yesterday we wrote that the RA Investigative Committee does not have “up-to-date” data on desertion during the 44-day war.

Has anything changed in the RA General Prosecutor’s Office data in the last year? On April 1 168.amhas also sent a written request to the RA General Prosecutor’s Office to get the answer to these questions.

1. During the 44-day war of 2020, between September 27 and November 9, how many cases of desertion were there, i.e., how many cases were initiated against how many people?

2. How many of the deserters in the 44-day war were from the regular army, how many from the reservists, volunteers?

3. Were there cases of desertion from the National Security Service and the Police during the 44-day war and how many cases?

In response to these questions, the General Prosecutor’s Office states in its reply.

“In response to your 2026 of the first point of April 1, we inform you that December 25, 2025 inclusive, according to Article 361, Part 7 of the Criminal Code (adopted on April 18, 2003) (voluntarily leaving the military unit or place of service), with part 3 of Article 362 (defection) and part 3 of Article 364 (refusing to perform military service duties) articles was initiated 1786 criminal proceedings 10.687 to the person. 486 criminal case 655 was sent to the court with an indictment on the person. A guilty verdict was reached 410 about the person.

Regarding the 2nd and 3rd points of the survey, we inform you that separate accounting is not carried out.”

And in June 2025, the RA General Prosecutor’s Office provided us with this data.

“In the service area of ​​the RA Military Prosecutor’s Office during the period of the 44-day war of 2020 and the declared martial law (from September 27, 2020 to March 24, 2021) in accordance with Article 361, Part 7 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia adopted on April 18, 2003 (voluntarily leaving the military unit or place of service), According to part 3 of Article 362 (defection) and part 3 of Article 364 (refusal to perform military service duties), as well as with criminal proceedings initiated by a combination of the mentioned articles As of May 1, 2025 an investigation is being carried out in the pre-trial proceedings 8240 regarding persons. 

Committed crimes provided for in the mentioned articles 352 guilty verdicts have been passed on the persons”.

Let us add that at the same time, the RA Investigative Committee informed us that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, in cases of crimes against military service in the divisions of the Main Military Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 or more servicemen. The picture was the same in 2025.

And even if there is a certain change in the data of the prosecutor’s office in the last year, in any case, almost 6 years after the 2020 war, there is no evidence of the desertion of 11,000 or more people confirmed by the court.

Moreover, the relevant authorities are reluctant to make clear claims about how many cases of desertion there have been among regular army soldiers.

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The logic of periodic dismissals of high-ranking officials is directly related to the illogical flow of cases and events that we have been witnessing in recent years.

In other words, all this is in a logical chain of illogical, defeatist processes leading to the abyss.

Details in the video

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In the context of the election struggle, Nikol Pashinyan is trying to convince that if he and his political force do not win, there will be a war, and his political opponents counter that he is the one who brought the war, and that they will not cancel the TRIPP project if they come to power, it is another question that it is possible that different guarantors will be included, certain risky moments will be neutralized.

Moreover, Pashinyan’s opponents are ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, to restore the occupied territories of Armenia only through negotiations, but not to change the constitution under the compulsion of Azerbaijan, which is one of Baku’s main conditions for signing the final peace agreement today. And Nikol Pashinyan takes this circumstance into account, but in no way wants to give up the title of peacemaker.

Մարտի 20-ին ֆեյսբուքյան ուղիղ եթերի ժամանակ, ըստ էության, առաջին անգամ Փաշինյանը խոսել է իր կողմից բանակցված փաստաթղթի հնարավոր փոփոխության մասին, ինչը ևս համարել է պատերազմաբեր:

“Even if we go with the most optimistic forecast to reopen the established peace, means to create an opportunity to transform all the content that we finally fixed as a result of the negotiation process. On a theoretical level, we can consider that this content can become better, but on the same theoretical level, this content can become worse. But it is much more likely that this content can completely collapse. As this simple, most neutral statistical enumeration shows, it is two against one. There is one chance that the content can get better, and there are two chances that the content can get worse. In either case, the logic of development leads to war. We must record this very clearly,” Pashinyan stated.

Can we say that for Pashinyan it is not so much peace and its establishment that is important, but that it is through his hands that which Pashinyan considers to be established on the one hand, and vulnerable on the other hand. Various circles close to the Azerbaijani authorities also are of the opinion that, yes, the peace agenda is established, but it is not irreversible, and a lot depends on the outcome of the Armenian National Assembly elections.

And the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Tofik Zulfugarov, does not attribute the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan only to the person of Pashinyan.

In recent days he has several interview gave In particular, vesti.azZulfugarov said in a conversation with

“And when we start asking who is the most beneficial for us, to be honest, I don’t quite understand why we need it. Yes, we have to monitor the situation, work with the whole political spectrum and neutralize any potential risks, that’s obvious. But I am not ready to say whether Pashinyan is better or Kocharyan is better. Even if we imagine that Kocharyan comes to power, and what will fundamentally change it, what will they start a war with us, with what forces, what resources, how will they take Karabakh, they do not have such an opportunity. And Russia is not going to do it for them, as it was in the early 90s.”

Here it is clear: on the one hand, the former minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan is showing “political arrogance” that Azerbaijan did not leave a chance for Armenia to go for revanchism or a space for such steps, on the other hand, Zulfugarov negates Pashinyan’s claims that the establishment of Yerevan-Baku peace is due solely to him. Although the question is whether under a different government they can think about the realization of long-term goals related to Syunik.

However, in this context, the Azerbaijani politician considered it necessary to emphasize that ensuring unhindered communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan remains an important issue for Baku.

“We accept that Zangezur is currently de facto under the control of Azerbaijan. And if Armenia does not provide the necessary conditions and communications, Azerbaijan, considering this as its key geopolitical issue, will continue to strive for the implementation of the “Zangezur Corridor”, whether it will be within the framework of the TRIPP project, the document of November 10, or within the framework of any other format, that is, the question remains open.– emphasized Zulfugarov, essentially proving that Syunik considers Baku de jure its own, and that the TRIPP project is an Armenian-American document in which Baku is not a direct party, but has a decisive say in the process of its implementation. In the mentioned interview, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan alluded to this. Moreover, he made it clear that Baku did not back down from the “Western Azerbaijan” political plan either. In other words, it is Azerbaijan that maintains the grounds for provoking a war, which Pashinyan does not try to see in any way.

And Zulfugarov did not ignore the Pashinyan-Putin meeting and its results either, noting that he witnessed a “professional staged theater”, and a bilateral one at that. According to him, Pashinyan went to get support from Russia before the RA NA elections, and that, by and large, he meets the main demands of Russia, which are presented to Armenia.

“Putin knew very well about Samvel Karapetyan’s dual citizenship, as for “Russia’s official friend, friend” Robert Kocharyan, the Russian side has a serious dissatisfaction with him for a long time, especially if we remember the events in the RA parliament (he means October 27 – M.P.). Since then, he has lost his previous level of trust… Pashinyan, with his current relationship with Russia, will be elected and continue the course he has been on for 8 years, sitting on two chairs,” predicted Zulfugarov, implying that Pashinyan remains under Russian influence.

Maybe there is an element of truth here, on the other hand, we should not forget that Russia and the CSTO do not forget Pashinyan’s decision to recall CSTO General Secretary Yuri Khachaturov, which faced difficult problems for the organization. And Baku proves through a former official that it is important for him to establish peace not only with Pashinyan, but also with RA, Armenian society.

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168TV-in: “Trigger” the guest of the program Darya Saprinskaya, researcher at the Central Asia and Caucasus Research Laboratory of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences is:

The topics of discussion were the regional situation, the confrontation between Iran, Israel and the USA and its possible consequences, the logistics processes in the South Caucasus, the role and influence of the Central Asian countries, as well as their juxtaposition with the South Caucasus, including the following question: is Central Asia a subject of world politics and the South Caucasus an object, and to what extent are the reforms of the Central Asian countries actually transforming the system, rather than simply adapting it to new conditions?

Hayk Derzyan

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The issue of the participation of the Republican Party of Armenia in the National Assembly elections was discussed for a long time in the RPA Executive Body, for more than a month, and in the end, with many pros and cons, a decision was made not to directly participate in the upcoming elections. About this 168TVof Revue mentioned on the air of the program Gagik Minasyan, member of the RPA Executive Bodyspeaking about the 18th congress of the RPA held last Saturday.

According to Gagik Minasyan, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, with this decision, the RPA has taken a big step forward in the direction of solving all the problems facing Armenian statehood, perhaps leaving the internal party interests behind.

“Unfortunately, it was a reality that there was a rather unpleasant negative conflict between the parties in the opposition field, which would inevitably affect the combined actions of the common front, which should be able to remove this evil power, and we do not participate in practice, that is, our name will not be on the list of parties and alliances participating in the elections, believe that this negative phenomenon either disappears or can no longer have its effect,” explained Gagik. Minasyan.

Minasyan also adds that according to numerous polls, the electorate of the Republican Party will give 100% of its votes to this or that opposition force and will not give it to the ruling party, CP, under any circumstances.

“And it is very important that the electorate of our party is highly politicized, and it is impossible to imagine that they stay at home and do not go to the polls, and this has been demonstrated in the last 7-8 years, on the way of the implacable struggle with this evil government. Not participating in the actual elections, we will continue our actions, we will support the forces that will be on the electoral lists in all pre-election stages, but in addition, we will also carry out consistent work so that what we all fear so much does not happen. it is the gross violations not foreseen by this evil government, not only before the elections, but also during the electoral process itself. We will invest all our resources in order to neutralize that possibility as much as possible, both through street fighting and other methods,” emphasizes the former member of the National Assembly.

And Gagik Minasyan highly appreciates the possibilities of getting rid of the “authority of evil”, analyzing the results of the latest Gallup survey.

The Republican figure urges all voters, and especially the opposition electorate, to definitely go to the June 7 elections, stressing that the lower the number of voting participants, the greater the percentage of votes for the “power of evil”, therefore, the first priority is to increase the number of voters.

The interlocutor emphasizes that the data of the latest Gallup poll and many previous polls confirm the same fact that the combined number of percentages of the first three opposition forces, in this case, “Strong Armenia”, “Armenia Alliance”, “Prosperous Armenia” is much higher than the percentage of CP.

“This is a fundamental and hope-inspiring fact that even if it remains like this, and I am sure that the percentages of the opposition will increase more and more during the remaining two months, and the chances of getting rid of evil are very, very high, and our voters should definitely take this fact into account and be full of hope that the solution to the big problem of driving evil aside is realistic,” Gagik Minasyan thinks.

In the context of the pre-election processes, referring to the Putin-Pashinyan that took place a week ago in Moscow meeting Gagik Minasyan expressed his opinion that the speech of the President of the Russian Federation, which slightly deviated from the standard diplomatic protocol, stemmed from the realities that exist in the Armenian-Russian bilateral relations and the Armenian election processes.

“If there are gross violations of electoral processes during pre-election processes, then these violations can lead to the reproduction of evil power in Armenia, and this will cause problems in Armenian-Russian relations. I think that, from that point of view, Russia’s approaches to the prevention of these negative problems can have a significant impact on both the positive development of Armenian-Russian relations and the development of Armenia’s internal political processes, because it would be illogical to leave the most powerful opposition political force out of the competition. It can be a step that has nothing to do with democracy at all,” says Gagik Minasyan.

Let’s remind that last week the RPA announced that it will not participate in the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, 2026, according to the decision of the Executive Body. On April 4, the 18th congress of the RPA took place, at which the third president of the Republic of Armenia, the president of the RPA, Serzh Sargsyan, announced that the RPA will not directly participate in the elections, but will remain one of the pioneers of the struggle against this government.

Full interview in the video.

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Satik Seyranyan’s guest in “Pressing” program is Turkologist, doctor of historical sciences, professor Ruben Melkonyan is

The main points of the interview are below.

• In the 21st century, we live in an era of post-truth or metamodernism, and wars and victories also fit into this context. Even before this war, the negotiations were proceeding normally, they did not reach a deadlock, but the war started. With this war, Iran broke stereotypes, and when the whole world said that Iran would collapse in a few days, Iran proved that Iranian civilization gave birth to a political system, and today’s Iran is a state like a stump, whose roots go back centuries. Iranian society also became united, rallies and disagreements were left behind, religious leaders were ready for martyrdom. The state, under sanctions for decades, did not collapse.

• Iran’s red lines went into effect and it began striking American strategic targets in the region. There was no blitz-war, no internal collapse of Iran, no Iranian capitulation: 

• In all wars in the 21st century, the sides say we won. Even after the 44-day war, where we unfortunately lost, after some time Nikol Pashinyan announced that we won and gained independence and a state. In this case, America declares that it won, Iran says that it is the winner. I can say that Iran suffered unspeakable great losses, but entered the negotiation field with a better position, the Iranian state had gains. Iran has proven that it can go up against the world’s number one superpower, plus Israel, proving that its dignity is non-negotiable. Iran struck and American bases and Israeli cities, shattering their image of being unhittable. In fact, it was also recorded that the control of the Strait of Hormuz is given to Iran, and today the world is fighting for the control of the corridors.

• How can one gleefully announce the destruction of a centuries-old civilization, or kill an 86-year-old spiritual leader with a minor granddaughter, and announce it with hilarious dance moves, as Trump did? The time will come when eccentric leaders will be replaced by non-eccentric leaders. It was only after the intervention of the no-eccentric Vance that the current truce became possible. It is in the interests of world peace that the era of rule by eccentric leaders end.

• This truce is definitely fragile because America’s and Israel’s motives are not entirely satisfied, if not in many cases, failed. The Iranian lesson was an instructive lesson for our region. This is the style of Eastern politics, not what the Armenian authorities are showing, recognizing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan 78 times, in numbers and centimeters.

• Iran also says that this ceasefire does not mean that America is already a friend, and Iran will never forget what the US and Israel did. If the Iranian image is winning, the myth of Israeli invincibility has been shaken, and Israel now has a negative image curve.

• Vance stood up for American interests, not against anyone. During these war days, Vance was inactive, sometimes unavailable to the press, meaning that Vance did not agree with what was happening in Iran.:

• For the comfortable American society, it is unclear why their soldiers should die in the Middle East. This dissatisfaction is also manifested in the state apparatus. We are now seeing culpability in the US as well as loud resignations.

• Not listening to narrow experts, American politics has entered into this adventure and now has to take a step back to save face.

• If Iran has lost, as Trump says, then how does Iran present preconditions for negotiations?

• A dignified death… when they are martyred for the sake of the motherland, for the sake of values… It is also known from our history that our kings and generals also suffered when death did not reach the horse’s saddle… “Known death” is characteristic of our region, the eastern civilization. This is how the Iranian leaders were martyred. For them, it was a matter of dignity not to hide in bunkers, hiding places. Ali Larijani, in addition to the positions he held, was a doctor of philosophy. That is, you kill a person with whom it was possible to negotiate. You accept the proven terrorist president of Syria, but you consider Dr. Larijani a terrorist and decide to definitely kill him:

• The loss of Iran’s spiritual leader is very great, but the state pyramid does not collapse with his death, the same in the case of Larijani and other generals. In other words, the state builds its security on several foundations. In Iran, as it was in medieval France, when they said, “The king is dead, long live the king,” referring to the new king and the replacements of other key figures, the same mentality prevails. 

When the Iranian Foreign Minister was asked if he is not afraid that they will kill you, he said: let them kill me, not me, there are 5 candidates for Foreign Minister, one will be. And Nikol Pashinyan says, “If it’s not me, Armenia will not have a prime minister, there will be a war.” with this, Nikol Pashinyan says: this is not a state, it is a party. The contrast is obvious:

• I don’t know whether Trump has changed his WhatsApp number or not because of this war. They linked state security to Trump’s phone number. You can’t associate the security of your state with a person. And if Trump is impeached tomorrow, what will happen?

• One cannot deceive the Iranian state and say: you know, this is not “Zangezur Corridor”, it is TRIPP. What, some people think, will Iran allow some American military organization to come and establish influence on 42 km in its south?

• In the case of TRIPP, the image of Trump as the bringer of peace was greatly exaggerated. With this war he crushed that mentality. What kind of peacemaker is it, if Trump can kill hundreds of girls and not feel bad about it, be happy…

• The “call center” problem is part of my specialty. The book we authored is available, they could read it. And if after reading it they say “Zangezur Corridor” is not a problem and is a guarantee of peace, then they do not realize the depth of the issue. A scientist is not obliged to listen to politicians, but politicians are obliged to listen to scientists, will it be Trump or any of the government or opposition politicians of Armenia? Therefore, I would recommend that if they don’t know the subject in depth, at least they don’t talk about it. 

• I followed the speech of the 3rd President Serzh Sargsyan at the RPA congress and I can’t help but notice that the emphasis on TRIPP, “Zangezur Corridor” in the speech was filled with both political experience and the correct combination of objective facts. Something was being said that no scientist can say is wrong. However, the political field of Armenia is rich with politicians who can use their experience and knowledge to serve the interests of the state, but unfortunately, today they are not the ones who decide the issues of the state. Objectively, there are few like them. There are Armenians in the RPA, people with Armenian political experience. No need to mix wet with dry. I looked with deep respect at the speeches given at the congress on how to give such accurate assessments of the issues related to the state:

• If we look at the evaluation of some opposition forces regarding TRIPP, if you don’t read their name below, you will know that it is CP.

• Going to peace does not mean forgetting your history at all. This government mixes two different things: peace and historical memory. We are a friendly country with Iran, that means we should not talk about the battle of Avarayr, should we remove the statue of Vardan Mamikonian? This is what Nikol Pashinyan is doing today, saying: forget Artsakh so that there is no war:

• Nikol Pashinyan says: let’s stop the genocide race. This appeal is not addressed to Turks or Azerbaijanis, but to our public. This is unfortunate. Let me say something grotesque, it can reach him, they say: if we say: Armenian Genocide, Artsakh, Sumgait, Baku massacres, then Azerbaijan can also say: 1918 genocide, so let’s not say it, so that they don’t say it either…

• In big politics, gossip and false heroism have dire consequences. We have seen the interactions of our 3 victorious presidents with their Russian and American counterparts, but we have never seen anything like this, because if your country is going to be in a difficult situation because of your brazen speech for 5 minutes, then your behavior is not right. Naturally, I cannot be happy about the hints and actions already taken by the Russian president or the state elite, but the slaps of big states are usually painful for the people of those countries. I’m not talking about being scared, but if you’re such a brave figure, once behave like this show in the meetings with Ilham Aliyev, during which he behaves poorly.

• Our public’s displeasure with CSTO is related to not reacting in any way during the Azerbaijani attacks on Syunik and Jermuk. Nikol Pashinyan was only required to tell Putin that.

• If, as a result of Nikol Pashinyan’s baseless propaganda, RA citizens have to suffer with the increase in gas prices, for example, then let them remember that when the lights go out in Europe, the sales of antidepressants go up… Are our people ready for such sacrifices? Remember what happened during the Russo-Georgian war, when Saakashvili was chewing his tie because the Russians approached Tbilisi and the Western partners did not support in any way? And what I’m saying is not at all about giving up dignity.

• CP is consistent and hateful against internal enemies alone. There is no such consistency in foreign policy. CP is honest in this regard and our society should take serious consequences. With his published program, he says: whoever elected me on June 7, know that you are voting to go against the Holy Father and the Church. The removal of the Catholicos is part of their pre-election program, and the people should know this clearly. By voting for Pashinyan, you are voting against our church, Armenian identity and the Church. This is what Turkey wants. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the institutional enemy of the Turkish state, and this has been proven:

To remind: Nikol Pashinyan, who encourages and propagandizes sectarian organizations, will continue the campaign of attacks against the Armenian Apostolic Church and His Holiness the Patriarch. A few days ago, CP presented its pre-election program, road map, by which it announced that it will continue its anti-church steps if elected on June 7.

Here are the steps of the “Civil Agreement” party’s anti-church program.

a) Removal of the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (retirement title),

b) Election of the Catholicos deputy in accordance with the established procedure,

c) Adoption of the Charter of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church․ The charter should establish structures for maintaining the established principles, ensuring financial transparency and the good behavior of the clergy.

d) Election of the Catholicos of All Armenians in accordance with the established procedure. 

Details in the video.

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