Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that combating electoral bribery must continue and that “uprooting” those involved from political life is becoming a priority.

Speaking in parliament during question time, Pashinyan said it was obvious that large-scale electoral bribes had been distributed during the June 7 parliamentary elections. However, he said the people had overcome this.

“It is obvious that large-scale vote-buying took place, and it is also obvious that our state has been able to fight against it to this extent. For the first time, the people have defeated vote-buying on this scale,” Pashinyan said.

This, he said, demonstrates the institutional maturity of the state on the one hand, and on the other hand indicates that work in this direction must continue.

The prime minister stressed that “uprooting” those involved in vote-buying from Armenia’s political life is becoming a priority.

“Uprooting those distributing vote-buying from Armenia’s political life is becoming a priority on the agenda as a result of this fact. They must be uprooted by all possible means, and we will go down that path,” he said.

Pashinyan also said that his rhetoric on fighting vote-buying during the election campaign received support from Armenian citizens.

He also addressed the work of the criminal justice system in vote-buying cases, noting that according to his review of statistics, none of the individuals charged in such cases since 2021 are currently in prison.

“This is the most important question that our criminal justice system must answer,” Pashinyan said.

The Republic of Armenia has overcome and is managing all regional security threats, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“I officially declare that the Republic of Armenia has overcome and is managing all regional security threats. And the only threat that may arise is the activity of the three-headed war party and their affiliates,” Pashinyan said in parliament, referring to the “Strong Armenia” alliance, the “Armenia” alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia party.

Pashinyan emphasized that peace with Azerbaijan has been built on the principle of mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on the Almaty Declaration, as agreed by Yerevan and Baku.

“Now the three-headed war party is casting doubt on this peace agreement. It turns out that there is a force in the Armenian parliament that does not accept the architecture of peace. This generates threats and direct reactions, and we must see and confront these causal links,” the prime minister stressed, referring to the Strong Armenia and Armenia alliances winning seats in the next parliament.

Pashinyan noted that the more than 700,000 votes the Civil Contract party received from Armenian citizens in the June 7 parliamentary elections demonstrate their commitment to the peace agenda.

He said that members of the “Strong Armenia” and “Armenia” alliances who entered parliament are representatives of a “spy network” and that they received votes in the elections based on vote-buying. According to the prime minister, this network must be eradicated.

“Otherwise, they will do everything to revive the conflict and restart war. We are now confidently managing the situation, but our people must also be aware of this,” he said.

Pashinyan stressed that any threat to Armenia’s future must be eliminated at its root.

“These threats have names: Robert Kocharyan, a ‘Kaluga oligarch’, and a pro-Belarus oligarch,” Pashinyan said, referring to Strong Armenia leader Samvel Karapetyan and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan.

“As long as I am prime minister, I will personally crush them at the root and in a targeted manner. I call on those citizens who do not agree with this line to carry out a revolution in Armenia and change the government, because this process can no longer be stopped,” Pashinyan said.

The 2026 parliamentary elections have brought forward a new revolutionary agenda, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday.

He told lawmakers at a plenary session that his government has faced difficulties in explaining to the public why former officials and their associated circles have not been brought to account and imprisoned.

“We had difficulty explaining to the public why Robert Kocharyan is not in prison. We had difficulty explaining to the public why what Gagik Tsarukyan looted has not been returned. We had difficulty explaining to the people how it happened that the ‘Kaluga oligarch’ continued, even after the revolution, to steal electricity from kindergartens and schools for eight years. How was this possible?” Pashinyan said, referring to Samvel Karapetyan’s ownership of the power distribution company ENA and alleged mismanagement.

According to Pashinyan, one of the reasons is that these groups had external sponsors, which previously made the authorities cautious and constrained in dealing with them.

He said that after the elections, a new political agenda has been formed.

“This election and the activity recorded in it have given rise to a new revolutionary agenda — a revolution in which velvet should be excluded,” the prime minister said, referring to the 2018 Velvet Revolution.

Pashinyan stated that, in his assessment, the former system was built to protect oligarchic interests and must be changed.

“The entire previous system was structured to protect that oligarchy. We must move toward breaking that system; there is no other option,” he said.

According to the prime minister, this was not an ordinary political process.

“This is not a simple election. Either the revolution gains new momentum, or the counter-revolution wins. This is our choice,” Pashinyan warned.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that direct contacts between Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives are aimed at restoring momentum to the peace process and reaffirming both countries’ commitment to the peace agenda.

Speaking during a government question-and-answer session in parliament, Pashinyan commented on the recent meeting in Dilijan between Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan and Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev.

According to the prime minister, it was important for Armenia not to lose momentum in the peace process immediately after the parliamentary elections.

“It was very important for us not to lose the momentum of the peace process after the elections. It was very important for us that the peace process regain its momentum,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that a similar understanding existed on the Azerbaijani side, which led to the Grigoryan-Hajiyev meeting.

Pashinyan said the primary purpose of the talks was to restore momentum to the peace process.

“Our experience has shown that direct bilateral contacts are important,” the prime minister stressed.

The prime minister also highlighted the significance of the meeting being held in Armenia for the first time in this format. He said the next meeting is expected to take place in Azerbaijan.

“It is very important that Armenia and Azerbaijan are reaffirming their commitment to the peace agenda through this process,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said he would travel to Baku to attend a future summit of the European Political Community if he receives an invitation.

Speaking during a government question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, Pashinyan said he was prepared to take part in the summit planned to be held in the Azerbaijani capital in 2029.

“I have already said that if there is an invitation to the European Political Community summit in 2029, I can say right now that I will go to Baku,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused opposition forces of creating a threat of war through vote-buying.

Speaking during a government question-and-answer session in parliament, Pashinyan recalled that during the election campaign the Civil Contract party had urged citizens to stand for peace. According to the prime minister, the citizens of Armenia, through the election results, stood for the peace agenda.

“Our assessment is unequivocal: the citizens of the Republic of Armenia have stood for peace,” Pashinyan said.

He argued that the election results should also be viewed from the perspective of external perceptions. According to the prime minister, there was a risk of creating the impression that hundreds of thousands of Armenians supported forces advocating a revision of the peace agenda or the continuation of past conflict-related policies.

Pashinyan said such a perception could have significantly escalated the military and political situation in the region.

“If an impression is created that there are 500,000 people in Armenia who believe we should continue the Karabakh movement or pursue a ‘sea-to-sea Armenia’ agenda, that would seriously aggravate the military-political situation in Armenia,” he said.

The prime minister argued that no such public sentiment exists and alleged that vote-buying during the election campaign had been carried out with the assistance of external actors interested in destabilising the region.

“We know the reality. We know there are no such people. Vote-buying was carried out with the assistance of external forces that are interested in seeing the region explode,” Pashinyan said.

According to the prime minister, this was one of the reasons why it was important to quickly restore momentum to the peace process after the elections.

In that context, he referred to the recent meeting between Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan and Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev.

“Through vote-buying, they created a direct threat of war. The need to organise a meeting in that format was precisely to manage that threat,” Pashinyan said.

In the first round of Group 3 of the Billie Jean King Cup taking place in San Marino, Armenia’s national tennis team defeated Azerbaijan 3–0, according to the press service of the Tennis Federation of Armenia.

The Billie Jean King Cup is a tournament for national teams in women’s tennis.

In singles matches, Ani Amiraghyan (6–0, 6–0) and Elina Avanesyan (6–3, 6–2) secured victories, while in doubles, Maria Azizyan and Alina Soghomonyan won 6–2, 6–1.

Meanwhile, in the second round of the Davis Cup Europe Zone Group IV competition taking place in the Armenian resort town of Tsaghkadzor, Armenia’s team defeated San Marino 2–1.

In the Armenian team, David Poghosyan won his singles match, Avetik Ghazaryan suffered an injury, and Samvel Aghayan and Mikael Avanesyan secured the doubles victory.

The Davis Cup is the premier international team competition in men’s tennis. The Europe Zone Group IV matches are taking place in Armenia.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.15 drams to 368.06 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.65 drams to 426.84 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.0438 drams to 5.0357 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.76 drams to 493.64 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 251 drams to 51307 drams. Silver price down by 4.06 drams to 832.78 drams.

Thales and BooTech press release

Thales and BooTech have announced a new industrial partnership designed to strengthen strategic cooperation and enhance regional security. The partnership positions BooTech as an industrial collaborator in the field of battlefield management systems, tactical communication, cybersecurity, and more.

Through this collaboration, Thales will share its manufacturing expertise, while BooTech will contribute its integration and networking capabilities. Founded in 2019, BooTech develops digital systems for command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance on the modern battlefield, aiming to connect existing and next-generation platforms to improve operational speed and efficiency while reducing costs. The partnership’s goal is to deliver interoperable solutions that bridge multi-domain operations and create skilled jobs within Armenia.

“Thales’s global industrial scale paired with BooTech’s integration talent will accelerate the delivery of joint capabilities to armed forces in Armenia and worldwide,” said Marc Darmon, Senior Vice President for Europe, Thales. “This collaboration supports European security in light of Armenia’s growing rapprochement with the alliance and ensures that investments benefit both nations’ economies and peoples.”

“BooTech’s recognition as an industrial partner is a vote of confidence,” commented BooTech CEO Ashot Ghukasyan. “Together we are building a sovereign defence industry that strengthens regional stability and advances our technological self-reliance.”

The partnership demonstrates the continued growth of French-Armenian strategic cooperation and highlights the impact of business engagement in deepening ties between the two countries in defense, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.

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About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services helps address several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability, and inclusion. The Group allocates €4.5 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Quantum and Cloud technologies. Thales has more than 85,000 employees in 65 countries. In 2025, the Group generated sales of €22.1 billion.

About BooTech

BooTech is an Armenian defense technology company providing advanced C2/C4ISR digital solutions that integrate existing and next-generation systems into network-enabled battlefield management platforms. BooTech’s solutions create a comprehensive common operational picture, enabling multi-domain operations and supporting faster, more efficient, and better-informed mission execution. A key integrator of the Armenian Armed Forces, BooTech is a Thales key industrial partner in Armenia and collaborates with leading global defense companies to deliver interoperable systems that bridge legacy and modern capabilities. With thousands of active users across services and proven performance in operational environments, BooTech contributes to enhanced mission effectiveness, regional security, and peace.

A regular meeting of the North-South Road Corridor Programme Management Council was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, participants discussed issues related to the construction of the 7-kilometre Kajaran tunnel and the reconstruction of an approximately 4-kilometre access road leading to the tunnel.

The council reviewed the results of the evaluation of financial proposals submitted under an international tender for technical supervision services for the Kajaran tunnel construction project.

Members also considered the first-stage results of tender procedures for the procurement of consultancy services for a project management consultant and technical supervision services for the construction of a 27-kilometre section of the 60-kilometre Sisian-Kajaran road project.

The agenda also included discussions on the expert examination process for the Bargushat tunnel construction project.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Khachatryan stressed the importance of implementing the planned work in line with the outcomes of the discussions and issued relevant instructions to the responsible authorities.