On March 11, the military confrontation breaking out in the Middle East to the landscape, President of the European Council, Antonio Costa had visited Բաքու՝ what?heto attach With Aliyev։ As a result of negotiations fthe interlocutors reconfirm are committed to strengthening cooperation on a wide range of issues, from energy and communications to security and economic development.

According to the results of the meeting, Koshtan and Aliyev performed with a joint statement to the press, in which they emphasized the “strategic importance of the partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU” and expressed determination to deepen political dialogue and practical cooperation. Baku and Brussels intend to build on the “positive dynamics observed during recent high-level meetings” by expanding cooperation in areas such as security, energy and transport.

of the document according to which the partnership contributes to “peace, stability, establishment of ties and sustainable development in the Black Sea region, South Caucasus and Central Asia”. The parties will continue negotiations on a new comprehensive agreement, which is designed to form a modern legal basis for cooperation and to replace the current partnership agreement that regulates relations between the countries.

The leaders of the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan discussed regional security and the development of the peace process between Baku and Yerevan, welcoming the agreement reached at the summit in Washington on August 8, 2025. «historical impulse» in the process of regulating relations.  Costa reaffirmed that Brussels supports the ongoing bilateral dialogue aimed at achieving sustainable peace in the South Caucasus.

During the summary press conference, Aliyev noted the wide range of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan, emphasizing that the alliance is the main economic partner of the Caspian country. almost 50 percent of the merchandise turnover of Azerbaijan in January fell to European Union countries, moreover, in the coming years, this indicator will increase due to the expansion of economic projects and mutual investments.

Energy remains the central element of bilateral partnership. Gas exports from the fields of the Western Caspian Sea to the European market continue to grow. In January, supplies via the Trans-Adriatic pipeline reached Germany and Austria. so Azerbaijan supplies gas to 16 countries, including 12 European countries. Azerbaijan last year exported about 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas, receiving an income of about 8.8 billion dollars, thein which about 13 billion cubic meters went to the European Union. These figures confirm Azerbaijan’s reputation as a reliable energy partner at a time when Europe continues to reduce its dependence on Russian energy resources. The country’s geographical location and infrastructure allow it to serve as an energy bridge between the Caspian region and European markets.

Costa supported Aliyev’s words, calling energy security “the cornerstone of our bilateral cooperation”. He reminded: In 2022, the European Union began to diversify energy sources, and Azerbaijan played a key role in this effort thanks to the Southern Gas Corridor..  Partnership is even more important became as Europe seeks to reduce dependence on Russian energy carriers.

In Baku, attention was repeatedly drawn to the need to increase European investments for the maintenance and expansion of the country’s energy capacities: Speaking At the annual advisory meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor initiative, Aliyev noted that the existing pipeline network is already operating at full capacity, stressing the need to expand transportation infrastructure and build new pipelines to deliver additional volumes of gas to European markets.

Investments in Azerbaijan’s energy sector have traditionally been a point of contention between Baku and European politicians: Aliyev at the Davos conference at the beginning of the year had criticized In his opinion, Europe’s financial support to Azerbaijan’s energy sector is insufficient. “Europe is not particularly interested in investing in fossil fuel or renewable energy extraction in Azerbaijan,” when long-term guarantees of demand and capital investment are needed to justify new extraction and infrastructure expansion projects.

In the coming years, Azerbaijan is going to increase its production capacity. Several new projects are expected to increase production, including additional development phases for large offshore fields such as «Shahdeniz», and: «A:Mrsheron» expansion of gas field production. According to Baku’s forecasts, these projects will allow to increase production by 10-15 billion cubic meters of gas per year, at the peak of production at the end of the decade.

In addition, Azerbaijan is expanding the renewable energy sector by cooperating with international partners. By the early 2030s, Govt provides generate six to eight gigawatts of renewable electricity through investments in wind, solar and hydropower projects. Some of this electricity could eventually be exported to Europe in projects such as the Black Sea Submarine Cable, which aims to transmit renewable energy from the South Caucasus to South-Eastern Europe.

US and Israeli aggression against Iran has led to increased tension in global energy markets. Liquefied natural gas supplies from Qatar collapsed after Iran retaliated. During his visit to Baku, Costa diplomatically noted that the ongoing military tensions in the Middle East and the cessation of oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz indicate the need for a reliable energy partnership, the clear prospects of which are not clearly visible.

In addition to energy, aspects have been important as well as cooperation in the fields of regional communication and transport: Europe Connecting Central Asia and China «Middle corridor» Azerbaijan’s role in development has strengthened its position as a transit link: The European Union reaffirms its commitment to support connectivity initiatives under the Global Gateway program, including the development of the railway project in Nakhijevan and new economic cooperation mechanisms designed to promote trade and investment.

Costa’s visit to Baku showed the general interest in deepening ties with the European Union, which persists in its confrontational anti-Russian course. For Azerbaijan, the expansion of projects for the export of energy carriers and the creation of transport corridors provides an opportunity to strengthen its position in the dialogue with the West, but the real dynamics of gas production far from a winning relationship։

Either way, Baku expects the European Union to take practical steps, especially in terms of investments, to modernize energy and transport links, and move from declarations to concrete actions.

Alexander Grigoriev

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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Relatives and representatives of Armenian prisoners held illegally in Azerbaijan have written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, as well as the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Miryana Spoliarich Eger, with a request to launch the “Patronizing Power” mechanism within the framework of international humanitarian law. It informs about this “Center for International and Comparative Law”, the head of which is Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners at the ECHR.

“We, the relatives and representatives of Armenian prisoners held illegally in Azerbaijan, express our deep concern regarding the complete closure of the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan. This has significantly worsened the already dire situation of our relatives, leaving us in deep uncertainty about their fate and whereabouts.

Taking into account the above and recalling the obligations defined in the framework of international humanitarian law, we, with all respect, but also firmly call on Armenia to officially appeal to the government of the Swiss Confederation, so that the Swiss side assumes the role of “Patron Power”. This is a necessary and urgent step to ensure the protection of the rights, safety and dignity of our relatives through internationally recognized mechanisms.

We realize that the institution of “Patronizing Power” has not been used in recent decades and may seem unusual in today’s context, but the exceptional and illegal circumstances we are dealing with require just such exceptional measures. “Azerbaijan continues to keep Armenian prisoners isolated from their families, independent lawyers and impartial humanitarian organizations, which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949,” the letter states.

Noting that at least 19 people are currently being held in Baku, their relatives report that this situation has led to a serious vacuum in the protection of rights, creating high risks of violence, ill-treatment and even enforced disappearance.

“Given these urgent and extraordinary circumstances, as well as Switzerland’s status as the host state of the ICRC and a major supporter of international humanitarian law, we respectfully request:

• The Government of the Republic of Armenia to officially appeal to the Government of the Swiss Confederation to assume the role of “Patronizing Power” in relation to all Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan.
• To the Government of the Swiss Confederation to grant Armenia’s request and act as a “Protecting Power”, protecting the rights and dignity of prisoners as much as possible.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross, as a substitute for the “Patron Power”, to support this appointment and assist Switzerland in the performance of its functions.

Time is of crucial importance. Continued delay may exacerbate the suffering of illegally detained persons and increase threats to their lives and physical integrity. Therefore, we call on the governments of the Republic of Armenia and Switzerland to take appropriate steps within the scope of their mandate, and to do it at the right time. In addition, we ask the International Committee of the Red Cross to support it in order to ensure the effective application of international law and the proper protection of the rights of ethnic Armenians in the conditions of ongoing violations,” the letter states.

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Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev on his Telegram channel writes:

“Of course, no Trump and America will leave NATO. It makes no sense, and the Congress will not allow it. Trump rhetoric it is pure epitaph. Although symbolic actions, such as the reduction of American troops or refusal to supply something, are possible. That is not what is remarkable here.

It is obvious that there are strong contradictions within the Alliance, which were exacerbated by the Iranian campaign. And European political leaders, especially in Brussels, have seriously considered creating a full-fledged military component within the EU. And this changes the image of the world.

Until now, our rhetoric regarding joining the European Union has been restrained and calm towards all neighbors, even the border Ukraine. If you want, become a member. But now everything has to change. now the EU is no longer an economic union. It can quickly turn into a full-fledged military alliance extremely hostile to Russia, which is in some ways worse than NATO. It will be a disgusting collection of bigoted European parasites. And their task will be to earn political capital and, of course, money by inflaming anti-Russian hysteria.

What am I doing this for? That’s why. it’s time to give up the tolerant attitude towards our neighbors joining the military-economic European Union. Including: “404 country”.

This was already done by our President in a cautious way recently, hinting to a certain friend Vovaevich that membership in EAEU and membership in the European Union are incompatible…” wrote the former President of Russia.

Let’s remind that the other day during the meeting between Putin and Pashinyan in Moscow, the President of the Russian Federation had said“Russia is calm about the relations between Armenia and the EU, but Yerevan will not be able to be a member of two customs unions at the same time.”

Published by 168.am

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Levon Zurabyan writes: “WHAT DOES THE QUESTION OF THE DESTRUCTION OF ARTSAK ALWAYS REMOVE NIKOL PASHINIAN?”

The significance of Pashinyan recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan seems not to be fully understood. Pashinyan himself and his lawyers justify this recognition by the fact that before him, Putin recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

These speakers rely on the fact that people far from politics do not understand the most important principles of conflict resolution diplomacy.

Not only Putin, but also former President of Russia Yeltsin, as well as US Presidents Clinton, Bush and others, France, Iran, China recognized Nagorno Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan after the collapse of the USSR and made many statements about it.

The whole problem, however, is that until the parties to the conflict (from 1994 to 1999, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, and from 1999, after Nagorno-Karabakh was excluded from the negotiation format, Armenia and Azerbaijan) did not reach an agreement on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the world continued to believe that there is a conflict over the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is not resolved, but should be resolved through peaceful negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. Moreover, proposals for a peaceful settlement were put on the negotiation table by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group – the USA, France and Russia. in case of implementation, the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh status issue would be suspended indefinitely, and Artsakh would receive de facto independence under established peace conditions.

This possibility was finally closed by Nikol Pashinyan by recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in 2022. Pashinyan is actually right in saying that he shut down the Karabakh movement and he did it with his 2022 decision.

With the decision to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, the conflict, which was based on the disagreement over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, formally ended, because the recognized parties of the conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan, came to an agreement. From that moment, the Republic of Artsakh became an “illegal separatist association” from the point of view of international law, for the destruction of which Azerbaijan received all the rights. Neither the Russians, whose peacekeepers, by the way, did not even have a mandate to open fire, nor any other country or international organization had the right to hinder Azerbaijan’s “anti-terrorist operation”, which the fruitless discussions in the UN Security Council also testified.

Azerbaijan could not miss the created opportunity. if he delayed, the continued existence of the Republic of Artsakh would be re-legitimized as a reality on the ground. Yes, the genocidal deportation of Armenians from Artsakh was carried out by Azerbaijan, but Nikol Pashinyan ensured the impunity of such a move and the absence of any international consequences.

Thus, Artsakh was destroyed because of Pashinyan’s decision, and that guilt will remain on his conscience forever. And why he did so is the subject of another publication.”

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On March 26, in a regular briefing with journalists, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the genocidal acts committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in 2023 and said:

“We can say ethnic cleansing, but I consider this word harmful, because we can say ethnic cleansing and get a mirror of ethnic cleansing, then genocide, mirror genocide, everything mirrored, it means to enter the path of conflict. That’s not my concern. And I, as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, say that I completely refuse, so to speak, the agenda of restoration of historical justice, we must go after the just reality.” had noted Nikol Pashinyan.

How do Genocide scientists imagine their activities under these conditions, does this mean that they will be subject to censorship from now on in order to reveal the historical truth?

Genocide scholar Suren Manukyan, Head of the Department of Comparative Genocide Studies of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in other words, if the government has made a decision about what they should talk about and what not, that is their problem, it cannot affect his work activity in any way.

“My profession is to talk about those topics, if they tell me that you shouldn’t talk about those topics, it means that I should leave the field of science, engage in business or something else. To practice my profession and not talk about historical justice and not characterize what happened in Artsakh, which is genocide, would be simply ridiculous. If I don’t talk about all this myself, then as a specialist, I will stop respecting myself.” of 168.am Suren Manukyan said in a conversation with

According to our interlocutor, what he says is not only his personal opinion, but the opinion of universal genocide scholars. This is the opinion accepted and confirmed by genocide scholars and scientists in different countries of the world. In this case, he does not imagine how he can not talk about all that and remain silent.

“It is my duty, I do it. I don’t think that the head of the state or any other person should decide how a scientist should do science, because science is an area of ​​freedom. In other words, it gives you the freedom to deal with the topics you deal with, and that freedom should be limited only by not contradicting the objective truth. If it has to be in the form of a state order, then we are really going back to the era of censorship with you. But it was a different country, with its rules of the game, after all, it was not the Republic of Armenia, it was not the national state of Armenia.

And if at the political level they think it’s problematic, then they don’t even use it recently,” added Suren Manukyan.

Continuing, Suren Manukyan said that recently the government does not use the word Artsakh, they do not take steps towards the restoration of justice, that is, they have been implementing this policy for several years, they just started talking about it now.

Suren Manukyan answered the question: if the Armenian Genocide of 1915 was condemned and accepted by the world, would it be followed by other genocidal acts, including the one that took place in Artsakh in September 2023?

Genocide experts believe that not talking about the genocide, suppressing the memory of the genocide, or banning the victim from discussing the topic lead to new genocides.

I have said and I repeat now that the issue of recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is also a very important component of our foreign political security. For many years, we used it, increasing our national security level to a certain extent.

The louder we talked about it, demanded that Turkey recognize the Armenian Genocide, restore historical justice, the more problematic it was for Turkey to issue threats or carry out actions against Armenia. When you are silent, you open the door for them, when you don’t talk about Artsakh, you open the door of “Western Azerbaijan”, in my opinion, at least that’s how it is. Suren Manukyan mentioned.

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The people are tired of Nikol Pashinyan. he is “driven” everywhere, he is sure Political scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, head of “Oskanapat” analytical centerh.

168 TVof Revue on the air of the program, Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan spoke about the current political developments and the situation surrounding Armenia, noting that the opposition forces should act more actively and start a real fight against Pashinyan’s government before the National Assembly elections in June.

“The people are ready and they give these messages all the time. The case of the same young woman from Artsakh, we saw the public response, because there was a fighting girl who asserted her position and put pressure on Nikol Pashinyan, and the people stood up, there was such a big wave that Nikol had to apologize in the evening.

The same applies to the incident of these two young men. If a student movement was formed, there was an attempt to start a struggle in the street, I am more than sure that if some political force initiated such a thing, at least 5000 people would have gathered in the square, but no one took the initiative. With this logic, how can we expect Nikol Pashinyan to lose the elections? I am not saying that there is no such possibility.

If there is a fight like I said, let’s enter that stage, there is that possibility. The people are tired of Pashinyan, the people already reject him, don’t like him, maybe even hate him. large masses of the people hate him, drive him away from everywhere,” Melik-Shahnazaryan thinks.

According to the political scientist, the presence of such a leader in Armenia in the period of current geopolitical “turbulence” and instability is beneficial to all centers of geopolitical power.

Melik-Shahnazaryan is not surprised by the fact that Nikol Pashinyan and his team began to manipulate threats of war during the pre-election period and to scare the people betrayed and defeated in the war with a new “disastrous war”, noting that in 2020 After the 44-day war and the occupation of Artsakh, the fear of war will remain for a long time among the Armenian public, but it also draws attention to the developments taking place around Armenia and, in particular, to Russia’s certain activation, geopolitical conflicts, the statements of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk after the April 1st meeting between Pashinyan and Putin, mentioning TRIPP and the ongoing war against Iran.

According to the prediction of the political scientist, a BIG WAR is coming in the region.

“Russian Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk said in an interview to TASS yesterday that by signing the so-called “Trump’s path” and leaving Russia out of the negotiation process altogether, you violated the security balance in the region formed by the Treaty of Turkmencha signed in 1828, and this is against the interests of both Russia and Iran. Russia, in fact, says that you are violating the security system that has been operating for more than two centuries, and they consider it a threat. And I assure you that especially if the United States and Israel do not solve their problems in Iran, and I am sure they will not, after the end of the war Iran’s behavior will be very different in our region, Russia’s behavior will also be very different in our region, and there is not even a smell of peace here, on the contrary, it smells of a huge conflict, which they will try to hide in some way for two months, until Nikol tries to be elected, and that’s it, but in reality it is a big war. is maturing, and Russia is already talking about that war at the highest level,” comments the political scientist.

When speaking about the transparent hints and statements made by Russia at the highest level, Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan means, of course, the previous day, on April 1, in the Kremlin. Putin-Pashinyan meeting and statements of the President of the Russian Federation in front of cameras.

According to Melik-Shahnazaryan, even Putin said that the security issues of the region are connected with the developments taking place around Artsakh.

Melik-Shahnazaryan notices that Nikol Pashinyan is doing everything so that the name of Artsakh is not mentioned anywhere, but he goes to Moscow, the Russian president actually raises the Karabakh issue. Who was more to blame for Karabakh and whether the same Russia had its share of guilt is, of course, the other side of the question.

“Pashinyan tried to say that you handed over Karabakh, now we have peace, etc., but look at the message Putin sends, the security of the region is connected with the developments around Artsakh.

It means that the Karabakh issue is relevant for Russia, by the way, it is also relevant for the United States, France and many other countries. There is one important thing that we all need to understand now. Nikol says: “If I’m not there, there will be a war”, Russia says: “If Nikol happened, there will be a war”, they say: “You violated the security system of the region, it must be fixed”, and now our people must understand if Nikol did not happen, there will be a war or not.

It is clear that Azerbaijan and Turkey are interested in war, because as long as Nikol is there, they get what they want without war. If there is no Nicole, it is possible that they will try to get it through war.

What can counterbalance the appetite or aspirations of Azerbaijan and Turkey, naturally, the retaliatory actions of Russia and Iran? What does “restoration of the security system” mean in the perception of Russia and Iran?

In my deep conviction, one thing: the weakening of the influence of the West and the weakening of the Turkish factor in the South Caucasus. In the case of the “peace” that Nikol said, the exact opposite is true: the maximum increase of Turkish-Azerbaijani influence, and whatever they want, they will do whatever it takes to ensure that this war does not happen,” Melik-Shahnazaryan analyzes.

This political scientist’s analysis leads to the central question of what choice the Armenian people will make in this situation: will they choose the “restoration of the balance of power” that Russia says, which according to our interlocutor, means the Armenian-inhabited Artsakh and the weakening of the Turkish factor in the South Caucasus, or will they choose the “peace” that Pashinyan said, which means submitting to and serving the Turkish-Azerbaijani interest in our region? The bad news is that, according to Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, both are “war paths”.

According to the predictions of the head of the “Oskanapat” analytical center, if Nikol Pashinyan is re-elected and after the end of the Iran-Israel-USA war, Russia and Iran will try to reduce the influence of TRIPP and Turkey and will do it through the conflict, and if the opposition wins in Armenia, Armenia will be in the same alliance with Russia and Iran against Turkey, Azerbaijan and the West.

Full interview in the video.

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The head of the “Wings of Unity” political initiative Arman Tatoyan-the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan, we did not address the remote debate related to Azerbaijani infiltrations and positional improvements, the arguments of both sides, particularly the Ministry of Defense, during this time, especially when they made valid countermeasures to the denial of the Ministry of Defense based on satellite photos from the media. Since the Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan agreed with his party MP Lilit Minasyan that the media that question the official information should be held accountable, we decided to get answers to important questions from Suren Papikyan.

On March 17 168.amsent a written request to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia with the following questions.

1. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, through its spokesperson, denied the claims of Arman Tatoyan, head of the “Wings of Unity” political initiative, about the new Azerbaijani advance. It is mentioned in that denial. «The RA Armed Forces General Directorate is guided by topographic maps of the USSR of 1975, which have legal force and were approved by the head of the Transcaucasus territorial inspection of the State Geodetic Control. According to the map of the USSR, the position of Azerbaijan does not cross the state border and is located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Question: First, with the map of 1975, which is mentioned in the denial of the Ministry of Defense, how much Armenian territory is there, which territories and positions are under Azerbaijani occupation, secondly, was the demarcation done in the Gegharkunik area, were the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan determined, thirdly, the regulations of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border demarcation commissions state that “in the demarcation process, the commissions use all relevant cartographic documents.” Moreover, three years ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia announced that “The demarcation process must take place 1974-1978 based on the group of maps of the years”.

2. On the basis of which document was the Goris-Kapan road section handed over to Azerbaijan in December 2020, was any document signed at the level of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, including the one between the Ministers of Defense of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation regarding border control on the Goris-Kapan highway?

3. On the basis of which cartographic document was the Goris-Kapan road section handed over to Azerbaijan?

4. The withdrawal of troops from Syunik was based on what written order and document?

5. On the basis of which maps did Azerbaijan enter the sovereign territory of Armenia from May 2021? Or, was the demarcation of the state borders of Armenia based on Google Map or Google GPS positioning system not carried out, as the HRD of that time claimed and not only that, why was it considered “legal” 5 years ago?

6. in May 2021 “Armenpress” The map No. J-38-21 on a scale of 1:100,000 of the Armed Forces of the USSR appeared at the disposal, according to which the Black Lake (elevation: 2657.5 m) with its entire western, southern and eastern shores is located within the borders of the Armenian SSR.

A part of the northern shore of the lake is located in the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR, with an area of ​​about 10% of the total surface of the lake. According to the above-mentioned map, Sagi Lake, located in the immediate vicinity to the east of Black Lake, is completely located in the territory of the Armenian SSR. According to the RA State Agency, the Republic of Armenia confirmed in its fundamental documents that it is the successor of the Armenian SSR. During the past 30 years, legally binding border demarcation and demarcation works have not been carried out between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Therefore, the maps of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR remain the most accurate, complete and fundamental source in this regard. Therefore, the presence of Azerbaijani military forces in the western, southern and eastern shores of Sev Lake in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia is completely illegal, and the said territories belong to the Republic of Armenia indisputably and cannot be disputed in any way.

Why is the RA Armed Forces General Directorate not guided by the mentioned maps, which 5 years ago the state media, that is, the authorities, considered the most accurate, complete and fundamental source, but is guided by the 1975 map of the USSR, who decided that, why, what made it more fundamental now?

By the way, taking into account the bitter experience of answers to previous inquiries, we considered it necessary to ask that the answers be clear and well-argued. But as the people would say, who are you talking about? About 20 days later, the department headed by Suren Papikyan sent a response letter, in which, in fact, they did not answer any questions.

“In response to your letter dated 17.03.2026 to the written request, we inform you that the authorized body regularly provides the necessary information regarding the demarcation and demarcation of the submitted question 1. Official clarifications have been given many times regarding questions 2-6. We cannot provide any additional information.” stated in the response of the Ministry of Defense.

First of all, let’s record that the defense department headed by Suren Papikyan, which claims that «The RA Armed Forces General Directorate is guided by topographic maps of the USSR of 1975, which have legal force and were approved by the head of the Transcaucasus territorial inspection of the State Geodetic Control. According to the map of the USSR, the position of Azerbaijan does not cross the state border and is located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. does not know how many territories and positions considered Armenian by that map are occupied by Azerbaijan? It is a sad and dangerous indicator.

And then, from our questions, it should have been clear to Suren Papikyan that we are very well versed in the regulations and information disseminated by the Azerbaijan-Armenia demarcation and demarcation commissions, and we know that the Ministry of Defense has representatives there. We also know who the addressee of which question is.

If the Ministry of Defense in its refutation clearly asserts the ownership of the positions under the control of Azerbaijan in the areas that have not yet been demarcated, when, for example, we have occupied territories in the Gegharkunik sector, should we not ask if there was a border demarcation in Gegharkunik?

Or, when the current authorities, the defense department proved years ago that the map of the USSR Armed Forces is the most accurate, complete and fundamental source by which the Black Lake belonged to Armenia, why don’t we try to find out why they are not guided by it, without clarifying, let’s say that they accepted the map that was favorable to Aliyev?

Moreover, when the Ministry of Defense criticizes Google Map, should we not remind that territories were handed over to Azerbaijan years ago based on Google Map or Google GPS positioning system, and try to understand whether the demarcation with these has a legal basis or not? All these questions required clear answers from Suren Papikyan or the Ministry of Defense.

Regarding the withdrawal of troops from Syunik in December 2020 and whether or not there is a written order related to it in the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Defense, several times request We have sent the Ministry of Defense on this subject, and response every time was different. 

Moreover, Nikol Pashinyan himself at different times տարբեր պնդումներ did it: one says that he personally gave the order to withdraw troops from Syunik, and another that never gave any order about the withdrawal of RA troops from any sovereign territory of RA.

It should be noted that the RA Investigative Committee informed us that no criminal proceedings have been initiated regarding the withdrawal of troops from Syunik, no preliminary investigation is being conducted. And if Suren Papikyan has to avoid answering important questions or the responsibility for it, then from now on it would be better not to talk about the responsibility of the media, the need to believe official information, and not only that.

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Edgar Ghazaryan and Davit Sargsyan of the “Erku front” podcast In the next edition, they discuss Pashinyan’s provocation in the church, the illegal persecution of school-age boys as a result of it, the numerous cases of people disrespecting him, accusing him, displeasing him, etc. during Pashinyan’s inglorious campaign.

Details in the video

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After the Putin-Pashinyan meeting, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk’s statement that Armenia is very close to the point when Russia will have to rebuild its economic relations with it caused a great resonance in various circles.

Head of the “Armenia is me” political initiative, t:optician Nairi Sargsyan 168․amin a conversation with, he mentioned that although similar statements have been made by the Russian side for a long time, the situation has worsened recently.

In this context, Nairi Sargsyan reminds about Armenia’s economic dependence on Russia. “Energy dependence on Russia. Nuclear power plants and thermal power plants are about 72%, the price of gas, which if sold to Europe is 600 euros, to Armenia – 170, if fuel is sold to other countries at a much higher price, it is sold to Armenia at the tariff of Russia’s domestic consumption, with quota sales, about 70 percent of remittances come from Russia, different figures are given for those who went to work abroad.

The Russian Federation continues to be the number 1 partner of Armenia’s export market or trade turnover of Armenia. trade turnover is around 40%.

Under such conditions, if Russia goes to warn Armenia, then Armenia will feel all its harmful consequences. Every citizen of Armenia will feel it.”

To clarify how anti-Russian is real in the case of these indicators? Is it possible, it is only at the level of announcements, the specialist responded. “It is not excluded, because the Nikol Pashinyan-Vladimir Putin meeting a few days ago was very interesting for me. usually, the meetings of the leaders of the superpowers are not direct meetings, they are meetings with pre-planned agendas, approved, probable answers or predetermined expectations. In this case, this meeting still raised many questions for me.

But we see the side that is still visible. what was said behind the scenes is the most important for deep analysis and understanding.

Referring to the prospect of the warning from Russia and the specific possible consequences, Nairi Sargsyan elaborated:

“For example, the price of gas, I’m not saying it’s at the level of European prices, but if it only doubles, the heating costs of each family will double in the form of direct costs. Then comes the indirect costs. only the increase in the price of gas and the stoppage or increase in the price of the supply of electricity raw materials will lead to the collapse of the heating system in general, energy collapse, which will lead to the collapse of Armenia’s already weak industry, starting from the production of bread and pasta, to the production of cans and clothes, the main consumption market of which is still Russia.

In such conditions, poverty, energy crisis, unemployment will be followed by emigration, which will open a direct way for Azerbaijanis to settle in Armenia.”

—

Satik Seyranyan in the “Pressing” program the guest is Dr. Artur Khachikyan of Stanford University political science is.

The main theses of the interview are below.

• It was impossible to imagine that an 18-year-old boy would be punched and thrown to the ground during the liturgy in Armenia. This group crossed all the red lines. The head of state writes such things on Facebook that I will not allow myself to write even when drinking with my friends. We learned that Vehapar and the church can be attacked, that the exit of Vehapar can be closed. This is what they teach now։

• This person provokes and tries to break the people’s resistance to see how far they will tolerate… Tomorrow he can enter your house, force you to love him, and if you refuse, they will imprison you.   

• This person has a need for revenge because he sees that he has failed, he has not succeeded, neither as a leader of the country, nor as a journalist… He is a vindictive person. He takes revenge on us because he sees that there are many decent people who could make a decent peace, and he hates them. He hates us all because we witnessed his downfall. 

• They changed the name of corruption, they put reward. Poor pensioners are given 10,000 drams, and they are given 10-12 million drams.

• We woke up a long time ago and realized that human rights are only for serving western interests. Imagine if Putin’s bodyguard did something like that, hit an 18-year-old boy in church, those pro-Western human rights defenders would talk about it until they foamed at the mouth like a washing machine… 

• 75,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza, the West is quietly watching. They bring a terrorist and make him the head of Syria. This is the West today.

• He shouted in 2020: this is our new Sardarapat, even in 2021 he told the people of Karabakh: you should live safely in Artsakh. Now, how does the head of state talk to the woman who became a refugee because of him? Every morning our day is ruined, the reality show continues…

• Looking at Pashinyan’s and Putin’s body language and voice intonations, one can imagine what kind of conversation took place behind closed doors. Putin calmly, but very accessible and transparent hints about what could happen if Armenia goes to NATO and EU. The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk further elaborated on what was said by Putin. And today Dmitry Medvedev already put the end point. This government is fighting with Russia for something that will not happen. Even they admit that Armenia will not be in the EU, that we will not be accepted into the EU, we were neither invited nor expected… 

• Previously, in 2017, the leaders of Armenia signed CEPA, a real document that needed to be developed, but today they have fallen behind unreal things. Quotas, right to work, various privileges could be obtained from Europe with that document, but they did not. We will become a nursing home if this continues, the youth will flee the country…

• Tomorrow the Europeans can tell us: don’t grow apricots because Spain doesn’t want them, don’t produce wine because you’re hurting French winemaking… You didn’t like communism, now you’re going to get Eurocommunism. They will tell you what to do, but that will not happen because Armenia will not be a member of the EU.

• Pashinyan’s behavior inside and outside reminds me of the meeting between King Arshak and the Persian Shapuh. The next time Pashinyan goes to Russia or somewhere else, put soil from Armenia in his pocket, a mat or khali, a laminate so that he can stand on it, get a little angry, and talk the way he talks to us in Armenia.։

• Russia is a huge territory, Russians have 10 time zones, they come from Vladivostok to Moscow, the day changes, or the government changes in Italy… So, Russia does not need Armenia to become part of Russia. Enough of repeating that over and over again, as if the Union State wants to take us away…

• It is sad that we are presented with this disgrace, who, when 180 baby girls were buried in Iran, was playing drums in Georgia…

• Yes, the speech of Russian officials is harsh, and it is very bad that they talk about the leader of our country like that. But they clearly tell us that if you leave the EAEU, the 40,000 drams paid for gas per month in winter will become at least 120,000 drams. Are our pensioners ready to pay such a price? As soon as we leave the EAEU, I will advise our citizens to buy raskladushkas, because tens of thousands of Armenians will come here from Russia, those who have supported their friends in Armenia for 35 years.

• You can’t blame anyone for Artsakh, neither Iran nor Russia, although I hope that those countries have now understood what value Artsakh had for them… If you recognize Artsakh in Prague as part of Azerbaijan, it means that it’s over, there is no conflict, and what would Russia or any other country do? He did everything to get Russia out of Artsakh…

• A head of a vassal state headed by his lord would threaten with war. Yes, it is very possible that they agreed with Aliyev that he would attack before the elections, that he would say this: you see, I am the only leader of the country who can ensure peace. There is no precedent in the history of the world for a leader of any country to consider a part of his people as a yoke around his neck…

• It is already the biggest economic crisis in the whole world. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and this creates problems. The USA wants to occupy Kharg Island as well. They want to send marines to extract uranium from Iran. This will be a disaster, there will be thousands of victims, there will be chaos. This is a psychological war. As soon as the financial markets fall, Trump announces something, the situation stabilizes, then it falls again… Great Britain already has a week’s worth of fuel left. Half of the data center projects for the next year have been canceled. This is a major blow to the AI ​​industry. Agriculture is in decline. According to the UN, we are heading towards starvation. Trump brags like a child that they blew up the most modern bridge in Tehran… This is a war crime. Iran is also attacking oil and gas infrastructures. We are heading for a huge economic crisis. Iran may go to negotiations, but it will demand a big price for it: the US must withdraw its bases from the Gulf countries, which is hard to imagine, the Strait of Hormuz must remain under its control, it must be given full guarantees. Maybe the US has an advantage militarily, but the economic, psychological and political advantage in this war is on the side of Iran.

• It is clear that the Republicans will not win in the USA this fall. Democrats will take over Congress and begin the process of impeaching Trump. In the US, 8 million people took to the streets against the war against Iran։

• Iran will be a new Vietnam for America, and it will have to deal with its consequences for tens of years. Trump trades. He says to Europe, if you don’t help me open the Strait of Hormuz, I won’t help you in Ukraine either.։

• Maybe the Kurds also have KP and can still give in to the promises of the Americans, but at the moment they do not want to give in to the provocation of the USA once again, because they have seen that they have been defeated twice.

• Israel’s goal is to establish hegemony in the entire Middle East by destroying all anti-Israeli states. The US has become a branch of Israel, but if Israel feels that the US is withdrawing, they say that Israel will go for nuclear escalation, but then Iran will also create nuclear weapons very quickly, and as a result of this war, nuclear weapons will spread to our region.։

• The former head of the US CIA announced yesterday that we helped to strengthen the power of radicals in Iran, and this is logical. It turned out exactly the opposite of what they intended․ they wanted to change the Iranian regime, the opposite happened. So, this war was a shameful mistake of the USA, and it fell into Israel’s trap.

• We were lucky that they did not manage to make TRIPP, because if there was an American object on our border, the first drones of this war would have landed on our heads. The government of Armenia conducts the world’s most short-sighted foreign policy. We are turning Iran and Russia against us and bringing 10,000 km to the region a distant country that loses in Iran. 

• The USA is withdrawing its citizens from Iraq because pro-Iranian Shia Muslims have declared jihad there.