Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan commented on attempts to identify his episode expert cooperation with the Armenian special services with the alleged activities of Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan, an agent of the USSR KGB.

The head of the foreign policy department emphasized the fundamental difference between supporting one’s own state and serving the special services of the vanished empire.

On March 23, in a conversation with journalists, the RA Foreign Minister referred to this topic, which received public resonance, pointing out the obvious political context of such questions. Answering the question whether he is considered an agent of the National Security Service, Mirzoyan flatly denied such a wording.

The minister clarified that at one time the RA NSS turned to him exclusively as a field expert in order to receive advisory support on a very specific and weighty issue. Being an active opposition figure, Mirzoyan nevertheless agreed to help, being guided by state rather than narrow party interests.

According to him, it referred to the security and state institutions of the Republic of Armenia, not the authorities of the day. That cooperation was short-lived, and the diplomat himself never hid that fact.

Explaining the difference between the statuses of an expert and an agent, the minister emphasized that an agent is a recruited person who unconditionally fulfills various assignments of the relevant structure. Mirzoyan considered it inappropriate to draw parallels between the citizen who tried to be useful for the national security of his independent country in a difficult situation, and the person who was an agent of the special services of an entire empire.

Reference: At the end of 2025, the RA government and the NSS published archival documents, according to which Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan, leader of the Armenian Diocese of Russia and Nor Nakhichevan (Catholic of All Armenians Garegin B brother) was recruited by the KGB of the USSR under the operational code name “Karon” in the 1980s. The archbishop himself categorically denied those accusations, calling the documents fake.

Earlier, in 2021, political opponents Ararat Mirzoyan were accused of secretly cooperating with the RA NSS under the code name “Omega”. At that time, Mirzoyan confirmed the fact of contact with the special services in 2007, but emphasized that he interacted with them exclusively as a scientist-researcher in order to protect the country’s national interests.

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The ongoing military conflict around Iran makes the implementation of the TRIPP transit corridor through the territory of Armenia, promoted by Washington, impossible and pointless. Former RA Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador to China Sergey Manasaryan expressed a similar opinion on NEWS.am’s “Strength Factor” program, warning Yerevan about the danger of getting involved in a new escalation.

According to an experienced diplomat, due to the war that has started, the issue of creating the “Trump Path” (TRIPP) is finally closed. Manasaryan emphasized that this confrontation can have only two ways out, and none of them leave a chance for the transit project. In the event of the defeat of Iran and the victory of the USA, Washington will no longer need to build a complex 50-kilometer road through the heavy relief of the Armenian Syunik, because the entire territory of Iran will be at their disposal. In the opposite scenario, if the United States cannot win and leave the conflict, Tehran, maintaining its positions, will simply not allow such a pro-American highway to be built near its northern borders.

Referring to the regional geopolitical consequences, the former deputy minister expressed his belief that the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, is now forced to pay off debts in exchange for the help he received from Israel in solving the Artsakh issue. For this reason, Baku will do everything to open a new front against the Islamic Republic. According to Manasaryan, such a scenario contains a huge danger. military operations can most likely be transferred to the territory of Armenia, even if Yerevan tries in every way to maintain neutrality and avoid bloodshed.

Let’s remind that the TRIPP (Trump Path for International Peace and Prosperity) project is a logistics corridor initiated by the USA through the south of Armenia, which is meant to connect the main part of Azerbaijan with the Nakhichevan autonomy. According to the Armenian-American framework agreements announced in 2026, the exclusive rights to build and manage the infrastructure for a period of 49 to 99 years should be transferred to a special consortium operating under the auspices of the United States.

The Armenian opposition strongly and uncompromisingly criticizes this plan. Political opponents declare that TRIPP is actually a disguised form of the extraterritorial “Zangezur Corridor”, the opening of which Baku has been striving for many years. Critics emphasize that handing over the strategic route to the foreign American administration deals a heavy blow to Armenia’s state sovereignty in the Syunik region, as well as geopolitically endangers the vitally important land border with Iran, threatening to isolate the country from its traditional southern neighbor for good.

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US President Donald Trump has decided to postpone the destructive strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days. This sudden cessation of military operations is due to the constructive contacts between Washington and Tehran, which provide a chance for a diplomatic settlement of the crisis.

Yesterday, the head of the White House issued a tough ultimatum, giving Iran exactly 48 hours to completely unblock the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping. In case of rejection, Washington threatened to completely destroy the power plants and key energy facilities of the Islamic Republic. However, tense rhetoric was replaced by diplomatic maneuvers. On his page of the Truth Social network, Trump said that over the past two days, the parties managed to hold deep and detailed discussions.

According to the US president, the negotiations are aimed at a comprehensive resolution of the conflict in the Middle East. Based on the positive tone of those talks, which are set to continue this week, Trump has officially ordered the military to suspend preparations for the strikes for the next five days.

Let’s remind that the unprecedented military escalation in the region started on February 28, with the large-scale attack of the USA and Israel on Iranian territory. On the very first day of the operation, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah was killed Ali Khamenei։

In response to the coalition’s actions, Tehran completely closed the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and began to launch periodic missile attacks on the American military bases located in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, as well as on the territory of Israel. At the same time, the Israeli army expanded the conflict zone, conducting active military operations against Lebanese targets.

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Yerevan’s famous Press building is expected to undergo a large-scale reconstruction. RA State Property Management Committee and “PROSPECT24” company have announced an exclusive project to transform the structure of historical and cultural value into a modern premium multi-functional complex, promising to preserve its architectural originality.

The concept of large-scale renewal will be officially presented within the framework of the large real estate exhibition “House Expo”. As the organizers of the event inform, the project implies not only comprehensive modernization of the building, but also a complete change of its purpose. A premium class modern center will appear in the place of the former editorial offices, moreover, the authors of the initiative assure that special attention will be paid to the recognition of the structure and the undisturbed preservation of the historical and cultural value.

Ahead of the expected reconstruction, the state agency is inviting potential investors to cooperate. Companies interested in the hotel business and large-scale construction projects will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the renovation concept and evaluate the investment potential of the object at the booth of the State Property Management Committee located at the exhibition.

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A unified customs and logistics center will be created near the capital of Armenia, which is meant to radically simplify export and import operations. This large-scale infrastructure project worth 45 million euros will be implemented with the financial support of European partners.

Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Eduard Hakobyan in other words, the current system of customs administration remains decentralized, which inevitably complicates and delays the process of cargo formalization. The new complex will combine the functions of not only customs services, but also other state bodies involved in foreign trade on a single platform.

This will allow to significantly reduce the time spent on bureaucratic procedures, increase the efficiency of control and improve the business environment. In addition, the project will solve the acute problem of lack of infrastructure, including modern laboratories necessary for product examination.

The facility of strategic importance is planned to be built in the suburbs of Yerevan, near the “North-South” highway.

Such deployment will significantly increase the capacity of the customs system and strengthen the overall logistics potential of the country. The financing of the ambitious project is provided by the European institutions. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide 39 million euros in loan funds, and another 6 million euros will be provided by the European Union as a grant.

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Iveta Tonoyan referred to the publication entitled “Gagik Tsarukyan and Mihran Poghosyan were unable to come to an end”, describing it as having nothing to do with reality.

He noted that this is one of the rare cases that there is no truthful or factual information in the complete material. Also, to describe as surprising the fact that the journalist, who considers himself a professional, “tried to turn a simple gossip into a highly reliable and unquestionable truth”.

“It is doubly regrettable that the latter did not even make the slightest attempt to verify this “information”, which he always had the opportunity to do and had in this case as well.

I assure all my colleagues in the media that I am always ready to provide exhaustive and accurate information in order to avoid publications of such quality in the future,” Iveta Tonoyan wrote.

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