The Armenian government has announced a radical revision of the state approach to the energy sector. Putting a strategic emphasis on the large-scale adoption of solar energy, the republic plans to completely abandon the purchase of electricity from abroad and achieve absolute self-sufficiency.

Prime Minister during the government session on April 2 Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the need to rethink the entrenched stereotype of Armenia as a country lacking its own natural resources.

According to him, the geographical location provides the state with an inexhaustible source – the sun, whose competent use is able to fully cover the internal needs of the country.

The head of the government noted that the transition to the new concept was initially accompanied by serious skepticism of specialists in the field. Experts referred to theoretical calculations, trying to justify the futility of such initiatives.

However, as the prime minister emphasized, thanks to the demonstrated political will, the leadership managed to overcome the resistance and launch such renewable energy capacities, the total volume of which is comparable to the two Metsamor nuclear power plants.

At the current stage, the key priority of infrastructure development is the introduction of modern energy storage and storage technologies. Pashinyan drew attention to global global trends, noting that the conventional energy system will change by at least seventy percent in the next three to four decades.

In order to successfully adapt to the upcoming transformations, Armenia intends to promote the production of ecologically clean “green” hydrogen, as well as launch systematic training programs for branch personnel.

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The only nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus is temporarily shutting down for a major upgrade, while the government plans to fill the energy gap with renewables and prepares to switch to modular technologies.

From April 1, Metsamor Armenian nuclear power plant was taken out of operation for five months. As the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure explained at the government meeting held on April 2 Davit Khudatyan, the technological break is necessary for the implementation of the second phase of the project to extend the operation period of the station until 2036.

At the same time, the head of the department expressed his belief that the temporarily out of order capacities will be successfully compensated. it is expected that the volumes of energy produced by solar power plants during that period will be fully comparable to the indicators of a stopped nuclear facility.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the session, he again emphasized the significant potential of renewable energy. According to him, huge solar resources are able to make Armenia an absolutely self-sufficient country in terms of energy and free the state forever from the need to import electricity.

In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, the head of the government called for conceptually rethinking the approach to the sector and focusing the main efforts on the development of modern energy storage and storage technologies.

In parallel, active discussions about the prospects of building a new nuclear power plant continue in the country. Earlier, in February, the sector minister confirmed that Yerevan is making a strategic choice in favor of the modular NPP, a flexible and compact technology of the new generation.

The existing Metsamor plant, which traditionally supplies about one third of the electricity produced in Armenia, has been in operation since 1976. Having survived the conservation after the devastating earthquake of 1988 and the restart of one of the power units in the second half of the nineties, today this object of strategic importance is undergoing another phase of vital renewal.

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On behalf of Serzh Sargsyan, the third president of the Republic of Armenia, the chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, a tribute was paid today at the “Yerablur” military pantheon. in memory of the heroes who died during the April victorious war and all the Armenians who sacrificed their lives in the Artsakh Liberation War.

On behalf of President Sargsyan, a wreath was laid at the memorial complex commemorating the fallen freedom fighters.

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The Prime Minister of Armenia highly appreciated the results of negotiations with Vladimir Putin, but not everyone shares the optimism of the head of the government. While official Yerevan talks about new arrangements, the Russian side and the Armenian opposition point to systemic differences.

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan the working visit to Moscow and the President of Russia on April 1 Vladimir Putin considers the meeting very effective. During the briefing with journalists, the head of the Armenian government emphasized that the parties managed to reach substantive agreements in almost all directions of the bilateral agenda. According to him, the agreements reached cover various spheres of interaction, from cultural exchange to military-technical cooperation.

Despite the positive assessments of the Prime Minister, the results of the Moscow negotiations did not find a clear response among the Armenian society. In particular, the representatives of the political opposition expressed serious doubts about the success of the visit. The tense tone of the dialogue between the heads of state came into the center of attention of the critics, which, according to their conviction, indicates the presence of deep and unresolved contradictions.

The complex background of bilateral relations is also confirmed by the public statements of the Russian authorities. During the meeting, Vladimir Putin openly noted the incompatibility of Armenia’s simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. This harsh rhetoric was complemented by the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk. The latter warned that Yerevan has come too close to the critical point, after crossing which Moscow will have to radically revise and build economic ties with the Armenian side in a completely different way.

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Armenia introduces new legal mechanisms aimed at increasing the living standards of elderly citizens and protecting property rights. The government has approved projects on reverse mortgages and spousal exclusive ownership institutions, which will allow retirees to get additional income from their real estate and guarantee a secure stay under their own roof.

Head of the Cadastre Committee at the April 2 government meeting Suren Tovmasyan presented the package of new legislative initiatives. The reverse mortgage system successfully used in international practice, in particular in the USA, will enable citizens of retirement age to receive a stable income for the real estate they own. By signing a contract with the bank, pensioners will be able to receive monthly payments, which will become a significant addition to the pension.

At the same time, citizens will retain ownership rights and the ability to live in their home for life, without the need to sell it and move. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan clarified that after the death of the two spouses, their heirs will have the opportunity to buy back the given real estate from the bank.

The second initiative concerns the introduction of the institution of exclusive ownership of the husband. Currently, upon the death of one of the spouses, his or her share of jointly acquired real estate immediately becomes available for inheritance, making the heirs co-owners, often creating domestic difficulties for the surviving spouse.

The new regulation allows couples to pre-select a legal status in which, upon the death of one spouse, full ownership of the home passes solely to the surviving spouse. The inheritance process will begin only after the death of the second spouse, which will ensure a quiet and safe living in their own apartment for the elderly.

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The Armenian government remains committed to its course of transition to a universal health insurance system, denying speculation about possible cuts to social programs after the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during a briefing held in the government, referred to the rumors circulating among the public that restrictions may be introduced in the health insurance system after the elections scheduled for June 7, 2026. The head of the government categorically denied such claims, stressing that the development of the health sector is in no way related to the electoral processes.

According to the prime minister, the pre-election program of the ruling power sets a clear and unchanging goal to include the entire population of Armenia in the insurance system. As proof of the consistency of this course, Pashinyan pointed to the government’s new decision, according to which new groups of citizens will be included in the system from 2027.

The head of the government assured the journalists that the program will continue to function normally and expand systematically both before and after the voting day, as this important social process is free from any political context.

As of March 10, 1,064,596 citizen applications were registered, according to official statistics confirming the demand for the introduced health insurance system. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of them, 865,928 visits, are made by people over the age of 65. The total volume of funds provided was more than 29.7 billion drams, of which about 17 billion were directed to the medical needs of pensioners. As of today, 668 business entities provide patient service and preferential medication in the country.

The government admits that there are still some technical complications, queues and controversial tax issues at the stage of establishing the system, but they expect its final stabilization within the next year. Experts emphasize the enormous socio-economic effect of the reform. reducing the burden of health care costs has a direct impact on the well-being of the population and, according to forecasts, will lead to an improvement in poverty indicators as early as next year.

The large-scale funding of the program, which the authorities say was made possible by an additional $880 million raised by the state, has relieved not only the elderly of serious financial costs, but also their younger relatives, who previously had to pay for the expensive treatment of family members on their own.

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Yerevan has legal mechanisms for early resolution of the concession agreement for the management of Armenian railways with the Russian side, but the government does not intend to take that radical step. The authorities expect to settle all differences within the framework of constructive dialogue.

This was announced by the Prime Minister during the briefing held in the government on April 2 Nikol Pashinyancommenting on the President of the Russian Federation on April 1 Vladimir Putin the details of the negotiations with According to the head of the government, the leaders of the countries thoroughly discussed the transport issue, presented their positions and agreed to continue the consultations.

Pashinyan emphasized that the main goal of Yerevan is to fully realize its transit and competitive potential, while avoiding harming the interests of the Russian side, as Armenia highly values ​​the existing friendly relations.

The fiduciary management of the Armenian railway network was transferred to the Russian state company “Russian Railways” (RZD) in 2008 for a period of 30 years with the right to extend for another 10 years. However, recently, the Armenian side more often emphasizes the need to speed up the pace of infrastructure modernization.

In particular, Yerevan expects the urgent restoration of the strategically important sections leading to the borders of Turkey (Akhurik) and Nakhijevan (Yeraskh), as well as the Tavush region (up to the Ijevan station).

Earlier, the prime minister warned that if the Russian side does not carry out the works in due time, Armenia is ready to carry out the reconstruction with its own funds. In addition, in February, the head of the government did not rule out the possibility that a friendly third country could buy the right to manage the railway from Russia.

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At the initiative of the “I have honor” faction of the RA NA, on April 2, parliamentary hearings were held, the topic of which was the draft statement of the RA National Assembly “Regarding the current state of state-national church relations”. Deputies and interested citizens participated in the hearings.

Before going to the speeches, the participants of the hearings honored the memory of the victims of the April four-day war with a minute of silence and standing.

Speaking, the head of the faction, Hayk Mamijanyan, said that they received a letter from the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church informing them that the invited clergyman could not participate in the hearing due to the ritual ceremonies of Maundy Thursday.

Hayk Mamijanyan also informed that the discussion of the statement draft in the NA Standing Committee on State-Legal Affairs was postponed for up to two months, so that as a result of the hearings, an updated version would be presented to the committee for consideration.

The purpose of the draft statement authored by the NA faction “I have honor” is to respond to the situation formed in the public and legal field recently, which refers to the constitutional foundations of relations between state and religious organizations and the practical problems of their application.

Draft statement here.

Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of the “I have an honor” faction, spoke about the crisis created in the relations between the state and the church, in his opinion. According to the draft of the statement, many phenomena have appeared recently that raise serious questions about the borders of the state and national relations. According to Tigran Abrahamyan, the draft statement offers concrete practical solutions in this respect. The first of them is legal transparency, that is, law enforcement and investigative bodies must have clear public standards on how they will take into account freedom of conscience and religion in their actions. The second is the circumstance of international legal advice. It is recommended to contact the Venice Commission to get a professional opinion on the limits of state intervention in the internal management of religious organizations and to what extent the courts and other bodies should be guided in such disputes. Among the next steps proposed by the project are the depoliticization of justice, the active role of the Human Rights Defender.

At the end of the speech, the secretary of the faction noted that the purpose of the hearing is to voice a clear principle: the state is obliged to respect the autonomy of religious organizations.

Davit Harutyunyan, Deputy Chairman of RPA, Executive Director of “Luys” Foundation, Davit Harutyunyan highlighted the delimitation of the state and the church, which includes the principle of non-interference, the guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion, as well as the autonomy of religious communities.

The participants of the parliamentary hearings in their speeches considered the discussed topic to be topical and urgent. Reference was made to the national security strategy, state-church relations, rule of law, protection of human rights, as well as freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In the final speech, Davit Harutyunyan informed that many of the participants presented suggestions regarding the announcement.

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The Prime Minister of Armenia believes that the Russian leader was not provided with complete information regarding the electoral rights of the country. The announcement was made in response to Vladimir Putin’s desire to participate in the elections of all, including pro-Russian and imprisoned politicians.

Prime Minister at a press conference on April 2 Nikol Pashinyan commented on the dialogue held yesterday with the President of the Russian Federation. Referring to the issue of dual citizenship persons participating in the elections, the head of the government expressed his belief that Vladimir Putin was simply not informed about the relevant legal nuances. According to the country’s Constitution, only those persons who have been exclusively citizens of Armenia in the last four years can apply for the post of prime minister or deputy.

Pashinyan noted that taking into account the broad international agenda and heavy workload, the Russian leader does not have the opportunity to objectively study the legislative features of other states in detail. According to the opinion of the Prime Minister of Armenia, it is likely that the relevant structures did not provide exhaustive information on this issue, therefore, during a personal conversation, he found it appropriate to clarify this legal aspect.

They became a reason for discussion on April 1 in Moscow Vladimir Putin the statements made. The Russian president reminded of the close ties between the two countries, the Armenian community of more than two million in Russia and the many pro-Russian political forces in Armenia itself.

Putin expressed a clear desire for all these politicians and parties to be able to participate in domestic political processes, specifically mentioning those who are currently in detention despite having a Russian passport. At the same time, he emphasized that Moscow does not interfere in the internal decisions of Yerevan and accepts that it is exclusively the sovereign affairs of Armenia.

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