EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has stated that, amid the crisis in the Middle East, relations with the Republic of Armenia and efforts to achieve peace in the South Caucasus have become even more important.

Kos said this in a post on X, referring to her meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on March 19.

“Armenia and the EU have never been closer.At a time of crisis in the Middle East, our relationship and the work towards peace in the South Caucasus have become even more important for trade and energy links to Asia,” reads the post.

Kos also stated that during the meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, they discussed ways to better connect the region, promote prosperity, and ensure lasting peace.

Veronika Zonabend, the wife of former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was convicted on false charges in Azerbaijan, has sent a letter to ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger requesting clarification of the legal status of Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

In particular, Zonabend asked the ICRC president to clarify the specific legal basis under which ICRC delegates most recently visited the Armenian prisoners.

The Ruben Vardanyan Foundation has made Zonabend’s letter public.

The full text of the letter is presented below:

“Dear President Spoljaric,

I am writing to you on behalf of my husband, Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen, philanthropist, and former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, who was illegally detained by the Azerbaijani authorities on 27 September 2023 while attempting to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross. ICRC’s role and mandate are truly unique and unparalleled. In times of cruelty, war, and injustice, the ICRC remains a rare symbol of dignity, compassion, and humanity with the noble mission of protecting the vulnerable. The ICRC is one of the few international organizations in which team members have not lost their sense of mission and continue to approach their work with humanity and care. We deeply appreciate the ICRC delegates’ visits to Ruben at his place of detention in Azerbaijan. For our family, and I am sure for the families of other detained Armenians, your visits mean far more than a formal procedure.

I write with full understanding of the ICRC’s humanitarian mandate, as well as its long-established principles of confidentiality, impartiality, and neutrality. At the same time, for the families of individuals who remain unlawfully detained, it is of profound importance to receive an impartial and professionally grounded understanding of the detainees’ legal status in Azerbaijan at the time of the ICRC delegates’ visits.

This need for clarity is rendered all the more urgent in light of the manifestly deficient judicial proceedings in Azerbaijan, including trials that lack fundamental guarantees and charges that appear devoid of factual and legal basis. The suffering inflicted on the families of the detainees as a result of their unlawful detention and the conduct of proceedings that lack fundamental fairness is further aggravated by the dissemination of misleading information and the deliberate misrepresentation of the detainees’ status by the Azerbaijani authorities, who publicly and repeatedly label them as “terrorists.”

In this context, I respectfully ask for clarification of the specific legal status under which Ruben and other Armenian detainees were visited by ICRC delegates. In particular, we seek to understand whether they were considered by the ICRC as persons deprived of liberty in relation to an armed conflict, and as such whether they were prisoners of war, security detainees, internees, or have another status under applicable rules of international humanitarian law.

Such clarification would be of exceptional value. It would provide much-needed reassurance to families and contribute meaningfully to an objective understanding of how the detainees are regarded under international humanitarian law and the ICRC’s humanitarian visiting standards.

Allow me to conclude by expressing sincere gratitude for the humanity and dignity the ICRC brings to its work, qualities that remain indispensable in a world where they are too often in short supply.

Finally, I address you not only in your official capacity, but also with a deeply personal appeal to the organization whose mission has always been to place the protection of human life, dignity, and justice above formalities and political considerations. For families like ours, who are living through the anguish of prolonged and unlawful detention of our loved ones, this belief in the ICRC’s humanitarian conscience is a source of hope. I sincerely trust that this same spirit will guide your attention to the situation of Ruben and other Armenian detainees.

Yours sincerely,

Veronika Zonabend”

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. to Armenia David Allen made his first visit to Gyumri, connecting with the community and learning more about the city, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement.

“The visit ranged from a stop at the Shirak Regional Division of the MOIA’s Police Patrol Service, highlighting U.S. support for Armenia’s law enforcement reform efforts and the shared priority of building safer communities, to a visit to TUMO Gyumri, to learn about programs and activities that empower young people, and a warm meeting with U.S. government exchange program alumni who continue to make a difference locally and beyond,’’ reads the statement.

“The day concluded with the launch of the Founder’s Museum at the Gyumri American Corner as part of the #Freedom250 celebration – an exhibition open to the public offering an opportunity to learn about the origins of the United States and the enduring values of leadership, civic engagement, and freedom,’’ it reads.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan chaired a meeting in Muscat with the heads of Armenia’s diplomatic missions accredited to Arab countries, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Foreign Minister for Coordination of Relations with the Middle East Vahan Kostanyan and diplomats from the ministry’s central apparatus.

Participants discussed the situation in the Middle East and  regional developments. Armenian ambassadors presented the realities and specific features of their countries of accreditation, followed by an exchange of views on possible ways to address the situation.

Mirzoyan referred to ongoing efforts to implement Armenia’s foreign policy priorities in the region and outlined approaches to further developing partnerships.

Discussions also covered issues concerning Armenian citizens who have remained in countries of the region since the escalation in the Middle East, including measures taken to organize their return to Armenia.

The 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) was held from 9 to 19 March 2026, under the priority theme of ensuring and strengthening access to justice for women and girls, the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations said in a statement.

It is noted that the delegation of Armenia actively participated in the work of the session and delivered statements at the general discussion, ministerial round table, the High-level meeting on “Violence Against Women and Girls”, as well as other side events. 

“Armenian reaffirmed its commitment to preventing violence against women and presented the progress in ensuring gender equality,” reads the statement.

 On the margins of the session, the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN organized a side event entitled “From CSW Commitments to CBD COP17: Advancing Gender Equality for Biodiversity Action”, which explored opportunities to further strengthen the interlinkages between the gender equality and biodiversity agendas.

The event was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of the United Kingdom and the Philippines, UNDP, UN Women and UNFPA.