between the power structures.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense.

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According to the preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings carried out by the RA Anti-Corruption Committee, it was established that the person who held the position of fuel secret materials storekeeper of the N military unit of the RA Defense, using his official and official powers, committed theft of diesel fuel.

In particular, the preliminary investigation revealed that the mentioned official agreed with the worker-driver of the military unit in 2026 to take the diesel out of the territory of the military unit in order to manage it personally.

The employee of the military unit, accepting the official’s proposal, removed the diesel fuel from the military unit’s territory by providing funds and removing obstacles and assisted in the process of stealing it. The mentioned diesel fuel was found from the vehicle by the employees of the Ijevan department of the RA Ministry of Defense.

The above-mentioned official of the N military unit of the RA Ministry of Defense was charged under Article 256, Part 2, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code, and the person who assisted him was charged with Article 46-256, Part 2, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code. The latter pleaded guilty to the presented charges and gave confessions.

The preliminary investigation in the criminal proceedings has been completed, and the materials of the proceedings have been sent with the indictment to the supervising prosecutor with a request to confirm it and send it to the court.

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ArmLur.am received new details regarding the case of the soldier who died yesterday.

In particular, according to information received by ArmLur.am, the serviceman was forced to commit suicide. According to preliminary data, the soldier was beaten before committing suicide, and the law enforcement officers also discovered other circumstances.

According to the information of ArmLur.am, according to the initial version, the dead serviceman had climbed the positions for the first time, which may have been fatal for him. Our sources of the law enforcement system inform that the arrest of two people is planned as part of the proceedings initiated in connection with the case of the soldier’s suicide.

To remind, yesterday the RA Investigative Committee announced that a criminal proceeding was initiated in connection with the death of a soldier of the N military unit of the Defense Ministry recorded on July 21. Necessary investigative and administrative actions are being carried out.

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Gagik Tsarukyan, the chairman of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, was returned to solitary confinement after being transferred to the Investigative Committee once again. Today’s planned investigative actions, including the confrontation, have not been completed.

According to Tsarukyan’s defense attorney Emin Khachatryan, the defense submitted a motion to challenge the entire investigation team. According to his assessment, in the created conditions, when, according to him, the principle of competition is absent and illegalities are allowed, it was not possible to continue the investigative actions.

This morning, Gagik Tsarukyan, who was detained after the elections, was taken to the Investigative Committee again accompanied by the police. The previous day, he had already confronted one of the Iranian businessmen accusing him, and today he was expected to face the second businessman.

However, Tsarukyan’s other lawyer, Yerem Sargsyan, was removed from the proceedings during the investigation. According to him, the basis of such a decision was the application of one of the Iranian businessmen recognized as a victim.

The latter stated that Yerem Sargsyan had previously participated in the meetings between him and Gagik Tsarukyan, therefore he should be interrogated as a witness and not involved as a defense attorney. Yerem Sargsyan evaluated that decision of the law enforcement officers as illegal, informing that he had already received a summons to be questioned as a witness on the same day.

Gagik Tsarukyan was charged with particularly large fraud and money laundering articles. According to law enforcement officers, he organized the theft of property worth more than 21 million dollars belonging to Iranian businessmen. However, the defense side claims the opposite, stating that it was the Iranian businessmen who had financial obligations towards Tsarukyan, which, according to them, is confirmed by the relevant contracts.

It should be noted that yesterday, a few hours before the interrogation, Tsarukyan’s message from the isolation cell was published. This time, he did not address the criticisms of the authorities, but presented the results of his activities and announced that he intends to “continue building”.

At the same time, dozens of enterprises related to Tsarukyan remain closed, and the management of the “Araratcement” factory has already been transferred to the state.

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The Supreme Body of the ARF of Armenia has issued a statement that says:

“The current government of RA, caught in the crisis of legitimacy, has brought legal permissiveness to political opponents to a new level, ruthlessly using the law enforcement system in its goals.

Not satisfied with illegal wiretapping, arrests, detentions and many illegal criminal prosecutions, the arbitrary investigative bodies have moved on to pursue people who donated to opposition parties.

In particular, it has been a long time that the investigative body has been illegally detaining and illegally “interrogating” ARF members and supporters, just citizens who have made donations to the party in accordance with the requirements set by law. This is in the case when the numerous undeniable facts spread in the press testify to the fact that the “Civil Agreement” party itself receives illegal incomes and uses the administrative resources in the elections completely and impermissibly for their own party interests. Predictably, law enforcement and other competent authorities remain silent in this case.

Assessing all this as a violation of Articles 8 and 46 of the RA Constitution, as well as an obvious attempt to subvert the foundations of democracy,

We demand from international organizations and observation missions to give an adequate, impartial assessment of such actions of the ruling administration.

We demand the law enforcement agencies to immediately return to the field of legality, observing the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Law “On Parties”.

We draw the public’s attention to the one-wheeled neo-Bolshevism of the political authorities and election corruption at the state level.

We declare that thousands of ARF members, sympathizers and supporters will not succumb to the illegalities of the punitive machine, will not be afraid of fake interrogations and will resolutely continue the struggle against the current administration for the sake of a legal, democratic and safe Armenia.”

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The Central Electoral Commission agreed to initiate criminal prosecution against Narek Karapetyan, who heads the electoral list of the “Strong Armenia” bloc, to the request of the Prosecutor’s Office. This was reported by lawyer Armen Feroyan.

Lawyer Aram Vardevanyan announced yesterday that the criminal case related to Narek Karapetyan refers to the accusation attributed to “Strong Armenia” supporter Aleksan Aleksanyan. Aleksanyan is accused of taking financial advantage of people in order to participate in the gathering and of laundering large amounts of money.

Vardevanyan described this as “political absurdity, political theater, political persecution”, which, according to him, is aimed at interfering with the activities of Narek Karapetyan in the National Assembly.

Although the prosecutor’s office submitted the petition on July 13, the CEC began examining it only yesterday, after issuing mandates to the deputies. Narek Karapetyan also received the parliamentary mandate.

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Narek Karapetyan, deputy of the “Strong Armenia” faction, will not be arrested. The Central Electoral Commission rejected the petition of the Prosecutor’s Office.

To remind, today the CEC deprived Karapetyan of parliamentary immunity.

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Today, the first instance court of RA extended the detention of “Mother Armenia” party leader Andranik Tevanyan for 2 months.

Earlier, Tevanyan made a statement from the isolation cell, demanding an open trial in his case. He believes that the people should know what they are accusing him of, and the reality should be shown to the public.

Tevanyan was arrested in May this year on charges of espionage and treason. On May 21, the RA Investigative Committee reported that citizen A.T. (Andranik Tevanyan), being a deputy, was allegedly recruited by foreign special services in 2024 and engaged in agency activities.

According to the investigation, he illegally obtained detailed information from the closed parliamentary discussion held in April 2024, translated the materials into Russian and transferred information containing state secrets. As the RA Investigative Committee claims, he received 622 thousand dollars for this purpose. A criminal case has been initiated regarding the fact.

Tevanyan himself denied the accusations, calling them absurd and based on political motives.

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The World Bank’s July report on Armenia’s economy warns of dangerous trends already emerging.

Economic activity increased by 11.7% in May 2026, and by 8% in January-May. However, during the same period, exports decreased by 3.7%, imports increased by 2.2%, and the trade deficit reached around 7% of the projected annual GDP. Exports to Russia were reduced by 15% in May alone.

Inflation reached 5.1% in June, and food inflation reached 8.6%. Even the seemingly positive 0.8% surplus in the budget was formed amid a 54.5% reduction in capital expenditures and a freeze in defense spending.

The World Bank separately emphasizes the risks arising from political developments with Russia.

40% of tourists and 61% of net remittances in May are from Russia. They strengthened the dram, increased bank liquidity and supported domestic demand. In other words, dependence on Russia is no longer only a matter of foreign trade. It simultaneously refers to exports, transfers, tourism, domestic consumption, exchange rate and energy security.

In May-June, Russia restricted the entry of Armenian agricultural products, flowers, fish products, mineral water and alcoholic beverages into its market.

The World Bank is already warning that if these restrictions are maintained or expanded, their consequences will go beyond foreign trade and will affect economic growth, prices and social conditions.

And what does the Armenian government oppose to this danger? State compensation for transport and customs costs and optimistic statements about the rapid redirection of exports to the EU market.

Although the assistance of the European Union is politically important, it is limited in economic scope, and based on it, the government’s expectation to replace the Russian market with the European one in a short period of time is absurd.

The European market is not only the elimination of customs duties. It requires compliance with other quality and safety standards, certification, traceability, expensive logistics, stable supplies, distribution networks, new packaging, marketing and business relationships built over years. Especially fresh agricultural products, flowers or fish products cannot be transferred to another market in one day by the decision of the government or the statement of a European official.

The goods exempted from customs duty are not yet sold goods.

But the most painful side of the problem is different. The government consistently brought political relations with Russia to a confrontation, but left the economy in a multi-layered dependence on the same Russia. It did not build economic safety bags, did not prepare the manufacturer, did not create realistic alternatives.

The greenhouse owner, the farmer, the fish breeder, the winemaker, the exporter, the consumer and the tax payer will have to pay the price of that apathy. The latter is also due to the fact that the government will now try to cover the consequences of the work it did not perform with compensation from the state budget.

Russia has turned Armenia’s economic dependence into a tool of political coercion, and the Armenian government, unable to either manage and weaken this dependence, or create a realistic alternative to it, has transferred the entire price of its geopolitical improvisation to the economy and citizens of Armenia.

Davit Ananyan, former chairman of the RA SRC

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