“Iravafah” terror: political thought in prisons

July 29, 2026

After the elections, there are widespread arrests and detentions.

It was obvious that if Pashinyan is re-elected, mass arrests and political persecution will be the next step.

If earlier they were individual cases, now they are mass in nature.

The main reason for this mass terror is the elections themselves.

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The administration understands very well that it did not win a real victory in those elections.

Details in the video




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Armenians were “held” from Shushi prison to Baku prison. Aliyev’s “self-confessed arda

July 29, 2026

The representatives of the former military-political leadership of Artsakh held in Baku state in their messages that they do not feel the attention of the Republic of Armenia and its authorities.

Recently, the former Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, Major General Davit Manukyan, made such a claim, declaring. “It is a pity that those here do not feel the breath of the Republic of Armenia.”

He also to Nikol Pashinyan had suggested clarify the status of those in Baku according to the state position of the Republic of Armenia.

Meanwhile, human rights defender Siranuysh Sahakyan warns that the Armenian prisoners and hostages kept in Azerbaijan (Baku) have spoken about their health problems and injuries during their phone conversations with their families.

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Panorama.amin a conversation with, he said, in particular.

“And the family members gave us that information, and based on that we raised the alarm, of course we also presented the problem to international institutions.

Here this situation is the result of isolation. The activity of the Red Cross is stopped, new visits are not obtained as a result of agreements. There are no independent medical examinations, no independent advocacy, which can detect and prevent such cases. And it is understandable that this situation will lead to vulnerability, psychological, physical and other new, serious consequences.

I think that the priority is to restore the activity of a structure that carries out a humanitarian mission. Or organizing a visit to independent doctors, or arranging a consular visit through a 3rd country.”

At the same time, there was an individual alert about the health condition of Ludwig Mkrtchyan, who is being held in Baku prison.

Against the background of the above, as well as the allegedly open “trial” on trumped-up charges, and the fact that access to the relevant Armenian departments (if, of course, there was a desire) and international structures is prohibited for Armenians held in Azerbaijani prisons, Aliyev is trying to create a “mirror image” with terrifying episodes.

Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, is a documentary about Shushi prison spread whose the author Lithuanian journalist It is Richardas Lapaitis who has long enjoyed Aliyev’s patronage and financing, even by Aliyev reward has, so nothing prevents that for years on the international stage and among European partners “through the eyes of an eyewitness”. Baku theses about “Khojalu Genocide”.

And it is nothing that before the military operation to be carried out in order to unblock the Stepanakert airport near the village of Khojalu (Ivanyan) and neutralize the Azerbaijani firing points located in the village. In order to safely remove the local population, the Armenians informed through loudspeakers not only the expected operations, but also the civilian population was informed about the corridor through which the Karkar river valley could and should go out to Aghdam, which was controlled by the Azerbaijanis. In other words, the Azeri side is responsible for the murders of Azerbaijanis in that area, which was once admitted by the former president of Azerbaijan, Ayaz Mutalibov, who later had to resign.

We still do not mention the cases of Khojaly, the Azerbaijani journalist Chingiz Mustafaev (died in 1992) the investigation. 

But Aliyev needs and will need the services of the likes of Richards Lapaitis for a long time, the peace agenda with Armenia will not deter or stop him.

And now the Lithuanian journalist serving the Aliyev regime, as we mentioned, has decided to make a film about Shushi prison. shoot and to tell how “in what terrible conditions the Azerbaijani prisoners of war were kept, what tortures and humiliations they were subjected to by the Armenians”, which cannot fit into the human brain.

And in order to make it more understandable to the world, he considered Shushi prison “Auschwitz of the Caucasus”. Everything would not be so funny, if before the liberation of Shushi during the first war, Baku itself had not kept Armenians there and had not been subjected to torture. About this there are both the testimonies of Armenians and the records of foreign individuals and organizations at that time.

For example, “Morning”According to Ignat Mamyan’s documentary novel “Scream of the Wounded Mountain”, the following is described.

“In the 1990s, they spared nothing to get the innocent victims caught by the Turks out of prisons and to return them home. Ignat Mamyan’s documentary novel “The Cry of the Wounded Mountain” was published in 1991. It is the investigation of the unknown details and dark pages of the operation of the May tragedy that happened near the village of Voskepar, Noyemberyan region. From the story of Andranik Kocharyan’s phone call, the conversation of the commander of the ambush landing force with Lieutenant Hrant Harutyunyan from the group of Armenian policemen coming to Voskepar, Alik Petrosyan’s sudden summons to Yerevan… A significant part of the book is dedicated to those policemen who were taken to the prisons of the Republic of Azerbaijan after being wounded and captured alive. The book presents the relatives, friends, and officials who spared nothing to get the innocent victims who were in the clutches of the Turks out of prisons and to return them home. The letter of Russian soldier Dima Ryazanov, the interview with the deputy of the Russian State Duma are also used.

“In 1991 in the preludes of the spring war, we already had hundreds of guys who had seen battle and blood, who had learned courage in the mountains of Artsakh, in the battles for the protection of the southern borders of Armenia. Declared or undeclared, war was no longer an inevitable reality, and the chosen had already accepted the crosses, become patriot soldiers. The republic still had no Ministry of Defense, no organized army. They were mainly included in the newly formed land guard volunteer detachments and the structures of the INS system, scattered with detachments in the border areas in the face of hostile bloodthirsty forces.

In those days, there were heavy clashes, especially on the Goris-Kapa border. During one of the battles here, a group of MHNJ boys, 16 people, were surrounded and captured due to a severe disparity of forces.

Days later, intelligence revealed that they had been taken to Shushi prison and were being held there in brutal, inhumane conditions, subjected to horrific torture. Relying on the mediation mission of the Soviet army, which was carrying out the last convulsions of the crumbling empire in the Armenian-Azerbaijani territories, was the same as relying on the conscience and morality of the Azerbaijanis.

Many years later, Alexander Mkrtchyan would say: “We were going to free our friends from the terrible prison of the Azeris, but we couldn’t decide how to do it.”

And there was only one way: exchange. Adrejani captives were needed to be exchanged for boys being tortured in Shushi.”

Let’s recall the cases of RA citizens who were tortured and died in Azerbaijani prisons many years after the first war: Manvel Saribekyan, Karen Petrosyan, etc. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani saboteur-murderers Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, who were convicted in Artsakh and served their sentence in Shushi prison, were returned to Azerbaijan safe and sound.

In other words, Aliyev’s “cleansing” attempts may be successful in some international circles, but they are groundless, or at least do not justify keeping the former military-political leadership of Artsakh in Baku.

By the way, in the case of the movie about Shushi’s prison, there is an implicit self-confession.

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Ilham Aliyev in Berlin. Energy, pragmatism and diplomatic combination

July 29, 2026

Q:On July 13, speaking at the latest Shushi media forum, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced the full normalization of relations with Russia..

“There were difficulties. Yes, we all know about them, but the important thing is that this phase is already in the past. I would say the relationship is completely normalized. Azerbaijan values ​​relations with Russia.

The contacts are carried out at different levels: between governments, in the line of the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission, the ministries of foreign affairs, as well as the administrations of the presidents. That’s why, I think, everything is going well in this regard, and we are happy about it. .. bilateral relations include both traditional spheres of interaction and new directions that are emerging today. Of course, the transport component, trade and humanitarian cooperation play a very important role.”

Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by those who followed the speech in its entirety, not just looking for something comfortable. Aliyev’s unconditional support for Zelensky’s regime, which, as is known, is manifested not only in a symbolic but also in a purely practical way. The series of “friendly” statements continued in Berlin, where the leader of Azerbaijan visited on July 21.

As a result of negotiations with Federal Chancellor Mertz, a declaration on the strategic agenda of bilateral partnership was signed, and agreements on a wide range of directions of bilateral cooperation were concluded. It should be noted the good preparation of the visit, including in the context of the earlier agreements on the supply of natural gas from the western shores of the Caspian Sea to Germany (and Austria) from the beginning of 2026.

During the summary press conference, the “strategic partners” spoke quite frankly about various topics. To Andreas Rinke of Reuters, a question concerning the European and Russian public the answer should perhaps be reproduced in full.

“What about? to oil supplies, I can say that last year our total turnover with Germany amounted to about 1.5 billion dollars։  Most of it is Germany’s export to Azerbaijan, and the rest is our export. The main part of our export is crude oil.

In other words, I think that Azerbaijan supplies crude oil at the level of several hundred million dollars and can supply as much as it needs, both at the expense of internal sources and through the trading division of our energy company SOCAR. In other words, there is no problem here.

As for natural gas, I already mentioned since this year we have started selling natural gas to Germany. Last year, our total gas export was 25 billion cubic meters. 

Half of that volume was exported to European Union countries. As far as I know, a 10-year contract was signed with German companies, and the initial volume is 1.5 billion cubic meters. However, that volume can naturally increase. For that, several issues must be resolved. First, there must be an application to us regarding the volume increase.

Երկրորդ՝ the existing gas infrastructure should be expanded. Because today and TANAPand TAPare operating at full capacity, and there is no free space left in those pipelines.  New interconnectors are needed in the European territory. Of course, funds are needed for this. One of the main problems is that European banks, especially the European Investment Bank, have stopped financial support for oil and gas projects due to the green agenda.

So, in order to expand the infrastructure supplying gas to Europe today, we need to get loans from other sources. It would be good if the European banks reconsidered their decisions. Especially considering that today the crisis in the Middle East is unfortunately deepening and traditional supply chains are broken. Taking into account the fact that due to the decommissioning of Russian oil refineries, Russia cannot export the desired volume of oil products to traditional customers. All these events, the end of which is unknown, continue.

Therefore, I believe that if the green agenda is taken into account, these issues can be reviewed so that European banks also allocate funds for the development of oil and gas projects, the construction and expansion of oil and gas infrastructures. In that case, Azerbaijan can significantly increase its gas exports to the European area, including Germany.”

“We are serious about expanding relations between Germany and Azerbaijan. Cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas supplies through the Southern Gas Corridor is of particular importance, including in the context of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. We have discussed it in detail,” said Friedrich Mertz, who is an unconditional supporter of total confrontation with Russia. Notepad edition ingeniously writes: “…Azerbaijan will feed the NATO military machine, which in turn will arm the Kyiv regime.”

As for Aliyev, in general, there is nothing in the quote that was not mentioned in one way or another in Baku, implicitly hinting at the need for European partners to more actively support the expansion of the “Southern Gas Corridor” and similar projects.

We believe that Azerbaijan’s completely logical and pragmatic intention to take the place of Russian energy corporations in the European gas markets should not surprise anyone and cause certain emotional assessments expressed by individual telegram channels.

Rather, we need to look a little further here and note that Azerbaijani-German interdependence is growing going out from the borders of energy, which was pointed out by Orhan Yolchuev, the head of the CASPIA analytical center։ According to him, in 2025, the bilateral trade turnover will reach around 1.7 billion euros, mainly due to the export of German industrial equipment, machines and transport systems.

In parallel with the negotiations, a joint business conference was held in Berlin, the parties agreed to create a business council, which is called, as always, to coordinate joint projects.

Currently, more than 250 German companies are working in Azerbaijan, which participate in the reconstruction of industrial zones in various production directions.

Thus, we are talking not only about energy, but also about closer cooperation and the transition of joint investment projects, including in the field of the military-industrial complex (here, too, we can recall the mutual interest in drone systems, including in the context of the events surrounding Ukraine). Germany’s interest in increasing the possibilities of the port of Baku and the Alyat Free Economic Zone in the “middle corridor” routes, where Azerbaijan can become a transit route for both Kazakh oil and Turkmen gas, and not only for them, is also evident.։

“The exit to Central Asia, if not through Russia or Iran, is through Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus,” recalls Rasim Musabekov, MP of the Milli Mejlis.

Another discussed statement of Aliyev referred to the closed meetings of unofficial representatives of Russia and Germany in Baku on July 12-14., about which the local authorities were allegedly not informed in advance (which, frankly, is hard to believe).

Aliyev said that after the media publications, he ordered to check the information about crossing the state border, as a result of which it was found that on the specified days, former German politicians and Russian representatives were at the same time on the shores of Absheron, who were previously acquainted, in particular, from the “Petersburg Dialogue” conference and participated in some unofficial meetings, about which the Baku authorities, according to their version, do not have information. If such informal contacts really contribute to the cessation of the armed conflict, Azerbaijan can only welcome such efforts, Aliyev noted diplomatically.

Information about the existence of informal dialogues between Berlin and Moscow is confirmed jointly by Die Zeit and ARD investigation the authors, moreover, on the German side, former politicians, not current representatives of the Mertz government, participated in them.

German security services consider such contacts as a possible tool of the notorious “Russian influence”. The federal chancellor himself, commenting on Aliyev’s words, stated that he knows nothing about the alleged meeting.

“Tube successor”-ը  writes: it is possible that “Aliyev has decided to distance himself as much as possible from the story, which is already perceived in a toxic way in Germany”. Speaking with Friedrich Mertz, he actually said: “Azerbaijan did not organize these contacts, Baku was not aware of them in advance and has nothing to do with them.” This corresponds to the current line adopted by the German leadership.

While official Berlin views such meetings with the prism of possible Russian influence, Aliyev tells Mertz. “It’s not my fault, they came themselves.” To us, this is hardly a friendly gesture. The opposite. if such contacts were indeed secret, their public disclosure by Aliyev is unlikely to be in Russia’s interests.”

Another Telegram channel, Кремлёвский безбашенник, does too notes the attempt to “establish a dialogue behind the backs of the official German authorities”, secret diplomacy revealed “by Ilham Aliyev from the high podium”.

Less noticeable (but in vain!) became Ukrainian Ambassador to Baku Yuriy Gusev statementn: about lifting sanctions against Azerbaijani companies involved in the export of Russian oil, bypassing EU restrictions.

According to the Kiev diplomat, currently Azerbaijan and Ukraine continue cooperation on the issues of maintaining existing restrictions, which can mean departure from the previous schemes of transshipment of oil in the Caspian Sea and its further transportation through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

According to Gusev, “the next logical step can be the participation of Azerbaijani companies not only in urgent repairs, but also in the joint production of energy equipment, as well as in the modernization of Ukrainian energy: the construction of new facilities, the development of distributed generation, energy efficiency and renewable energy. We are already conducting such a dialogue with our Azerbaijani partners.”

Alexander Grigoriev

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan




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Davit Hambardzumyan will be nominated as a candidate for the head of the Masis community

July 29, 2026

Head of Masis community Norayr Hakobyan informed on his Facebook page that Davit Hambardzumyan was appointed to the position of adviser to the head of Masis community.

“Dear residents of our community,

I inform you that today I have made a decision to appoint Davit Hambardzumyan as an adviser to the head of the Masis community. “Davit Hambardzumyan” alliance team will continue the united, consistent and responsible work for the sake of Masis community development, well-being and improving the quality of life of every resident,” he wrote.

By the way, according to our information, Davit Hambardzumyan will be nominated as a candidate for the head of the Masis community in the upcoming local government elections.

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The moment of national sobering up has come. Khosrov Harutyunyan

July 29, 2026

The moment of national sobering up has come. Former RA Prime Minister Khosrov Harutyunyan wrote about this.

“Today, at a meeting with journalists, Pashinyan stated that he does not know an Armenian Catholicos named Karekin II.

With this statement, Pashinyan records the start of a new phase of his anti-constitutional campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in the period following the elections.

There is no doubt that this campaign against the Church is unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, there is no doubt that the current government “doesn’t care” about the Constitution and constitutionality.
Moreover, it does not bother the government that with its anti-national behavior it is deepening the division in the Armenian society, creating dividing barriers between different parts of the world-wide Armenians. Meanwhile, the unity of the Armenian people is a very important factor in the formation of national collective capabilities to face external threats to Armenia. Moreover, it is only possible to be blind in mind not to realize that Pashinyan needs the power to paralyze the state institutions of Armenia and the final disintegration of the State of Armenia (today, without exception, all state institutions operate not within the framework of the authority reserved to them by the Constitution and the law, but by the subjective instructions of one person).

You cannot call this situation anything other than a crisis of statehood.

Here is the necessary prerequisite for “successfully” managing that crisis – the tearing and division of the nation and society.

The attack against the Armenian Patriarch aims to destroy the national institution, which is entrusted with the most important mission of national spiritual unity and national preservation.

This anti-national attack against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church is the last effort of the government to finish the process of destroying the Armenian Independent State.

The moment of national sobering up has come.”

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168: You Chaos I Create. Everything Will Get Worse, Timing of Promises Sp

July 29, 2026

168TVof “diplomat” the guest of the program Karen Bekaryan, chairman of the board of “Hayatsk” analytical center, former MP is

– Mr. Bekaryan, one of the main intrigues after the parliamentary elections was related to Armenian-Russian relations and the question of how high-level contacts will be arranged in the post-election period. The other day, Nikol Pashinyan managed to talk to Vladimir Putin, the Russian official message gives the impression that the Kremlin has no compromise moods, on the contrary, a tough demand is being made for Armenia to hold a referendum and decide whether the Armenian people want to go on the path of integration with the European Union or to maintain membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. This is no longer a diplomatic dialogue, but an ultimatum, which, in fact, has been going on for the third month. How do you assess the current situation?

– You know, this situation was not created in one day, two days, one week. This is the result of a rather long process, consistent actions by the Armenian authorities. There were all the grounds for predicting this, as we talked about when we were staying with you, that all this will create a rather problematic situation.

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In any case, let’s highlight a few key points. First, I don’t want confusion to be created as a result of equating Armenia’s European integration process with EU membership. These are different things. The Republic of Armenia has had a process of European integration for many years, until 2018, etc. In other words, this is a completely different issue, it has its own parameters, starting from the blocks of human rights and democracy, and ending with economic cooperation. Finally, let’s not forget that Armenia signed a rather serious agreement with the European Union even before these authorities came to power, the famous CEPA, which is a very deep and serious field of cooperation in all possible fields. This is a component of the European integration process of Armenia.

But it was no coincidence that such an agenda item – membership in the European Union – was not put before 2018. It was not raised, because it was clear from the beginning that in this case you find yourself in the field of conflict between the interests of power centers, and in that field of conflict, being a small country, it is a very serious problem when you do not work in the field of conflict of interests, but in a certain sense, you also take a provocative stance on the conflict. Will you benefit from this, that is, will you benefit or harm the national-state interests of your own country? The simple formula suggests that you will cause damage.

But this came, developed, reached the point where a very anomalous situation is taking place. the appropriate law related to the European Union membership process is adopted, and on the other hand it is said that yes, it is true, we accepted it, yes, that’s right, but since today we are not yet becoming a member of the European Union, there are stages for that, and we continue to remain under the EAEU. Now, the fact that this should be perceived negatively, to put it mildly, negatively, seems to me, there is no question here and there is nothing surprising.

I’m sorry, I’ll give a slightly abnormal example. this is almost the same as if the wife or husband in the family openly says that I have made a decision to leave you and move, form another family or become part of another family, but since they are not ready yet, and I haven’t packed my phone and clothes yet, I continue to live here, and you will have to tolerate me. In other words, this is a very similar situation and should have led to anomalous reactions, which is what started. Those reactions reached the point that the other EAEU member states adopted a joint statement, stating that Armenia should take a decision as soon as possible.

There is also a second element here that we should not forget. in their perception (and it seems to me that we will all imagine that there is a very serious part of the truth here) this is a very serious blow to the image. In other words, if you stay, you stay, if you go, you go, this suspended situation also affects the image of the structure. From the point of view of Armenia’s national-state interests, will any country that is a member of that structure enter into long-term cooperation with you in such circumstances and situations?

Along with this, we do not forget another derivative factor. those countries are the same CSTO founding countries as Armenia. You have already frozen membership in the CSTO (according to the words of their authorities), you do not participate in its processes and from time to time you constantly update the statement that there is hardly a way back to make our participation full, and the way out is much more likely. Now the question is, regardless of the various negative things we can fix in the case of each of those countries, was it not clear now that the reaction will be the way we see it?

Moreover, I say, this is not a matter of one day, this process was predictable from the moment when this incomprehensible “wall-to-wall” policy began, in which many people are trying to find some ideological base. There is no such thing, this only has a tendency to keep power, extend power, don’t try to find anything else there, there is no principle, of course. where was the principle? Suppose they left the CSTO, if they thought that the possible external component of security would not suffer in that case, they would have thought the same thing when they froze the situation with these statements, that is, nothing changes, and in many cases we even become a laughing stock when they don’t understand us.

Now let’s look through the eyes of the same western wing, I want us to look balanced. In their imagination, you constantly strive, you create a strategic partnership with the European Union member states, you try to have some security agenda with the European Union, you do this, you do that, but at the same time you don’t leave the CSTO, you just freeze the membership. What does this mean? In other words, let’s try to look at it from that side as well, although that side, in turn, is creating quite serious problems today, which will not be cleared up so quickly even with the removal of the current government.

For example, this kind of transition from value dialogue to political interests by the same European community… I don’t know how else to say it. The problem is the elites of the European side and today’s decision-makers, in whose case I am more than sure that the public cannot welcome it in the same way. But those same decision-makers have reset the value field.

Let’s look at the situation in Armenia and use the platform here to show our support to all our political prisoners and the politically persecuted, because what is happening does not have a single red line in it. Look at how many directions the opposition wings have continuously presented to the public the problems, dangers, challenges, and risks related to the country during this time. Now what, what is the chosen path? In other words, silencing by giving the person the status of a political prisoner, silencing by imprisoning him?

I would like to list. see: The Sacred Movement with all its included people who went through or are going through all the stages of political imprisonment and political persecution. Starting with Bagrat Srbazan, remember how much time that man spent in prison. Why, Saint Michael… In other words, those cases related to the same Mother See, the shame of sending a new case to the court, when the Catholicos and priests are already being targeted.

We are coming to the political field. How long was Armen Ashotyan a political prisoner, then politically persecuted, now again a political prisoner, we have Aregnaz as a political prisoner. About Tevanyan – a separate issue, Avetik Chalabyan – a separate issue, everything that was happening around “Prosperous Armenia” and directly with Gagik Tsarukyan – threats and their implementation. First of all, it will not be possible to give all the names now, but I express my support to everyone: it will be Tsarukyan, Ashotyan, Srbazan, Tevanyan, Chalabyan, Aregnaz, because this disgrace is already of a different order. And I repeat again: surely we are not naming many names now, just let all our compatriots be forgiving.

In this case, this total silence and, on the contrary, the praise of Armenia’s democracy… Well, it is possible to combine values ​​with political interests at some point, but should values ​​be reduced to zero in this way, or the problems of the electoral and post-election process, legitimacy, criminal cases against various representatives of “Strong Armenia”, etc.? I mean, I don’t know… in this case, this becomes a stigma on the European direction. And getting rid of that stigma, getting to a normal state even when these authorities are gone (don’t we all understand that they are not forever), will be very difficult. And most importantly, the link, the glue between Armenia and the European direction, what was a valuable component, is today under attack, is being directly destroyed.

– Mr. Bekaryan, parallel to all this, we see what kind of propaganda work is being carried out by the same Brussels․ we saw European officials, they took photos with apricots, Marta Kos made jam, some words of support, Kaya Kalas’s visit to Armenia after the elections and the statement “we will protect you from Russia”, etc. And this propaganda is also working somewhere.

– Look, so we touched on the value component. That’s why I continue my thought. look at the person of that age, for example, the same Gagik Tsarukyan, even the footage we witnessed… Well, should the European ambassadors sitting here record or report to their capitals or the European Union office (Brussels) that this is a component of their imagined value field?

Or we don’t forget something simple. How did this government, after 8 years from 2018, do that the problems related to all of them came unexpectedly and accumulated in the pre-election, election and post-election period of 2026? Well, not to laugh, actually. And now, I repeat again, the attitude of various officials of the European Union in this case… or if I turn the arrows a little, we see what is happening in Baku with the persons, hostages and prisoners that we hold, which are fake trials, this is the whole process, from international humanitarian law to the violation of any agreements.

I give a simple example. What does “we will protect Armenia from Russia” mean? That is, we see how you protect Ukraine.

– It is not even a member of the EU yet.

– Yes, we see how you defend it, and for example, now any person, citizen, wanted this for his state and country, as, for example, in the same Ukraine? Is this what he envisioned for the future of his country, his family, his children? Yes, apricots will work, of course, or in connection with the same agricultural products, those apricots, etc. So, can you imagine how much time is needed, how much work is needed, so that, for example, the same apricot appears on the European market in the same volume as, for example, it appeared on the Russian market? And will Europe provide that quota field outside of apricots, and will the countries that are the main suppliers of apricots to the European market from EU members treat it very adequately when there is such a political decision? It is necessary to distinguish the illusion from the reality.

The biggest mark and consequence of the parliamentary elections of 2026 (it will not be only the various forgeries and legitimacy problems), the biggest blow is the severe decline of Armenia’s subjectivity and sovereignty, which was possible to record during the elections and that whole process. I will give you a simple example. find a country that is related to us and did not directly or indirectly interfere in our country’s internal affairs.

We had an intervention from Turkey, quite high-level, in favor of the authorities, we had interventions from various European officials, we had interventions from quite high officials of the United States, and at the same time, putting into it situations that do not intersect with the logical process. In other words, there is a visit of the Secretary of State of the United States to “Zvartnots” airport, which is difficult to call a visit to the Republic of Armenia, a 40-minute visit.

But there is a unique story there, apart from the fact that it is chronologically related to the entire pre-election period, that a person arrives, two officials see each other, but they themselves initial, not sign the TRIPP. After just a few days, they sign remotely. try to find the logic of this process three times, if he was not an extended philanderer and was not an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the authorities. On the part of the Russian Federation, the same as what is happening now, all those… what shall we call under restrictions? Well, it is clear: does it refer to the government or does it refer to the people?

In other words, after all, this is the element of intervention, even if it is post-election. See where subjectivity has been brought to earth. And it is not the Turks, nor the Russians, nor the Europeans, nor the Americans who will deliver that. it is the current authorities of Armenia that brought this situation. I also want us to understand this very clearly.

The situation today is that someone is demanding to change the Constitution, yes! And under that requirement, all possible magic is done. that is, we fulfill their request, we do what they want in that request, but we do it, we do not do it according to their request (the trick is simple). The other demands to hold a referendum, the other demands to increase and expand the steps, the other says: we have done so much, we have done the assistance, but where are the opposite processes? Okay, what is this, what is this, and does this have any connection or relation with the sovereignty and subjectivity of the country?

Details in the 168TV video.




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RFE/RL – Pashinian Blasts Russian Sanctions After Call With Putin

July 29, 2026
Armenia – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian talks to reporters, Yerevan, July 29, 2026

Two days after a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian again criticized on Wednesday Russia’s recent bans on key imports from Armenia, saying they mean that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is “paralyzed.”

“That problem is not Armenia’s problem,” he told reporters. “That’s the EEU’s problem because it means in effect that the Eurasian Economic Union is paralyzed and not working. And if this problem is not resolved quickly, let me predict that it will be the beginning of the EEU’s end.”

Pashinian similarly said in late June that Russia and the three other EEU member states must clarify whether the Russian-led trade bloc “exists or not.” The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed that statement as “demagoguery.” It said Armenia can no longer combine its membership in the EEU with its pursuit of accession to the European Union.

Putin is understood to have reaffirmed that position when he spoke with Pashinian by phone on Monday. According to the Kremlin, he insisted that Yerevan hold “as soon as possible” a referendum on joining the EU.

Pashinian reiterated on Wednesday that the referendum cannot take place before the Armenian government formally applies for EU membership. He again declined to say when it could make a membership bid.

Pashinian also indicated that Yerevan will not change its European integration policy despite the Russian embargo on multimillion-dollar imports of Armenian agricultural products and mineral water.

“Armenia must always have alternatives on all issues, and the era of having no alternatives is over,” he said.

He made clear at the same time that he still has no plans to pull Armenia out of the Eurasian Union, which gives Armenian exporters tariff-free access to Russia, their main market.

The Armenian premier stressed earlier that the South Caucasus country cannot be kicked out of the EEU against its will. Putin and the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan implicitly threatened to do just that in a joint statement issued in late May. They instructed their prime ministers to present “possible consequences” of such a scenario at an EEU summit planned for December.

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on Tuesday that Armenia’s exit from the EEU would plunge the country into a “deep economic crisis” and destabilize its government.

Moscow has threatened to take other punitive measures against Yerevan such as a sharp rise in the price of Russian natural gas supplied to Armenia, curbs on Russian tourists visiting the country and tougher requirements for hundreds of thousands of Armenian migrant workers in Russia.

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Pashinian Ally To Head Armenian Parliament Panel After Drunken Scandal

July 29, 2026


Armenia – Vilen Gabrielian, a parliament deputy from the ruling Civil Contract party talks to RFE/RL, Yerevan, June 19, 2024.

Sixteen months after a drunken scandal that led to his resignation from Armenia’s outgoing parliament, a prominent member of the ruling Civil Contract party is poised to head a key standing committee of the recently elected National Assembly.

Vilen Gabrielian is among 12 pro-government lawmakers whom Civil Contract’s governing board led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian designated as chairpersons of various parliament committees on Wednesday. He will almost certainly be elected as head of the committee on defense and national security during the new parliament’s inaugural session scheduled for Sunday.

Gabrielian sat on the panel until being forced to resign his parliament seat in April 2025. The 42-year-old announced the resignation two days after he appeared drunk in public, swearing at one journalist and arguing with several others during a local election held in Gyumri.

Gabrielian apologized to the public for his “inappropriate behavior.” However, he defended the next day his swear words addressed to the reporter, accusing the latter of blackmailing him.

While disapproving of their colleague’s behavior, other lawmakers affiliated with Pashinian’s party said that Gabrielian deserves respect for resigning from the parliament. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian made a point of posting on social media photographs of him and Gabrielian.

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RFE/RL – Armenian Church Head To Stand Trial

July 29, 2026
Armenia – Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II leads Easter Mass at the Echmiadzin cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church, April 5, 2026.

Armenian prosecutors have paved the way for the trial of Catholicos Garegin II on charges brought in February amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to depose the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Garegin was indicted and banned from leaving Armenia one day after Pashinian pledged to prevent an episcopal conference organized by the church. The conference took place in his absence in Austria later in February. Twenty-five bishops and archbishops that attended it voiced support for Garegin and condemned Armenia’s authorities for their “unfounded prosecution” of him and a dozen other senior clergymen.

The accusations levelled against Garegin stem from his January 27 decision to defrock a bishop involved in Pashinian’s controversial campaign to oust the Catholicos. The bishop, Gevorg Saroyan, was dismissed earlier in January as head of the church’s Masyatsotn Diocese encompassing parts of Armenia’s southern Ararat province.

With Pashinian’s encouragement, Saroyan refused to obey the decision and went on to challenge it in court. In an unprecedented injunction, a district court ruled on January 16 that Saroyan must be reinstated pending its verdict on the lawsuit. Lawyers representing the church maintain that Armenian courts have no jurisdiction over internal church affairs.

Saroyan’s defrocking was recommended by the church’s Supreme Spiritual Council. Six bishops sitting on the council were also charged with obstructing the execution of the court order. They will stand trial with Garegin.

The Office of the Prosecutor-General said on Tuesday that it has finally sent the criminal case to a court of first instance in the town of Armavir. The case was swiftly assigned to one of its judges, Hakob Manukian. He has yet to set a date for the start of the unprecedented trial.

Armenia – Catholicos Garegin II blesses worshippers at the Echmiadzin cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church, July 27, 2025.

Garegin is the first supreme head of the church prosecuted in Armenia’s post-Soviet history. Even Soviet authorities had never formally prosecuted his predecessors.

Garegin will also become the first Catholicos not to address the inaugural session of the Armenian parliament. The recently elected National Assembly is scheduled to meet for the first time on Sunday. Representatives of its pro-government majority confirmed on Wednesday that they will bar Garegin from speaking during the session despite the fact that the parliament’s statutes entitle the Catholicos to delivering such an address.

Pashinian began pressuring Garegin to resign in June 2025 shortly after the Catholicos accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and illegally occupying Armenian border areas during an international conference in Switzerland. Three Armenian archbishops and one bishop were arrested in the following months on different charges strongly denied by them. They all were moved to house arrest this year.

Pashinian’s Civil Contract party added a pledge to oust Garegin to its campaign manifesto for parliamentary elections held on June 7. Armenian opposition leaders and other government critics denounced the move as yet another violation by Pashinian of a constitutional provision guaranteeing the ancient church’s separation from the state.

Speaking ahead of the elections, Garegin made clear that he will not resign even if he is arrested by the authorities.

“We will not allow a wrong precedent which could be destructive for our church and our nation with its consequences,” he told journalists.

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Armenia took the 73rd place in the new ranking of the Henley Passport Index

Armenia ranked 73rd in the Henley Passport Index 2026 July ranking, dropping two places compared to the January update.


According to published data, Armenian passport holders can visit 65 countries and territories without obtaining a prior visa or obtaining a visa upon arrival.


In the previous January edition of the rating, Armenia was in 71st place, and the number of destinations with visa-free regime or with visa upon arrival was 66. Thus, within half a year, the republic lost one visa-free opportunity and two positions in the world ranking.


The leader of the July rating is Singapore, whose citizens have visa-free access to 192 destinations. Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates are in second place (188 destinations), followed by Sweden (187).


The Henley Passport Index is published by Henley

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