March: 27, 2026
The 5.5-kilometer section of the gas pipeline coming from Georgia to Armenia will be moved at the request of Armenia. The relevant application has already been submitted to the Department of Environmental Control of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Georgia. This is reported by Sputnik Georgia.
According to the documents, the change in the location of the pipeline is related to the request of the Armenian side, because the Armenian part of the pipeline is located in the Georgian-Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone and was mined in the 90s.
“Based on the fact that it is not possible to maintain the minimum safety standards and carry out repair work in the given section, on the basis of the tripartite interstate agreement, it was decided to remove the said problematic section of the gas pipeline from the minefield and build a new gas pipeline at a safe distance,” the statement said.
The pipeline will be moved several kilometers and will connect to the new section built by the Armenian side.
The gas pipeline from Georgia is one of the main ways of supplying natural gas to Armenia. Armenia receives gas from Russia through Georgia’s transit infrastructure.
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“Either Pashinyan is lying, or it is beneficial for him to have a “runaway” man serve in the Armed Forces.
March: 27, 2026
Tigran Abrahamyan, the secretary of the NA “I have honor” faction, during the briefings of the parliamentary factions today, referred to the protest action of missing and dead servicemen in the 44-day war, stressing that people demand to publish the report of the commission investigating the circumstances of the 44-day war.
“I myself had the opportunity to talk on various occasions with the relatives of the boys who were missing or martyred in the war, but the essence of the issue related to the topic is much clearer. After the end of the war, when the emotional background was quite high, the authorities promised people to respond through a report and name the guilty and responsible, give clear assessments. Now the situation is that that report essentially has the status of an archived one,” said Tigran Abrahamyan.
According to the opposition deputy, when the decision to create an investigative commission was made, the position of the “I have honor” faction was clear: the persons holding political responsibility and positions during the war cannot conduct a fair and objective investigation through any commission.
“Now it is a situation that the investigative commission has worked, arrived and reached a controversial point. Let me say right away that I got acquainted with the report of the Investigative Commission, there is a lot to say, but the confidentiality regime does not allow me to speak. But in every case, there are government promises that the report should satisfy the demands of the beneficiaries, but it has not fulfilled its promise,” added Tigran Abrahamyan.
He also referred to the statements of the current RA authorities, particularly Nikol Pashinyan, that during the Azerbaijani aggression of September 2023, “Artsakh Armenians did not fight” but “ran away”.
“In this context, I want to ask one question, which may or may not be rhetorical. If the people of Artsakh did not fight under the conditions of the aggression carried out by Azerbaijan in 2023, how did it happen that after those war operations, the commander of the Defense Forces who “did not fight” continues his service in the Armed Forces? This means two things: either Nikol Pashinyan is lying, that is, he is once again trying to manipulate the field through disinformation, or all those situations are favorable for Nikol Pashinyan, when people who, according to his assessment, are “runaways” enter the service in the Armed Forces,” Tigran Abrahamyan emphasized.
Details in the video of 168.am
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Samvel Karapetyan decided to leave his quiet life, go under this and change, and
March: 27, 2026
Members of the “Strong Armenia” party were on a working visit to Syunik Marz yesterday.
The first stop was the city of Sisian, where the party members met with supporters of the party’s Sisian community.
During the meeting, Narek Karapetyan, a member of the board of the “Strong Armenia” party, presented the economic and security plans of the party’s chairman, Samvel Karapetyan, as well as the reasons for Samvel Karapetyan’s entry into politics.
“Having an alternative to just live a quiet life, Samvel Karapetyan decided not to live a quiet life, to go under it and try to change it and he will change it.” Other, other power, if you see it, tell me who can lift Armenia out of poverty. Who has the experience to lift Armenia out of poverty? There is no one who has an economic background, who has worked with tens of thousands of people, who knows how to overcome that poverty.”
Narek Karapetyan, speaking about the path taken by the chairman of the party, Samvel Karapetyan, noted that the chairman of the party has traveled the same path in different countries of the world. It is not that he succeeded in one country, Samvel Karapetyan has his economic units in three or four countries. Narek Karapetyan stressed that Samvel Karapetyan invests his potential for the development of Armenia and does not have and cannot have any other motivation than the development of Armenia, because being financially secure, he will be the only leader of Armenia who will not need anything after coming to power.
During the meeting, economic, security, social, educational and a number of other issues, as well as the challenges of balanced development of communities, were also addressed.
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The rate of inflation has started to accelerate. “LUYS” Foundation
March: 27, 2026
“LUYS” Foundation analyzed the socio-economic developments of the RA economy in 2026. in January-February.
Thus.
- 2026 the high economic growth rate is maintained, mainly due to the growth of the mining industry. The current year started with a relatively high economic activity index, the pace of which slowed down slightly in February. In February, RA’s economic activity index (TAC) was 7.2%, slowing down by 0.4 percentage points compared to January. The TAC of January-February was 7.4%, to which the industry sector had the biggest positive contribution, which in turn was caused mainly by the growth of the mining industry. Services, trade and construction sectors also contributed positively to the TAC.
- The indicators of export and import have been restored. After the decline recorded in January, both export and import volumes recovered sharply in February, increasing by 37.6% and 26.9%, respectively. Although the structural data of February’s foreign trade have not yet been published, the analysis of January’s indicators allows us to assume that the increase in exports is mainly due to the activation of exports of mining products.
- State budget revenues and expenditures are increasing, but capital expenditures are decreasing. 2026 In January-February, both revenues and expenses of the state budget increased. At the same time, capital expenditures have decreased significantly by 58.8%. Such a sharp decline in capital expenditures is worrisome given their importance to long-term economic growth and infrastructural development.
- The rate of inflation has started to accelerate. Inflation rate in 2026 in February it was 4.3%, accelerating by 0.5 percentage points compared to January. In those circumstances, however, the central bank did not revise the refinancing rate during March, maintaining it at the level of 6.5%.
The full analysis is available at this link:
“LUYS” Foundation
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The revived “Diesel case” will examine the evidence
March: 27, 2026
Today, the Anti-Corruption Court, under the leadership of Judge Givi Hovhannisyan, is conducting another court session with joint criminal proceedings.
The case of the so-called “Diesel”, the resurrected fake, by which President Serzh Sargsyan was already acquitted once, is being investigated.
Let’s remind that the powers of judge Vahe Misakyan in that case have already been terminated under another pretext.
At the beginning of the previous court session, procedural issues were examined: objections, objections, and then the issue of property liability was discussed. The public prosecutor presented the content of the claim.
Expressing his position, Serzh Sargsyan’s defense attorney Amram Makinyan said that the Appellate Court did not doubt the innocence of President Serzh Sargsyan, and the materials of this case were collected in violation of criminal law.
Judge Givi Hovhannisyan recognized Serzh Sargsyan and the other two defendants as property managers.
At the beginning of today’s court session, defense attorney Amram Makinyan reminded the court again that during the preparation of materials, the deadlines for initiating the case were violated, and this was recorded by the Court of Appeal.
“During the new examination of the case, the Anti-corruption Court should examine whether the 2013 Sergo Karapetyan acted according to the relevant decision of the government. This needs to be cleared up no matter what. The appeals court did not doubt the innocence of President Serzh Sargsyan in any way. And this circumstance does not give Mr. President the opportunity to submit a property claim,” said Amram Makinyan.
After listening to the parties, the court decided to give the final solution to the property claim with a final judicial act.
Next, the court moved to the stage of examination of the evidence, the order and order of their examination.
The public prosecutors presented their order of sifting the evidence. Expressing his position, Amram Makinyan said that there were no proofs in what was listed, they were data on the economic activities of various companies, various banking secrets.
Next, the accused were asked if they confirmed their intention to be questioned.
“I can’t say. rather, no, but according to the situation, I will understand,” said Serzh Sargsyan.
The answer of Barsegh Beglaryan, the owner of “Flash” company, was similar.
The court session was postponed. The next court session will take place in 2026. May 12 at 3:30 p.m.
Details in the video.
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“What does that person know, what percentage of weapons have been used, have not served, or been used?”
March: 27, 2026
Nikol Pashinyan gave a briefing yesterday after the Government session, during which he also referred to the military operations carried out by Azerbaijan against Artsakh on September 19-20, 2023. He first said that he does not agree that Azerbaijan has implemented a genocidal policy in Artsakh.
He again insisted that they “did not fight” in Artsakh at that time, they “ran away”.
“And those myths: they fought to the end, etc., by the way, if necessary, we will declassify those data. I am sure, this dough will carry a lot of water, we will wait for it to carry well, so that I publish it at the right time, like the documents of the Nagorno Karabakh negotiation process, it is a lie, nothing like this happened, they ran away, they looted.” noted he
Military expert, freedom fighter Martin Yesayan Instead of Nikol Pashinyan, he publicly apologizes to the parents and relatives of all the martyrs, the missing, the wounded, expressing his respect for the memory of the martyrs. He says that he is simply ashamed when a person who has not even served in the army can belittle the exploits of the boys to such an extent.
“In Artsakh, on September 19-20, 2023, within one day, we lost more than 200 boys on the battlefield, and the enemy lost thousands, that’s why the foreign intelligence has always told Azerbaijan: “Isn’t this you, you have been under a total blockade for 9 months, now you are giving losses?” Most of the weapons and ammunition have been used, one of the guys called me yesterday angrily, he says: “Have you heard what this ignorant government is saying?” The boys are very upset, they say: “How long will all this continue?” No, it will not continue for long, everyone will give their own answer.
I will give only one example. Only in the “Khachen Gorge” in the direction of Martakert, in the direction of only one position, the enemy gave 700 casualties, how come the people of Artsakh did not fight? 168.am–said in a conversation with Martin Yesayan.
He mentioned that he does not want even his enemy to go through what the Artsakh citizen went through. During the hot days of the war, when it was not possible to transport weapons to the positions due to lack of fuel, people used their donkeys and horses to carry weapons to the positions through the fire.
“What kind of attitude is this towards the fighting boys? Who ran away? Show me one nation in the world that leaves its home and homeland and runs away, if it is not subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing. By God’s testimony, we fought, we fought until the last second, to save our homeland, land.
What does that person know, what percentage of weapons were used, he has neither served, nor is he an expert, nor has he held a weapon in his hand in his life, not counting that during the April war he went to Artsakh in May, when the war was stopped,” added our interlocutor.
Continuing, the freedom fighter stressed that before making certain statements, the authorities should at least be afraid of God’s judgment, because they will answer for the loss of the homeland, the lives of the fallen boys.
“What the RA leader announces today, he announces on behalf of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
I am a big man, I saw with my own eyes what happened in Artsakh during the one-day war, and how our boys fought.
Several hundred enemy soldiers were killed in the western part of Stepanakert. If such a person spoke who had fought, had traveled a certain path, I would have remained silent, but someone who has not traveled the path of battle is speaking. Nikol Pashinyan has chosen a very bad path, very bad, this will not lead him, nor our country and people to any good place.
Please, be sure to publish that our heroes did everything possible in one day to keep Artsakh, but being alone, in the Azerbaijani blockade, they could not stand until the end,” emphasized Martin Yesayan.
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Why was Gagik Hambaryan called to the Investigative Committee? Varazdat Harutyunyan m
March: 27, 2026
According to 168.am, Gagik Hambaryan, political scientist from Gyumri, lecturer at Shirak State University, was invited to the Investigative Committee today.
His representative, a member of the “Five Human Rights Defenders Initiative”, lawyer Varazdat Harutyunyan, confirmed the information in a conversation with us, noting that Gagik Hambaryan, a “bastion of democracy” in Armenia, was charged under the 2nd part of Article 490 of the RA Criminal Code, namely:
The threat to publish defamatory information about a judge, prosecutor, investigator, head of an investigative body, investigative body, lawyer, representative, expert, or enforcer, or a close relative or close relative of the specified persons, or someone under the supervision, care, or upbringing of the specified persons, or causing other harm to the rights and legal interests of the specified persons, or to use violence against them, to destroy or damage property, in connection with the legal service or professional activities of the specified persons or exclusively as a judge, prosecutor, investigator, investigator head of the body, investigative body, lawyer, representative, expert or enforcer or a close relative of the said persons or a close relative or the said persons with the circumstance of being under the upbringing, care or supervision,
shall be punished by a fine in the amount of ten times to thirty times, or public works for a period of one hundred to two hundred hours, or restriction of freedom for a maximum period of two years, or short-term imprisonment for a maximum period of two months, or imprisonment for a maximum period of three years.
2. Publishing defamatory information about the persons provided for in part 1 of this article or causing other damage to the rights and legal interests of the said persons, or destroying or damaging the property of the said persons, in connection with the legal official or professional activities of the said persons:
shall be punished by restriction of freedom for a period of one to three years, or short-term imprisonment for a period of one to two months, or imprisonment for a period of two to five years.
By the way, this is the same article that is currently being investigated in the court regarding public-politician Edgar Ghazaryan.
“Keeping in mind that we were warned about the inadmissibility of publishing the pre-trial secret and we don’t want to touch on the content of the accusation, but I should mention that, naturally, Mr. Hambaryan did not accept the accusation. A ban on his absence was imposed on him, and the publication that is the basis of the accusation, for which Gagik Hambaryan was charged, in my opinion, fully fits into the framework of the fundamental right of a person to express himself freely, which is protected both by our Constitution and by the European Convention on Human Rights, regarding which there are also a number of precedent decisions of the ECHR.”said Varazdat Harutyunyan.
According to him, unfortunately, these decisions are often about our neighboring countries, Turkey and Azerbaijan, where the level of freedom of speech is quite low, and sharp criticism of one or another official is often persecuted in those countries.
“It is with pain that we have to record that Armenia has, in fact, taken the same benchmark in terms of restrictions on freedom of speech.” said Varazdat Harutyunyan, adding that additional information will be provided in case of developments in this case.
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RFE/RL – Chechen Woman Buried In Armenia Months After Suspected ‘Honor Killing
A Chechen woman who was found dead in Armenia last year in what activists describe as a likely “honor killing” has been laid to rest in Yerevan five months after her death, Armenian authorities said.
Aishat Baymuradova, 23, was buried in the Armenian capital with state funding after her funeral was organized by a local nongovernmental organization, according to Armenia’s Investigative Committee. Her body had remained in Yerevan for months after no relatives came to collect it, despite repeated notifications sent to the Russian Federation. Baymuradova is survived by a young son, who reportedly remains with his father in Chechnya.
Baymuradova was found dead in a rented apartment on October 20, three days after she was reported missing. Human rights activists say the woman, who had fled the Russian Federation’s Chechen Republic to Armenia about a year earlier to escape domestic violence, was likely strangled.
Activists have described the killing as a suspected transnational “honor crime” and have pointed to possible involvement by individuals linked to Chechen security structures.
In the months following the killing, activists criticized Armenian law enforcement bodies for what they described as delays in the investigation and a failure to prevent suspects from leaving the country.
About four months after the incident, Armenian authorities identified two Russian citizens, Karina Iminova and Said-Hamzat Baysarov, as suspects in the murder and placed them on a wanted list.
Armenian and Russian human rights groups say the two suspects have ties to the regime of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor-based Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, said such links are visible in open sources. “Direct ties of the suspects in Aishat’s murder are evident at least through social media,” Sakunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
He also said that criminal cases previously initiated against the suspects in Russia were later suspended. According to Sakunts, Baysarov had been accused of financing the Islamic State terrorist organization, while Iminova had been accused of threatening to kill another person with a knife. Neither case resulted in accountability, he said.
Sakunts suggested that in such cases, criminal prosecution can be used as a mechanism to control or recruit individuals.
Earlier accounts by activists indicated that Baymuradova had been lured to the apartment shortly before her disappearance after meeting individuals she had contacted online, including a woman allegedly linked to people close to Kadyrov. Security camera footage reportedly showed several people entering the building that evening, including a Chechen man.
Activists have said the case may be the first known instance of a Chechen woman being killed abroad after fleeing domestic abuse. In many other “honor killing” cases, they say, women are tracked down and returned to Chechnya, where they are later killed.
Baymuradova was reportedly forced into marriage at 20 to a 29-year-old man she had met only a few times. Friends said she suffered physical abuse, was monitored by cameras inside her home, and was often locked indoors without access to her phone.
According to Armenian authorities, Baymuradova had not formally sought protection in Armenia or informed them or local nongovernmental organizations that she had fled Chechnya because of domestic violence.
The Chechen woman’s case echoes that of Fatima Zurabova, a 21-year-old woman from the Russian Federation’s Republic of Ingushetia who fled to Armenia in 2024 after alleged domestic abuse.
Zurabova’s relatives, including a senior police official, reportedly traveled to Yerevan to try to persuade her to return, but she later relocated to a third country.
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Yerevan To Host First EU-Armenia Summit In May
Armenia will host its first-ever summit with the European Union on May 4-5, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.
President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will represent the EU at the summit in Yerevan, and Armenia will be represented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the ministry said.
Ahead of the summit, the European leaders will also attend the 8th European Political Community meeting, which is due to take place in the Armenian capital on May 4.
A statement issued by the ministry said the EU-Armenia summit will focus on “strengthening bilateral relations, in particular, issues related to the economy, energy, transport, digital affairs, and people-to-people contacts.”
It added that leaders will also discuss “progress related to ensuring peace, security, mutual connectivity, and prosperity in the South Caucasus, as well as current global challenges.”
“The EU-Armenia summit reflects the unprecedented dynamism of the bilateral partnership over the past years. EU relations with Armenia are based on the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in force since 2021, and the Strategic Agenda for the EU-Armenia Partnership, which was adopted at the meeting of the EU-Armenia Partnership Council held in December 2025 with the participation of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. The EU is a key partner for Armenia’s reform agenda and for trade and investments,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
Armenia adopted legislation in 2025 declaring the start of a process of the country’s accession to the European Union.
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France, Armenia Eye Expansion Of Defense Cooperation
France and Armenia have emphasized the need for expanding their defense cooperation during high-level talks held in Paris on Friday.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian met with French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Corneille to discuss issues related to “the development and deepening of bilateral ties in the defense sector,” according to the Armenian Ministry of Defense.
“The parties, particularly, emphasized the importance of the continuous strengthening of the bilateral strategic partnership and emphasized the need to expand cooperation in the defense sector,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that Le Corneille presented Papikian with the Legion of Honor (Légion d’honneur), France’s highest civil and military order of merit, which had been awarded to him by decree of French President Emmanuel Macron. The French prime minister was quoted as praising Papikian’s “great contribution to the development of Armenia-France relations.”
During his visit, Papikian also held talks on March 27 with French Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Catherine Vautrin. According to the Armenian side, the two officials agreed to “deepen and expand cooperation, bringing it to a qualitatively new, higher level, as well as to continue joint initiatives aimed at strengthening defense capabilities.”
France and Armenia signed agreements on military cooperation in October 2023 providing for the supply of French weapons to Yerevan, including radars and missiles, as well as advisory support for army reforms.
Both Yerevan and Paris have stressed the “purely defensive” character of the French arms supplies. Armenia, which is seeking to diversify its security partnerships and reform its military, has repeatedly stated that it has no aggressive intentions towards its neighbors.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Thursday that some of the modern weapons acquired by Armenia in recent years, which also included French equipment, will be displayed in Yerevan’s central square on May 28, when the country marks Republic Day.
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