July 16, 2026
The situation in the Middle East has reached a dangerous stage of escalation, where the events of the past days threaten to finally destroy the diplomatic agreements reached on June 17.
The ongoing military clashes between the US and Iran, expressed by a limited but painful chain of strikes, prove that the “fragile status quo” formed between the parties does not cope with regional challenges. US President Donald Trump threatens to attack Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not negotiate with Washington.
“I’ll leave the energy targets for last, but eventually we’ll hit the energy infrastructure,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News, adding that next week will be very bad for them, because next week it’s the power plants’ turn, and next week it’s the bridges’ turn. The US president threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants “if they don’t sit around the table and negotiate”.
On the instructions of Trump, the United States restored the blockade of Iranian ports and carried out airstrikes on the territory of the country for the fifth night in a row.
According to Iranian state media, the port city of Bandar Abbas, as well as the southwestern cities of Howeizeh and the southern cities of Sirik, were hit. “More than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of warplanes are operating in the Middle East,” the US Army’s Central Command informed.
The Central Command reported that the seven-hour long strikes on Iran were concluded: fighter jets, drones and warships were used against dozens of Iranian military targets and coastal facilities.
In parallel, the US allies in the region were once again the target of Iran, and the IRPC declares that the strait will remain closed “until the end of America’s misdeeds”.
According to the Iranian state media, the Iranian armed forces have announced that they have targeted the American facilities located in the Jordanian Azraq Air Base for the second time.
Jordan reported that it had shot down three Iranian ballistic missiles that invaded the country’s territory. The Kuwaiti army, for its part, has announced that it is trying to push back the Iranian drones. American military facilities were also targeted in Bahrain, an air alert was declared. It is announced from Tehran that traffic through the strait will be cleared “when stability and tranquility are restored”.
It should be recalled that US President Donald Trump announced on July 10 that the US agreed to negotiate with Iran, after Tehran requested to continue the negotiations. Trump added that the ceasefire between the two countries “has ended”. “Iran has asked us to continue the “negotiations”. We agreed to do this, but the United States has clearly stated that the ceasefire is over,” President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
And even earlier than that, he announced that he no longer sees the point of continuing negotiations with Tehran, after the skirmishes between the USA and Iran. Describing the Iranian authorities as “insidious” and “crazy”, the US president claimed that the cease-fire reached with Tehran has already ended.
Russian analyst Vladimir Yevseyev considers that the situation in the Middle East has reached such a geopolitical milestone, where the boundaries of the diplomatic and military tools have become dangerously uncertain, and the dynamics of the conflict have gone beyond the scope of manageability.
According to him, the parties, having a low level of trust in each other, understanding each other’s intentions, try to preserve the positional advantage with minimal losses.
According to Yevseyev, in this stalemate, where each new strike is equivalent to the next larger escalation, no visible way out, stable settlement is indicated, because the crisis of confidence and the nature of one’s own agendas do not provide an opportunity to get out of the intensifying cycle of mutual threats.
He believes that this chain of escalation will most likely maintain its inertia until one of the parties faces an internal socio-economic or strategic situation that will force the cessation of hostilities.
“Currently, neither Washington nor Tehran is ready to back down at the expense of their reputation, which means that in the coming weeks we will witness a similar situation, where the intensity of strikes will vary depending on local tactical successes, and the actual cessation of the conflict will depend not on the efforts of the mediators, but on the decisions of the parties. Maybe the pre-election situation in the USA will also reflect on the dynamics of the situation, reflecting on the decisions made by Tehran and Washington.” 168.amYevseev said in an interview with
It is noteworthy that, parallel to all this, the Armenian government will approve the law on the ratification of the framework agreement on strategic cooperation between Armenia and the United States on TRIPP.
After the approval of the government, it will be discussed in the Constitutional Court in order to determine the constitutionality of the agreement, and then it will be submitted to the parliament for ratification.
Let’s remind that this TRIPP agreement was initialed during the US Secretary of State’s short visit to Yerevan, and the final signing took place on June 4.
The Armenian side is taking interested steps to implement the project as soon as possible, but the geopolitical and military situation in the immediate vicinity of Armenia does not calm down with the participation of the USA, directly affecting the pace of implementation of TRIPP, as well as the decisions of the USA. Therefore, the ongoing military-political escalation in the neighborhood deepens the uncertainties regarding the implementation of the TRIPP project.
By the way, the British The Guardian wrote that Konstantin Sokolov will be appointed the head of the TRIPP trade project passing through Armenia. “Russian-born, Chicago-based private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov will chair the State Department’s new venture fund, which will oversee more than $200 million in investment in the Central Asian trade corridor, including investments in transportation, energy infrastructure and key minerals,” the authoritative newspaper wrote, adding that Sokolov has not previously held government positions.
The newspaper reminded that Sokolov is one of the 36 donors who allocated funds for the renovation of the luxurious ballroom of the White House of US President Donald Trump. This project is estimated at 350 million dollars. The amount of Konstantin Sokolov’s donation is not known, the latter refused The Guardian’s request for an interview.
It should also be noted that Sokolov is known in Armenia as the co-owner of Viva Armenia, one of the largest communication operators in Armenia. “Viva Armenia” recently acquired the shares of another operator, “RosTelecom”.
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Important positions in the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces have again remained vacant, why?
July 16, 2026
Since July 1, the 3rd Army Corps of the RA Armed Forces has not had a commander, who is responsible for the defense of the areas under the army’s control in the northeastern border zone. And in Tavush, the second stage of the border demarcation process is still expected, as a result of which it is not yet known how many positions will be taken from the armed forces and will either be given to the Azerbaijani side, or will be handed over to the protection of the border guard troops of the National Security Service.
By the way, earlier we wrote that Pashinyan has decided to take the fortified regions from the army, which Suren Papikyan is so proud of.
And since July 1, the Special Forces, which was formed two years ago, does not have a commander. In November 2024, he was the commander of the Special Forces. appointed Levon Davidyan, who was released from his position on July 1 of this year. The current government, RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan was particularly proud of the fact that there were no Special Purpose Forces as a separate military unit before, and it was during their time that it was formed, but now and then, the post of Special Purpose Forces Commander has been vacant for more than two weeks.
In March 2025, we we wrote that Azerbaijan considers the degree of armament of the special purpose unit of the RA Armed Forces to be a threat. In particular, caliber.az, which is close to the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, had an article to publish where they expressed dissatisfaction with the level of armament of the special purpose units of the RA Armed Forces and saw a danger in it, from modern video surveillance devices to sniper rifles, who noticed the training of the “Zinuj” special purpose unit in the report.
And this is when Aliyev after 44 days had announced, that he sees the strengthening of the country’s armed forces in the logic of the vision of the development of the special forces, therefore the strengthening of these forces should be on the permanent security agenda of the country, so it was no coincidence that after the 2020 war, the commander of the Special Forces of Azerbaijan, Lieutenant General Hikmet Mirzoyev the designation In the post of the commander of the ground forces – Deputy Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. During these years, Aliyev increased the number of “Commando” special forces units, which are constantly in training and exercises.
According to Aliyev’s decision, Azerbaijan will participate in the parade dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War in 2025. represented “Commando” is a group of special forces soldiers.
Continuing the topic, we should add that since July 1, the Department of Armaments and Technical Support of the Ministry of Defense has no head. We can make different assumptions as to what is the reason for the mentioned important positions to be vacant for more than two weeks. And this personnel episode related to the army is nothing new in the case of Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
Reminder: when on February 24, 2022 Artak Davtyan after the second appointment released For a long time, we had an acting head of the RA Armed Forces General Staff in the person of Kamo Kochuntsi: And various experts and ex-military men said that there are certain differences between the powers of the head of the General Staff and the acting head, and it cannot be considered that the position is not vacant. Naturally, the authorities did not agree, but there was a case when Kamo Kochunts, acting head of the State Security Council, did not participate.
And that’s when we wrote that the head of the General Assembly, Akh is considered a member and if the authorities claim that there is no difference between the acting head of the General Staff of the General Staff and the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, then Kamo Kochunts, the acting chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, should have been present in some form. Moreover, in addition to Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Procurement Karen Brutyan participated in that session held in May 2022.
And until there is a suitable candidate for the head of the General Assembly, the power of Nikol Pashinyan decision is to introduce a change in the army management model and make the head of the General Staff the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, which, however, is unconstitutional, because the current RA of the Constitution according to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is the direct commander of the armed forces and is the highest military official of the armed forces.
At the same time, the government decided that the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces will not be the official replacing the minister. Anyway, on July 14, 2022 Edward Asryan was appointed Head of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces.
And Nikol Pashinyan, when he was presenting to the senior staff of the Armed Forces Edward Asryan, appointed as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the First Deputy Minister of Defense, announced. “The right decision has been made.”
Although before that, on September 27, 2021, Edward Asryan was released from the position of the Chief of the Operational Main Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia – Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.
At that time 168.am-the to write was that his 10-minute long conversation with Seyran Ohanyan, the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, head of the Hayastan faction, in the corridor, as well as Asryan’s addressing Seyran Ohanyan as “Mr. General” played a role in the release of the major general.
In this context, it should be noted that during the 44-day war, Edward Asryan was the head of the operational department of the main operational department of the RA Armed Forces.: And after the war, he already headed the operational headquarters of the General Directorate of Military Operations.
The operational main department of the RA Armed Forces General Staff is a structural leading unit of the general staff, which ensures the planning of the problems faced by the armed forces in peacetime and wartime conditions, and the operational management of the troops (forces). And during the 44-day war, we also failed in operational management.
At that time, we noticed that if Nikol Pashinyan considers the appointment of Edward Asryan as the head of the General Staff to be the right decision, or did not express dissatisfaction with the operational management of the army during the war, this does not mean that one day he will not express an opposite opinion, especially when he finds that the RA Armed Forces is not advancing his peace agenda in the way he had planned.
But as we can see, Edward Asryan has been advancing Pashinyan’s peace agenda very well these years, on the other hand, if Pashinyan wants to get rid of him, this will not have any role.
And now it remains to be understood whether Nikol Pashinyan wants to continue working with Suren Papikyan as the Minister of Defense after the elections, or whether he will choose the path of leading the army to another upheaval, because any such change in the power structures brings with it certain “upheavals”. From this it will also be clear how much Pashinyan appreciated the sacrifices of his party minister for the sake of the interests of the political leader, including at the expense of the reputation of the army and not only the reputation.
We have written many times that after the change of power, Pashinyan has determined a specific mission and term for each defense minister. Let’s wait for the developments.
And before that, let’s also remind that when on February 18, 2022 General Araik Harutyunyan released From the post of the Chief of the Main Intelligence Department of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, this position was vacant for a long time, that is, there was an acting chief.
And only after about a year, in 2023. on January 24 Samvel Movsisyan was appointed Head of the Main Intelligence Department of the RA Armed Forces General Directorate – Deputy Head of the RA Armed Forces General Directorate.
It should be noted that Samvel Movsisyan in 2020 on November 3 With the mediation of Nikol Pashinyan and the decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia, the deputy head of the main intelligence department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces was appointed., and when the position of the head of the main intelligence department was already vacant, it was Movsisyan who performed the duties of the acting head.
in 2023 we wrote and what personnel changes were made in the fields of military intelligence and operational management after the 2018 “revolution”.
In other words, there is no direction in the armed forces where personnel changes have not occurred several times. And Nikol Pashinyan is very little interested in how long this or that division or department will remain without a leader. This is at best. may one day decide that the given corps, unit or department should be dissolved, made the subject of optimization.
P.S. Later, it became known from our sources that there are candidates for the vacant positions and discussions are underway. And Suren Papikyan, as of now, will most likely continue in office.
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In Shushi’s media forum: Aliyev reaffirmed his unconditional support to Ukraine.
July 16, 2026
Energy resources and: thanks to the transit potential, modern Azerbaijanand:there is a wide opportunity to do it outsideand:in which close and: in dialogue with distant neighbors who are often in sharp opposition to each other.
Despite some stagnation of energy resource extraction՝ energy resources of the western Caspian Sea and “Mof the lower corridor» Constantly high interest in such transport routes from various parties conditions official Baku’s offensive approaches and forms its special point of view regionally and partly worldwide on processes։
Aliyev speech, in the so-called IV Shushi Global Media Forumto whom fully demonstrated this tendency. In his logic, Azerbaijan is undoubtedly a dominant power in the South Caucasus, which is well noticeable, in particular, the so-called «Trump route» in the rhetoric about it.
According to Aliyev, they realized it in the White House «Zangezur corridor»as the strategic importance of the communication route connecting the main territory of Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan and Turkeyn:actively working to promote that idea and convincing Pashinyan’s government of the need for its implementation. They think in Baku՝ it was Azerbaijan’s position that influenced the approaches of the White House, which could not but affect Yerevan’s position.
It is impossible not to pay attention to the pragmatic attitude of Azerbaijan towards international politics. On the one hand, Aliyev positively assessed the development of economic interaction and political dialogue with the European Union. On the other hand, he has again strongly criticized the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly, whose participation Baku has frozen, and it is not excluded that he will leave these meaningless structures altogether.
The expressions of the leader of Azerbaijan about Russia and Ukraine have become no less demonstrative. On the one hand, Aliyev seems to have assured that the differences with Moscow are in the past, and relations have been managed.
At the same time, he directly supported the authorities in Kiev, supporting Zelensky’s idea of an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities along the contact line of the parties. Moreover, “… we have always supported, support and will support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, its sovereignty, the inviolability of its borders.
The borders of no state can be changed by force, and the regime without the consent of the people of that country. And here our positions are quite consistent and stable. Well, we are always ready to help the Ukrainian people in any way we can… it comes from the heart. And the state, and ordinary people, and commercial companies. This is a united impulse to help those who are in distress, who have suffered, whose territorial integrity has been violated, and to help in whatever way we can.”
Even if it was just rhetoric (and it’s not just rhetoric at all), it in itself proves that the foreign policy of the Near-Caspian country is infinitely far from historical or emotional appeals to the common Soviet or other past. Criticism of the Soviet period as a period of colonial dependence by the son of a former member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU hardly surprises anyone, and even more so is considered some kind of extravagant whim.
According to the Constitution, “modern Azerbaijan is the successor of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan of 1918-1920, not the Soviet Socialist Republic.
We mentioned the Soviet period of our history in our Constitution as the time of occupation, and this is how our generations are brought up, and this is how our history is taught. The invasion of the South Caucasus by the Russian Empire, the occupation of Azerbaijan, the division of Azerbaijan into North and South in the 19th century, the double occupation of Azerbaijan in 1920, when we already had an independent Republic of Azerbaijan… several generations have already grown up with us, who know their history very well and understand the politics of Russia,” says Eldar Namazov, one of Heydar Aliyev’s close comrades-in-arms.
Ilham Aliyev is an experienced politician who is perfectly aware of what he says, what comparisons he makes and in what context. This is amply evidenced by his advice repeated a year later (in response to the extremist Gordon): “never agree with the occupation, and that is what Ukraine is doing… although there have been difficult moments during this year and we have seen, known and heard about the pressure exerted by certain circles on the option of stopping hostilities, essentially fixing the occupation, but neither the people of Ukraine nor its leadership went for it… I think the realization that this war must be stopped, and stopped immediately, should have come a long time ago.
This is the position of Azerbaijan, this is my position, purely human, of a person who led and leads a country that was occupied and liberated from occupation, and the attempt, I think, is quite rare in history, when during the occupation, and also, to put it bluntly, attempts to force an agreement to hand over Karabakh…
The Minsk Group, led by the USA, France and Russia, only wanted to seize Karabakh and not only Karabakh, not only the administrative borders of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, but also the entire territory of Lachin region, Kelbajar region, and hand it over to Armenia so that we agree to it. And in return we were promised that we would be given back the five regions that lie east of where we are. Neither I nor anyone in Azerbaijan would ever agree to this, but it was the united position of the three leading countries…
And when the second Karabakh war started, they all demanded to stop immediately, they intimidated, threatened, called, some very boring (sticky), some less so, but all of them wanted us to stop, so that everything remains as it is…”.
In the Kremlin, Aliyev’s position regarding Ukraine is considered wrong, but it is not a reason to abandon the development of relations with Azerbaijan, Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated on July 17, adding that a number of states with which Russia has close relations have a similar position, and this is “the subject of our disagreements.”
It should be noted that not all countries organize the controversial, to say the least, event “Cultural and ethnic diversity. lessons of history, modern challenges” as Azerbaijan recently did under the guise of “public initiative” in the same city of Shushi:
The choice and geography of the participants, the tone of the speeches, the concluding formula, the propaganda accompaniment, all this fully proves that the “anti-colonial” discourse can be developed not only against France, as the Azerbaijani lobbyists of the Russian expert community and elsewhere may hope.
In this regard, Aliyev’s grinning confession that at least one of the high-ranking Russian media managers, aka “the worthy son of the Azerbaijani people”, Mikhail Guzman, actually worked in his historical homeland, where he returned to Russia after a 40-year “business trip”, after being dismissed from the position of the first deputy director general of the TASS news agency, is extremely demonstrative.
Another important emphasis of the speech was the positioning of Azerbaijan as a constituent part of the Turkic world. The warmest assessments were predictably aimed at Turkey and the Central Asian states, with which Baku is actively strengthening ties, both within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States and in a bilateral format.
«Next year, Azerbaijan will host the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It is a big responsibility for us, especially in such a troubled period,” Aliyev reminded, answering the question of a guest from Jordan.
By the way, Israel was never mentioned during the speech, this time there were probably no guests from that country, which is known for its close ties with Azerbaijan.
Finally, answering the question of the unknown Raimz Yunus, Aliyev talked about the possible criteria of a “middle power”, which include “the recognition of the country’s potential, its ability to protect its national interests, regardless of what the big powers think or do, as well as the readiness to use its full potential if someone tries to harm it.”
Of course, defense capability is also included here, and not only what is shown in military parades, but what is proven on the battlefield. Next, it is “the ability to influence events beyond one’s borders with just one word or statement.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly demonstrated such ability.” In addition, “responsibility for the events taking place inside the country and to a certain extent responsibility for the entire region. It is possible that the team will fulfill those criteria in the future, but I think that all this can be applied to Azerbaijan, and perhaps that is the reason why many experts call us a middle power, and frankly, I am not against it.
The future will tell whether such ambitions are justified, and if so, to what extent.
Alexander Grigoriev
vpoanalytics.com
Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan
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The new stage of Russian-Azerbaijani dialogue. What is Bayramov’s Muscovite hiding?
July 16, 2026
While Armenian-Russian relations are at a dead end, signs of normalization are emerging in Russian-Azerbaijani relations. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeihun Bayramov is on an official visit to Moscow, he is scheduled to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov. This was announced yesterday by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
“On July 16-17, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation, and his negotiations will take place with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov,” Zakharova said during the briefing.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement ahead of the visit, noting that peace and stability in the South Caucasus are important for Russia, and Moscow is ready to help normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. “Peace and stability in the South Caucasus are important for us. As before, we are ready to provide the required support in the full normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the signing of a peace treaty, border demarcation and unblocking of communications,” said the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. It is noted that the road maps of these processes are included in the tripartite declarations signed at the highest level in 2020-2022.
In addition, the announcement states that the 33 regional cooperation platform uniting Russia, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia has significant potential. This mechanism is designed to contribute to the solution of any regional problem and challenge by the countries of the region and their neighbors without external destructive intervention.
The Russian Foreign Ministry considers Jeyhun Bayramov’s visit in the context of the continuation of reliable Russian-Azerbaijani political dialogue and the further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation.
It should be noted that earlier the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan also informed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Jeihun Bayramov left for Russia on an official visit. On July 17, he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
It is noteworthy that literally a few days before this visit, while speaking at the IV Global Media Forum in Shushi, Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan-Russia relations have been completely settled.
He also said that Baku attaches great importance to relations with Russia and carefully follows the statements of Russian official circles. “We have seen the statements of Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, according to which relations between our countries are developing with positive dynamics,” said the President of Azerbaijan.
Aliyev admitted that there were some difficulties in the relationship, but, according to him, that phase is already in the past.
“I would say that the relations have been completely settled,” he announced.
According to the President of Azerbaijan, the contacts at different levels continue. He noted that there is active cooperation between the governments, the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission, the ministries of foreign affairs and the staffs of the presidents of the two countries.
Aliyev also noted that Azerbaijan-Russia relations are important not only for bilateral cooperation, but also for the wider region. According to him, the cooperation includes both traditional and new directions to be formed in the future, among which the fields of transport, trade and humanitarian cooperation are of particular importance.
Along with this, during that media forum, Aliyev made a very unpleasant statement for Moscow, stating that Baku “unconditionally defends the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. Aliyev also called on the official Kyiv “not to put up with the occupation of Ukrainian lands”.
Responding to this, the press spokesman of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said: “Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s view on Ukraine is wrong.”
He also made it clear that the Russian Federation will explain consistently and in a justified way through all channels why it considers [Aliyev’s approaches] wrong. Along with all this, Azerbaijani mass media report that Bayramov’s visit to Moscow will be followed by his visit to Ukraine, which is a so-called balancing attempt by Azerbaijan.
Bairamov’s visit to Moscow and the statements of both Baku and Moscow that preceded it show that the parties are consciously trying to end the recent phase of tension and return relations to the logic of practical cooperation.
It is noteworthy that ahead of the visit, Moscow not only emphasized the continuity of the Russian-Azerbaijani “trustworthy political dialogue”, but also specially emphasized the relevance of the tripartite agreements of 2020-2022 and the importance of the “3 3” regional format. This once again proves that Russia is trying to restore its political presence and influence in the South Caucasus, through the very agendas that were gradually pushed out in recent years as a result of Western activity.
In that context, Baku, for its part, shows readiness not to deepen differences and to return relations to the field of predictable cooperation.
At the same time, it is noteworthy that even after Aliyev’s sensitive statements for Moscow regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the Russian reaction remained restrained and limited to the registration of political disagreement.
The Kremlin avoided harsh measures, and just a few days later, Bairamov’s official visit was already announced. This indicates that in both capitals the strategic calculation prevails over the current disagreements.
Azerbaijan, maintaining the possibility of foreign political maneuvering and continuing the multi-vector policy, at the same time tries not to jeopardize the cooperation with Russia.
Against this background, the current picture of Armenian-Russian relations becomes more pronounced. If the parties in the Russian-Azerbaijani direction are talking publicly about dialogue, expansion of cooperation and restoration of mutual trust, such political impulses are not considered in the Armenian-Russian relations for now.
Moreover, the limited nature of high-level political contacts between Yerevan and Moscow in recent months, mutually critical statements and fundamental disagreements indicate that relations remain at a difficult stage. Under these conditions, Russia is actually trying to maintain the partnership support in the South Caucasus, which it sees today in its relations with Azerbaijan.
Therefore, Bayramov’s visit to Moscow is difficult to consider only as another diplomatic contact. It is a broader political impulse that Baku is interested in the stabilization of relations with Russia and does not want individual conflicts to affect bilateral strategic cooperation.
Moscow, for its part, shows readiness to accept that approach in order to preserve its own positions in the South Caucasus and restore involvement in regional processes. However, time will tell to what extent this visit and Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation will satisfy Russian expectations.
Thus, if the atmosphere of mutual mistrust still prevails in the Armenian-Russian direction, then in Russian-Azerbaijani relations today there are already clear political impulses for the restoration of relations and easing of tension, which may turn into more substantive cooperation in the near future.
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168: Russia-Armenia war has not started yet. today to the security of Syunik
July 16, 2026
In the “Pressing” program Satik Seyranyan guestn: Researcher of “APRI Armenia” research institute, international scholar, candidate of historical sciences Sergey Melkonyan is
How many days has the Armenian media personality been? Konstantin Sokolov is the person named
Russian-born, Chicago-based private investor Konstantin Sokolov has been appointed chairman of the US State Department’s new venture fund, which will oversee $201 million in investments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. This was reported by The Guardian.
The fund plans to finance projects in the fields of transportation, energy infrastructure and important minerals in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, as well as in a number of Central Asian countries.
According to the newspaper, Sokolov has not previously held a public office, but during Trump’s second presidential term, he donated more than $12 million to Republicans and political groups, including $11 million to the president’s Super PAC MAGA Inc.
The Tripp Foundation, founded by Sokolov, is named after Trump’s path to international peace and prosperity. we are talking about the 27-mile trade corridor passing through the south of Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to The Guardian, it is not yet clear what benefit he can personally get from the activities of the foundation and whether he will be paid for that position.
To remind, in 2024 In January, “MTS Armenia” left the Russian “MTS” group. The new owner of the company is the Cypriot Fedilco Group Limited, whose ultimate beneficiaries are Zhe Zhang and Konstantin Sokolov.
“Hetq” found out that in the initial stage of the transaction, persons (Manolis Tarkhanidis, Andreas Ouris) appeared, who, according to the investigation, did not have the appropriate financial capacity to acquire one of the largest taxpayers in Armenia. They were only “on paper” owners in connection with the same companies providing services.
It wasn’t until months later, when the deal was redrafted, that new names were announced: Zhe Zhang and Konstantin Sokolov.
Even when their names became known, the origin of the money remained “dark”. The involvement of these same persons (Zhe Zhang) in the sale and management of another major transaction, “Arybusinessbank”, shows that we are dealing with a group operating through offshore structures, which specializes in hidden asset management.
Recently, it became known that the Russian “VTB” bank has officially left the management of the Teghut copper-molybdenum mine by selling its share. The new owners of the mine include American businessman Konstantin Sokolov, who is also one of the owners of “MTS Armenia” (now “Viva Armenia”). The exit of VTB was due to the sanctions applied against Russia, which hindered the financial transactions and exports of the company belonging to the bank.
To remind, the bank got control over the mine in 2018, as a result of not repaying the credit obligations of “Vallex Group”. Teghut is one of the largest mining assets in Armenia and in 2025, it paid 14.4 billion drams in taxes to the state budget.
Who is he, what kind of connections does he have with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the American and Israeli political and economic elites?
The main theses of the interview with Sergey Melkonyan are below.
- I do not think that the appointment of Konstantin Sokolov is a compromise with Russia, because the latter has ties to the Trump family.
- I am pessimistic about the fate of TRIPP because Iran is a big obstacle to its construction. Iranian Ambassador Shirgholami announced that Armenia cannot cross Iran’s red lines regarding TRIPP. This is a deviation from the previous statement of the Iranian Foreign Ministry:
- As a result of the Iran-US war, something important for Armenia changed. In the Middle East, Iran was called a toothless dog that barks but does not bite. This war has shown that when it comes to Iran’s national security, it hits even those countries with which Iran has economic interests. It’s the same now. Iran has serious security concerns with the South Caucasus and, in particular, with TRIPP, and has stated this many times.
- Iran does not need TRIPP. Of course, Iran wants to be a part of the “Middle Corridor”. that is, the goods should come from the border of China to Kazakhstan, from there to Turkey through Turkmenistan and Iran, or through Nakhichevan and Armenia to Georgia and the Black Sea. That railway exists and operates.
By the way, that’s why during the war they hit the railway bridge in the direction of Iran-Turkmenistan, so that they wouldn’t get supplies either from Russia or China. However, the Iranians restored it within a few days.
- Even the large number of Azerbaijanis located in the north of Iran had a more anti-Azerbaijani stance during the war.
- Israel is interested in opening the so-called Zangezur Corridor. If this becomes a reality, Iran will be isolated from the north, and Iran understands this very well:
- The facts testify to the rise of Turkey’s role in the region. In the recent period, there have been no negative statements from the regional countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, unlike Iran. Russia very wrongly thinks that Turkey is playing its own game and has nothing to do with the West. Russia’s attitude changed in 2025. since December, and its trigger was the statement of Martha Kos that the energy systems of Armenia and Turkey should be united. From that moment on, Russia’s approach changed. However, Iran has always considered Turkey as an adversary in this region:
- I don’t think that Turkey wants to go to the US or NATO because they know that long-term agreements do not work with them. The point of conflict of their interests with the US was Syria, but they have no contradictions in other issues.
- Macron also understands that he cannot use leverage on Ankara to open or not open the Armenian-Turkish border. Therefore, they have to find other means to convince Turkey. According to them, the main obstacle is Aliyev. Many will probably remember the scandal that arose due to the statement made by the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Turkey. He was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. a part of the Turkish side supported him, and the other part strongly opposed it.
However, Turkish diplomats and experts who are more oriented towards the West are convinced that Turkey should maintain a certain distance from Azerbaijan and open the border with Armenia. But there is also another, wider scope. if we look at Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the largest nationalist force in Turkey, the “Nationalist Movement” party, a political ally of President Erdogan. statements, nationalist experts and some analysts close to the AKP (Justice and Development Party), we will be convinced that they believe that Azerbaijan is an extremely important ally, and it is not worth questioning or partially sacrificing that relationship for the sake of improving relations with Armenia or opening the border.
- It is clear that Armenia will not become a member of NATO. Even if we leave the CSTO now, and 20 years pass, it is almost impossible (the probability is less than 1%). The same applies to the European Union. If Armenia leaves the EAEU right now, technically we will have to go such a long way to become a member of the EU, which will last at least tens of years. We have the example of Georgia. Georgia, which has an Association and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU since 2014, still cannot export most of its agricultural products to EU countries. Moreover, Georgia is geographically closer to the EU. they deliver the goods to the port, from there they go to Bulgaria or Romania and already enter the European market. Meanwhile, we are not in a profitable position from that point of view and are even a few steps behind.
That’s why we need to be more realistic and think extremely pragmatically. What will be the economic and security consequences if we leave the EAEU and CSTO, and what will be our next step? Getting out of these structures should not be an end in itself. it should be a means to move in a specific direction. We need to understand how realistic it is to reach our destination and when we will reach it.
Now, when some in Armenia insist that the country should leave the CSTO, adopt a non-aligned, neutral status, this means leaving the CSTO and removing the Russian military bases (the 102nd military base from Gyumri and the Erebuni military base). But it is necessary to understand what consequences it will have. Does Armenia today have enough potential to become a non-aligned neutral state?
When we leave the CSTO and remove the Russian military base, a security vacuum is created. That vacuum cannot last long. it must be filled. We can do this ourselves only if we dramatically increase the number of our armed forces, have enough and high-quality weapons, and have other security arrangements that really work. Only then will the vacuum be filled. Otherwise, if a vacuum is created, other forces will definitely try to take advantage of that opportunity.
It is obvious that Russia can no longer be the full guarantor of security that we talked about until 2022. A lot has changed in the world after 2022. But the problem is that, in parallel, no other country is ready to undertake the same security obligations towards Armenia on paper. It turns out that we have agreements that do not work as we would like, but other countries are not ready to replace them either.
There was only one country that was ready to take practical steps in that direction, and that was Iran, because de facto today, Iran is the main security guarantor of Syunik. Even Armenia, at the level of the Foreign Ministry, has officially announced that the further Azerbaijani advance during the September 2022 attack was stopped due to Iranian intervention. Everything is clear here for Iran. they openly declared that the borders of Armenia are a red line for them and are directly related to the security of Iran. Therefore, no one in Tehran doubts that they will take concrete steps if any problems arise in that direction. Therefore, it is extremely important to maintain this relationship until we ourselves restore the balance of power.”
- The war with Russia has not started yet. As long as there is no such war, we currently have diplomatic relations, trade in certain directions, direct communication, etc., and we also import some goods from Russia. Of course, Russia has many other means that it can use against us, and it is not only about gas and wheat.
If there was a political decision, and Russia wanted to collapse Armenia, they would do it with a very simple tool, completely zeroing out trade. For example, they would not just raise the price of gas, they would unilaterally withdraw from the contracts and completely stop the supply, they would do the same with wheat, completely freeze financial transactions (transactions) and completely cancel air traffic. In that case, yes, we would be on the verge of economic collapse, and that would be the real economic war.
What is happening now are just signals from Russia about what the consequences could be after December 2026 (the EAEU has given time until December). Now Russia is waiting for the EAEU summit to be held in St. Petersburg. During that summit, EAEU member states and representatives of the structure are preparing to present reports on what the consequences could be if Armenia continues its path to the EU. If a consensus approach is formed there that this is an economic problem for the EAEU, then the restrictions applied by Russia will no longer be unilateral.
Now those steps are not considered legitimate, because they were decided unilaterally, but if the other EAEU member states also declare that there are problems here, then collective decisions will be made regarding gas, wheat, and all other issues.
- Yes, Russia’s sanctions are political, not economic, but by choosing that period for those sanctions, it was perceived that they are related to the ongoing NA elections in Armenia, which is not the case, and those sanctions will continue at least until December. The problem is Armenia’s steps towards the European Union. Russia and Europe openly view each other as adversaries, and Russia views Armenia’s rapprochement with Russia as siding with the enemy. There is a perception in Russia that Armenia is no longer sovereign and cannot make independent decisions.
- There is not enough gas in Azerbaijan. Although they can agree to exchange Turkish gas through Iran or Azerbaijan itself, theoretically now we cannot say for sure that it will work in practice.
As for oil, Iran even offered us to establish various oil refineries on the border and process oil. It would allow us to become self-sufficient and have our own resources. But the problem is that diversification can also create new dependencies. Diversification is an extremely important phenomenon, but it should not be misinterpreted.
Of course, there are no fully self-sufficient countries in the world. When the RA authorities say that sovereignty is when you depend on many, as a result, you make Armenia dependent on Turkey and Azerbaijan. In fact, in some areas, we simply replace our dependence on one country with another country, and in this case, one of those countries is Turkey itself.
For example, India has become such a partner in the military-technical field. If earlier we received approximately 80-90% of our weapons from Russia, now we receive about 70% of them from India. God forbid, if a full-scale war breaks out between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, or if the war in Iran becomes more prolonged and large-scale, we will have serious problems with arms supplies from India.
Therefore, diversification is important, but it does not mean simply replacing dependence on one partner with another. That is why I claim that the best solution is self-sufficiency, when all strategic assets, such as the railway, gas pipeline, etc., are exclusively in the hands of Armenia. And where we cannot ensure our self-sufficiency on our own (for example, regarding the nuclear power plant), yes, there must be an external partner. However, it is dangerous when you simply divide everything and give it to one or several different countries.
- Pakistan has always been on Azerbaijan’s side and has always had a negative attitude towards Armenia. I believe that Armenia’s establishment of diplomatic relations with Pakistan is related to its ambitions for membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Pakistan is an important partner for Iran, but they understand that Pakistan’s activity in the region strengthens Turkey and Azerbaijan. We should not think that others do not understand what is happening here:
- Russia’s latest sanctions against Armenia harm the Armenian people more than the government. And if they make a decision on gas prices, we will feel it on our skin this winter. We can be ready for cold winters, we are ready to go this way, if its result is 1994. victory will be. Purpose is important. But why go down that road just to be a sticking point in the Russia-West conflict? Unfortunately, there is no special attitude towards Armenia in Russia.
- The ultimate goal of Azerbaijan here is to establish “West Azerbaijan”. Azerbaijan does not only want the “enclaves”, but the roads leading to them. This is called the “salami tactic”. The only place where “West Azerbaijan” office was officially opened is Turkey. Therefore, one cannot separate their goals and have illusions that Turkey and Azerbaijan are playing different games:
- There are discussions in Azerbaijan that maybe Armenia, Georgia and Tajikistan should think about getting observer status in the Organization of Turkic States. According to them, since we are neighboring countries, and certain communications that will connect these states must pass through our territory, Armenia can be given observer status. This idea has been circulating in Azerbaijani expert circles for at least a year or two.
It should be noted that this idea contains the greatest risks related to political, economic, identity and sovereignty for Armenia. TPC is based on Turkic identity and cultural commonality. In case of Armenia’s participation in this structure, its own national identity and national values will be sacrificed. The relations with the important countries of the region, Iran and Russia, will be disrupted, because the TPC’s goal is to assume an influential role in the region. In addition, in order to expand the regional influence of Turkey and Azerbaijan, which are hostile towards Armenia, to completely absorb Armenia.
For the TPC, the involvement of new countries, including Armenia or Georgia, aims not only to ensure economic integration, but also to geopolitically isolate Armenia, putting it within the framework of the structure operating in their sphere of influence.
- If Israel continues the process of recognizing the Armenian Genocide, it will only be beneficial. The Israeli intelligentsia was in favor of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but when they saw that it endangered Israeli-Azerbaijani relations, they withdrew. In any case, there is no such agenda in the Knesset.
- What is happening now around Iran is a war to change the status quo in the Persian Gulf. The uniqueness of this phase of war is that Israel is not involved in this process. Right now, the US is at war with Iran without Israel. This is certainly a success for Israel. 2025 In the war, the US did not achieve a change in the status quo, but Iran achieved that the Persian Gulf became the Persian Gulf and Iran took control of the Strait of Hormuz. The US saw that the Iranian people hated them, and millions showed it at Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral. Iran understands that the said memorandum was a pause before a new round of war.
- Trump’s ratings are falling, and there are elections ahead, but now Trump is driven by purely economic interests:
- The strikes in the direction of Nakhichevan were Iran’s signal to Azerbaijan that if you take one more step, the consequences will be more severe. In Iran, they say, we will not allow to have a single United Arab Emirates in the north of Iran, which was used against Iran in this war. There is deep mistrust in Iran against Azerbaijan:
Details in the video.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Government Hopes To Redirect Fish Exports To EU
- Narine Ghalechian
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian sounded a note of caution on Thursday as the Armenian government approved new licensing rules aimed at helping local fish farms blacklisted by Russia redirect their exports to the European Union.
The decision proposed by the Economy Ministry was the latest in a series of government measures meant to mitigate the severe impact of Russia’s recent bans on the import of agricultural products and beverages from Armenia. Moscow imposed the sanctions amid its growing warnings about the economic cost of Yerevan’s deepening ties with the EU.
Fish farming in the landlocked country has grown exponentially in the last 10-15 years on the back of soaring fish exports almost fully absorbed by Russia. The latter reportedly imported about $80 million worth of Armenian fish last year, sharply up from $3.6 million in 2016.
The decision approved during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan sets a legal procedure for government registration and certification of fish exported to EU member states. The process will be handled by Armenia’s Food Safety Inspectorate. The government agency is to share information submitted by fish farms with relevant EU bodies.
“After that, a business entity will receive a unique code, which will be sufficient to carry out an export operation,” said Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan. “With this code, the relevant EU authorities will be able to see the company’s data and authorize the export.”
Grigorian, who chaired the meeting in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s absence, disagreed, saying that the government should also put in place a system of “physical traceability and electronic sealing” of products exported to the EU. Such exports will be more costly and time-consuming without that, he warned.
Visiting Yerevan on July 2, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised that the EU will open its tightly protected and regulated market to Armenian products in addition to providing 52 million euros ($60 million) in urgent financial aid to Yerevan. She again denounced Moscow’s “economic coercion” after talks with Pashinian.
Many Armenian farmers and agribusiness firms heavily dependent on the Russian market are skeptical about prospects for redirecting their exports to the EU. They argue, in particular, that the EU market is also protected by stringent food safety standards and other non-tariff barriers. Some fish farm executives interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service late last month said meeting those standards and finding buyers in Europe will take many years.
Russian officials put at over $700 million the annual amount of Armenian imports covered by the sanctions. Armenia’s overall exports to Russia reached almost $3 billion last year, compared with $667 million worth of goods shipped to the EU.
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IOC Trying To ‘Protect’ Armenian Olympic Committee Seized By Government
The International Olympic Committee (OIC) said on Thursday that it is looking into ways to “protect” Armenia’s National Olympic Committee (ANOC) seized by the Armenian authorities as part of a crackdown on Gagik Tsarukian, a businessman and opposition leader heading the ANOC.
Law-enforcement officials searched and sealed off the ANOC headquarters in Yerevan as well as the offices of dozens of companies owned by Tsarukian as they arrested the latter on July 6 on what he sees as politically motivated charges. The committee’s operations were disrupted as a result. Armenia’s Investigative Committee has still not given a clear reason for its effective shutdown.
“The IOC has been informed of the situation and has been in contact with the NOC to carefully review all relevant elements and explore appropriate solutions to protect the NOC as an institution and safeguard the interests of the Olympic Movement and the athletes in the country,” an IOC spokesperson said in written comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The official did not directly comment on the seizure of the ANOC building or say whether it will have any consequences for Yerevan.
Tsarukian has served as ANOC president since 2004. The Armenian government moved to strip him of that role this spring after his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) decided to join other major opposition groups in challenging the ruling Civil Contract party in the June 7 parliamentary elections. The Armenian Weightlifting Federation headed by the chief of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s staff filed a relevant lawsuit at the time, accusing Tsarukian of running the ANOC illegally.
Tsarukian’s aides warned that his removal from the ANOC would spark an international scandal. They said the IOC is strongly opposed to any government interference in the work of national committees. The IOC has sanctioned some countries for that reason.
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Two Tsarukian Companies Officially Seized By Government
- Robert Zargarian
The Armenian government has officially seized two of the several dozen companies belonging to Gagik Tsarukian that were effectively closed by them last week during the opposition leader’s arrest promised by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
One of them is Armenia’s largest cement plant located in the southern town of Ararat. Pashinian said his government will nationalize the plant when he campaigned for the June 7 parliamentary elections in which Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) was one of the main opposition contenders. He has since repeatedly pledged to imprison and “dispossess” Tsarukian as well as the leaders of two other key opposition groups.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General announced on Thursday that a court in Yerevan has agreed to place the plant under the government’s “management and maintenance” pending a verdict on prosecutors’ demand to confiscate Tsarukian’s assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The office claimed earlier, following Pashinian’s pre-election pledge, that it had been illegally privatized in 2002.
Pashinian seemed confident that the court will allow the asset forfeiture when he said last week: “Ararat Cement will be state-owned very soon.”
One of Tsarukian’s lawyers, Yerem Sargsian, noted that the court did not even bother to notify him and his colleagues about the injunction. He said this only proves that it acted on government orders.
Meanwhile, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinian told Factor.am that the municipal administration has taken over Multi Wellness, Tsarukian’s large fitness center located in the city center. He cited the municipality’s decision last month to unilaterally rescind a long-term lease agreement on land occupied by the center. A spokeswoman for Tsarukian on June 19 described the decision as illegal and said will be challenged in court.
Law-enforcement authorities searched and sealed off the offices of Ararat Cement, Multi Wellness and dozens of other firms making up Tsarukian’s Multi Group conglomerate when they arrested the BHK leader on July 6. Only the cement plant has since been allowed to resume its operations. Thousands of people working for the other Multi Group entities remain out of work.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee, which plays the central role in the criminal proceedings, did not give a clear reason for the shutdowns in written comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service sent on Thursday. Nor did it say when it will allow those companies to reopen.
Tsarukian was demonstratively arrested on fraud charges that are unrelated to their activities. His representatives as well as other government critics portray Pashinian’s statements as further proof that that the post-election crackdown is politically motivated.
Dozens of other Armenian opposition leaders, members and supporters have also been arrested in recent months, facing various charges denied by them. The arrests continued even after the disputed elections.
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RFE/RL – ‘Trump Route’ Deal In Conflict With Armenian Law, Says Justice Minis
- Astghik Bedevian
Some provisions of a U.S.-Armenian agreement to open a U.S.-run transit corridor for Azerbaijan through Armenia run counter to Armenian law, according to the Justice Ministry in Yerevan.
The ministry drew this conclusion in a written opinion submitted to the Armenian government. But citing political reasons, it recommended the agreement’s approval by the government, which was formalized on Thursday.
The deal was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in early June. It lays out the key terms of the planned the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) that would run along Armenia’s border with Iran and connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave and Turkey.
It calls for the creation of a joint venture that will manage for at least 49 years a railway, a road, energy supply lines and other infrastructure to be built along the corridor. The U.S. government will own 74 percent of the TRIPP Development Company (TDC) that will receive “exclusive land use rights, development rights, related permissions, and all other rights” necessary for the transit arrangement.
While upholding Armenia’s “full sovereignty and jurisdiction over its borders and customs operations,” the agreement commits the Armenian government to the so-called “front office/back office” model whereby private operators hired by the TDC will provide “customer-facing services” at the border crossings with Azerbaijan. Armenian officials are to be given be a “back office” role there.
“It should be noted that according to [Armenia’s] Law on the State Border, the processing of persons, vehicles, cargo and other property across the border of Armenia is carried out by its border guards and customs authorities,” the Justice Ministry said in this regard. “Therefore, the authority to check relevant documents and allow passage through the state border is reserved exclusively for state bodies.”
The ministry also found that tax exemptions that will be granted to the TDC and its subsidiaries contradict Armenian tax legislation. Contacted by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, it declined to say whether it will draft or recommend legal amendments that will bring the U.S.-Armenian agreement into conformity with Armenian law.
The deal says that it shall take precedence “in case of any conflict with Armenian law.” It has to be validated by the country’s Constitutional Court before being ratified by the Armenian parliament.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijanis travelling to and from Nakhichevan “should not see the faces of Armenian border guards.” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has signaled readiness to meet that demand, saying that modern technology will be used to exclude physical contact between Armenian officers and Azerbaijani travelers.
Pashinian has thus given more ammunition to his domestic critics who say that the TRIPP amounts to the kind of an extraterritorial “Zangezur corridor” that is sought by Baku. Aliyev again made the same point last week.
Iran remains opposed to the TRIPP, fearing that it could lead to U.S. security presence along the Armenian-Iranian border and undermine Armenian control of it. The Iranian ambassador to Armenia indicated on July 8 that Yerevan has still not addressed Tehran’s “very legitimate and logical” concerns. Pashinian made clear the following day that he remains committed to implementing the TRIPP project “as soon as possible.”
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Empowering Youth Through Knowledge: “Wikipedia for Freedom of Elections” in A
In 2026, as Armenia prepared for its parliamentary elections, Wikimedia Armenia and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom joined forces once again to organize the “Wikipedia for Freedom of Elections” initiative. The project aimed to improve Armenian Wikipedia’s coverage of electoral rights, democratic participation, and related topics while engaging both experienced and new contributors.
A total of 119 people applied to participate, including 55 newcomers. To help new editors join the Wikimedia movement, Wikimedia Armenia organized a series of online and offline Wikipedia training sessions, introducing participants to Wikipedia’s editing principles, reliable sourcing, and article creation.
“Wikipedia for Freedom of Elections” WikiCamp in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia
Participants worked from curated lists of missing articles, gradually expanding Armenian Wikipedia before the project’s main event – a five-day Wikicamp held in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia from 24–28 June. The camp brought together 34 editors and 9 staff members, with young people playing a central role: 30 participants were between 16 and 24 years old, demonstrating the project’s continued success in attracting and empowering the next generation of Wikimedians.
Beyond collaborative editing, the camp included a session on democratic participation led by electoral expert Mariam Hoveyan, who introduced participants to the principles of free and fair elections, citizens’ electoral rights, and informed voting. The educational program was complemented by team-building activities, discussions, games, a film screening, and an excursion, creating an engaging environment that strengthened both editing skills and community ties.
Throughout the camp, participants worked in small groups with experienced Wikimedia trainers who provided guidance, reviewed articles, and supported newcomers. Many articles were translated and adapted to include information relevant to Armenia, making the content more valuable for local readers.
The project concluded with impressive results. Across the training period, preparation phase, and Wikicamp, 53 contributors created 406 new articles, adding more than 15 million bytes of free knowledge to Armenian Wikipedia. At the closing ceremony, the ten most active contributors received certificates jointly awarded by Wikimedia Armenia and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
By combining civic education, youth engagement, and collaborative knowledge creation, “Wikipedia for Freedom of Elections” once again demonstrated how Wikimedia organizations can initiate successful and long-term collaborations with external organizations, and contribute to both free knowledge and informed democratic participation.
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