Despite the fact that the Public Services Regulatory Commission has decided to review the price of gas sold to the population on its own initiative and leave it unchanged, this does not mean that it will not become more expensive from next year. The commission approved tariffs, knowing full well that they would be in effect for a number of months.

“Practically, with this decision, until the end of the year, until December 31, we closed that issue. “Gazprom Armenia” can take such an initiative from January 1, if there are objective reasons and such problems that the tariff should be revised,” says the president of the PSC, Mesrop Mesropyan, indirectly making it clear that gas tariffs may increase from next year.

As is known, the term of the Russian gas import contract at the current price is coming to an end.  After that, it is expected that Armenia can receive Russian gas at a much higher price than it receives today. The Armenian authorities have been informed about this for a long time. The Russian side warned months ago that it could unilaterally suspend or cancel the preferential supply of a number of goods to Armenia, including gas.

Let’s remind that Russia sells gas to Armenia without export duty. And the export duty is 30 percent. If it is included in the price, the Russian gas supplied to Armenia will become more expensive. We are not talking about another possible price increase yet.

The Russian side has repeatedly announced that Armenia receives Russian gas at preferential prices as a strategic partner, and this is a free investment of the Russian side in the Armenian economy. In case of removing itself from that status, Armenia will be deprived not only of receiving gas at preferential prices, but also can buy Russian gas at international prices. The recently deepening tension in Armenian-Russian relations increases the possibility of this. Against the background of that tension, the Russian side has already managed to impose restrictions on the export of many Armenian products.

The authorities hoped that these problems would be resolved soon. Nikol Pashinyan announced that he would go and solve all the issues immediately after the elections. He said that he has an arrangement for a meeting with the President of Russia.

A month has passed since the elections, but Nikol Pashinyan has not gone anywhere.

Moreover, the Russian president has not only not congratulated him, not only is he not ready to accept him, but also seems to be out of touch with him. Perhaps that was the reason why Nikol Pashinyan had to have a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Russia the other day.

“At the initiative of the Armenian side, the President of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan. The heads of governments discussed topical issues of cooperation in the trade-economic, scientific-technological and cultural-humanitarian spheres,” the press of the Russian government announced after the telephone conversation. the service.

The press service of the Armenian government repeated the same, of course, without mentioning that the telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Armenian side. But the problem was not at all whose initiative the telephone conversation took place. Judging by the brief content of the announcement about it and even more, Nikol Pashinyan’s silence, the conversation did not go very smoothly. There is no mention even of the Russian Prime Minister congratulating Nikol Pashinyan.

It is clear that the main purpose of this telephone conversation was to solve the problems of exporting Armenian products in the Russian market. But Nikol Pashinyan’s silence shows that nothing has been achieved. Otherwise, now Facebook was flooded with it.

This proves once again that the Armenian-Russian relations have entered a rather deep transformation, and its consequences can be felt not only by the exporters of Armenian goods to the Russian market, but also by the entire population of Armenia, through a possible increase in the price of gas, even a sharp increase.

What the National Gas Commission did by leaving the gas tariff for the population temporarily unchanged, does not mean that there is no longer a risk of gas tariff increase. On the contrary, these risks are becoming increasingly relevant.

Today, as long as the population does not face an increase in tariffs, the PSC did not do the citizens a favor by leaving the tariffs unchanged. Tariffs should have been lowered a long time ago. But instead of the population, they decided to lower the price of gas supplied to thermal plants.

From August 1, thermal plants will receive gas for only 91.1 dollars, almost twice lower than the price at which Armenia buys gas. Until now, CHPs received gas for 146.2 dollars. We will not say at whose expense they lowered it, but it is clear that they did it to avoid an increase in the electricity tariff. This year, the share of thermal plants in energy production has increased dramatically, significantly increasing the pressure on electricity tariffs.

With this step, in fact, they tried to control the increase in the price of electricity. But it is clear that it is also temporary. if the Russian gas supplied to Armenia became more expensive and no equivalent replacement resources were found, the price of electricity cannot be avoided either.

By the way, instead of reducing the prices of gas sold to the population, the PSC found it appropriate to increase the salaries of “Gazprom Armenia” employees, making an exception for high-ranking management personnel. He increased the average salary by 45 thousand, making it 303 thousand drams.

But, probably understanding the coming of the heads, he warned that in case of a possible increase in the price of gas imported from Russia to Armenia, those amounts may be reduced from the tariffs again.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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In the morning, the media spread information that the health condition of 93-year-old Roza Tsarukyan, the mother of the leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party Gagik Tsarukyan, has deteriorated sharply.

of 168.am in a conversation with PAP press spokesperson Iveta Tonoyan confirmed this information and elaborated.

“Ms. Roza Tsarukyan’s health condition worsened after the publication of the videos and photos published after the search of the PAP leader’s residence. Mrs. Tsarukyan learned about them later.

Thank God, Mrs. Tsarukyan’s health is good at the moment.”

To the question whether she is at home or in the hospital at the moment, Iveta Tonoyan answered that she does not know the details, she just managed to verify that she is feeling well at the moment.

“I think this is the case when even a foreigner, after watching that video, could not have negative emotions and feelings. In this case, when we talk about the PAP leader’s mother, the state of mind and feelings in which 93-year-old Roza Tsarukyan found herself is natural. In this specific case, red lines were crossed, unwritten laws were violated, it concerns the right to the integrity of the home, family, hearth, which, unfortunately, was violated. I don’t know any other details,” added Iveta Tonoyan.

We also asked him where the wife and mother of Gagik Tsarukyan were during the search of Gagik Tsarukyan’s private house. There are various reports that they had to stay in their rooms during the entire search and could not move freely in the private house, Iveta Tonoyan answered.

“I don’t have any information, there was no reason to talk about it, and everyone knows about the process, how limited it was, even the lawyers were able to enter the private house after hours. There has not been an opportunity to talk about that yet, so I cannot comment.”

Let’s remind that on July 6, for almost 13 hours, the masked and armed officers of the National Security Service took control of the private house of the leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, Gagik Tsarukyan, and the investigators were conducting a search inside the private house. Along with the mansion, searches were carried out in the companies belonging to Gagik Tsarukyan’s family, the doors of several companies were broken.

After the searches, the NSS officers arrested Gagik Tsarukyan and transferred him from the private house first to the Investigative Committee, then a petition was submitted to the court to detain him, after which he was detained for 2 months. was detained.

After leaving the investigative committee, Gagik Tsarukyan briefly said about these actions.

“The accusation is completely made up, it’s a lie, it’s a bubble, there’s nothing 100 percent true, everything will be clear.”

According to the report issued by the Investigative Committee, one of the criminal proceedings under investigation in the main department of investigation of economic crimes and smuggling has obtained factual data that a number of persons organized by G.S. apparently committed particularly large-scale fraud and money laundering during the years 2022-2024.

By the way, after the search of Gagik Tsarukyan’s private house, the KP released a video showing how masked and armed National Security Service officers broke into the private house and threw Gagik Tsarukyan to the ground, who came to meet them without showing resistance.

We should also remind that back on May 26, during a meeting with journalists, Gagik Tsarukyan said that he does not have any personal interests, he does everything for the country, and he clearly stated his approaches.

“I am very calm, I warned the most important thing at home, the most important thing is my mother, dear to me, I said, dear, it will be a temporary thing, don’t suddenly get upset, I may go to the exam, it will be a temporary thing for 1-2 months, we have not done anything real, so that they will do anything to the person for this. If they want to make me a hero, I am very happy.”

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On July 1, in the article titled “What place has Baku allocated to the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia in having an IDMS system related to missing persons? Are there any risks in the offer to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia?” we have alerted about specific risks.

On the same day, we sent a written request to the RA National Security Service to specifically find out whether the arrangements of the former director of the National Security Service of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan were moved to a practical stage, or whether the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia was proposed to create a joint database on missing persons, if yes, why was it left out of the process in this case, and whether RA citizens will transfer relevant confidential information to Baku through the National Security Service, how will this risky process be controlled, etc.

And until Nikol Pashinyan’s National Security Service answered our questions, Azerbaijan  is running online inquiry center (OIC) as a digital platform for collecting, processing and coordinating data on missing persons.

Moreover, in the context of the process of registration of missing persons, Baku raises several dangerous questions, which we referred to on July 4 in another article: “Aliyev’s proposal to the citizens of Armenia and Pashinyan’s response: “The issue of legal evaluation of the “genocide” against Azerbaijanis is more than relevant.” in the article.

And on July 6, we published “Aliev “cleanses” himself. Why did Baku remember Manvel Grigoryan, who will be next? the article because the propaganda machine of Baku remembered Manvel Grigoryan, noting that although the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan is over, the peace process is being pushed forward, there are initialed and signed Washington documents, but the First War and its consequences do not give rest, especially when, according to Baku, they have 4,000 missing persons.

After this, we received the response of the RA National Security Service, which states:

“Your letter dated 07.01.2026, addressed to the Director of the RA National Security Service. In connection with the inquiry, we inform you that in order to increase the efficiency of the work aimed at finding out the fate of missing persons, the Interagency Commission dealing with issues of prisoners, hostages and missing (whereabouts unknown) persons (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) cooperates with all competent bodies and international partners involved in the issues of missing persons, including the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

The IDMS (Integrated Data Management System) system developed by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is intended for each country to manage data on missing persons at the national level. The IDMS system is being implemented in Azerbaijan to unify the various databases that exist in Azerbaijan on one platform.

It does not refer to the creation of a joint Armenian-Azerbaijani database or the storage of Armenian data in Azerbaijan. Each side maintains its own national database, and cooperation is conducted exclusively in a humanitarian format.

In the Republic of Armenia, work is also underway to create a unified electronic registry of missing persons, the purpose of which will be to ensure the most effective management of information, interaction and coordination of work between all involved structures dealing with the issues of missing persons.

As for the search for missing persons between Armenia and Azerbaijan, they are carried out in the working format approved by the respective commissions of both sides, in accordance with the principles of international humanitarian law.

The Republic of Armenia will continue to take all possible measures in 2020. in the direction of finding out the fates of the missing persons during the 44-day war, as well as in the period preceding and following it.

At the same time, we inform you that the Commission publishes all the information subject to public disclosure.”

Let’s record that the NSS did not clearly and concretely address the question whether the arrangements of the former director of the NSS Armen Abazyan were transferred to the practical stage, which was related to the implementation of joint search operations, especially when after that the Azerbaijani side regularly finds relics of its missing persons in the first war in various territories of occupied Artsakh.

After all, information was transmitted before the specific arrangement mentioned by Armen Abazyan.

The NSS directly subordinated to Nikol Pashinyan bypassed another very important question: will the citizens of RA pass relevant confidential information to Baku through the NSS? Hopefully, it is under control and no citizen will try to become a tool in the hands of Azerbaijan against any Armenian, freedom fighter, soldier, commander who went through the first war.

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On June 7, the day of national elections in Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan had a briefing with journalists after voting at the polling station. During the briefing, he also referred to the so-called tense relations with Russia and the observation that Russia imposes sanctions on Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan said that such problems happen all the time, it’s another thing that they are being covered now.

“In other words, it is covered due to the interest of the circles of forces operating in Armenia known to you, expenses, etc. Labor issues related to EAEU, not only Armenia-Russia, but also among all countries, there are labor issues of this kind.

Every time on the agenda of the meeting of the EAEU intergovernmental council, we discuss dozens of issues related to such phenomena: phytosanitary issues, standards, exports, re-exports, problems related to the origin of products, because all EAEU countries are worried that the goods of third countries are imported into an EAEU country, become an EAEU product and re-exported to another EAEU country. had said Nikol Pashinyan.

What is the perspective of Armenian-Russian relations after the elections? Is it possible that the RA government will take practical steps regarding the EAEU and the CSTO?

Political scientist Davit Harutyunov according to the assessment, at the moment, the Armenian side is trying to ease the tension, that is, there is an aspiration for mutual contacts at the highest possible level, at the same time, there is a certain reduction of rhetoric.

“It is interesting that Alen Simonyan is leaving the post of Speaker of the National Assembly, because he was one of the main speakers who constantly made anti-Russian statements. Of course, Alen Simonyan is not the only one, and domestically, the authorities are trying to present to the public that the problems that are manageable during contacts will somehow be solved, etc.

And from the Russian side, we see that, on the one hand, there is no deepening of relations, nor are those economic restrictions against Armenia deepened, and on the other hand, contacts with Armenia are being made, but at a low level, because we saw that after the elections, Nikol Pashinyan-Putin did not meet.” 168.amDavit Harutyunov said in a conversation with

According to the political scientist, Russia’s steps in these processes are somewhat unclear, that is, the crisis that started a few months ago was aimed at putting pressure on the RA authorities, or is it about the long-term, consistent deterioration of relations with Armenia, and will these trends continue? There are currently no answers to these questions.

“I think that both options cannot be ruled out, because there were similar tensions in the past, which were somehow resolved, but now we cannot rule out that Russia will continue to deteriorate relations, because Russia will be able to endure without Armenia.

There may be a third option in Armenian-Russian relations, that is, these relations may remain in such a frozen state for a long time,” the political scientist added.

Regarding the CSTO and EAEU, Davit Harutyunov said that the EAEU is a very important structure for Armenia from an economic point of view, therefore, Armenia’s economy will have unpredictable consequences if it is left out of the structure. Although at the moment, Armenia will not leave EAEU on its own initiative, moreover, the government says that it is interested in the work, and they are trying to resolve the tension.

“It is difficult to say what the Russian side will do. In terms of the CSTO, Armenia does not receive many things from the structure at the moment, for a long time, the activity of our country in that structure has been frozen. That’s why I don’t rule out Armenia leaving the structure. At the same time, I think that the structure was left for further “trade”, that is, if the Armenian-Russian relations improve at some stage, then Armenia will start to become more active in the CSTO,” emphasized Davit Harutyunov.

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It seems that the regime has further strengthened its position after the last elections.

However, in reality, that “election” was neither legitimate nor fully legal in the true sense of the word.

The international community also understands that Nikol Pashinyan’s government no longer has the legitimacy it once had.

It is impossible to imagine that under the conditions of such administrative pressures, threats, use of social leverage and, as has been mentioned many times, election bribes, it would be possible to obtain the announced results.

Details in the video

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The fact that Nikol Pashinyan fights against opponents, initiates criminal cases, arrests is seen by everyone, and Aliyev, who repeatedly demanded from Pashinyan to “solve the issues of revanchist forces, eradicate revanchism” in RA and “did everything” to restore the current government, suddenly decided to accuse the same Pashinyan of being a dictator.

In particular, two media outlets promoting the Baku propaganda machine or Aliyev’s theses: minval.az, 1news.az, publish an article with the same title.:

Moreover, 1news.az Kamala Mamedova, editor-in-chief of the online edition, within the framework of the “Bridge of Peace” initiative twice visited Armenia:

And the Azerbaijani media draw attention especially to the post-election persecution of Nikol Pashinyan, the opposition forces and leaders, moreover, here they suddenly remember the European double standards.

“European and American officials prefer to turn a blind eye to repression, because Pashinyan is pursuing a geopolitical line that is beneficial for them: distancing from CSTO and rapprochement with the EU and the USA. A classic example of a double standard. When the repressions are carried out by the “own” leader, they are qualified as “legal actions within the framework of the legal state”.

When the unwanted or “inconvenient” government does the same, it is called “authoritarianism” and becomes a pretext for sanctions.

However, Western support does not make Armenia more democratic, but rather more dependent.

Pashinyan is gradually turning the country from a Russian outpost into a tool of Western policy in Transcaucasia. History shows that dictatorships, even “pro-European” ones, rarely end well, both for the people and for the neighbors. And in this regard, Armenia is not an exception,” he wrote minval.az:

In turn 1news.az–The article’s author adds:

«During the rule of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, the country was effectively a military-bureaucratic dictatorship. The government at that time relied on the power bloc and the Karabakh clan, not hiding its harsh style of management.

At that time, the collective West preferred to turn a blind eye to gross violations of human rights and rigging of elections in Armenia, based on pragmatic considerations and the so-called strategic interests related to the regional balance of power.

History repeats itself, with the difference that Western capitals persistently continue to call Pashinyan a “beacon of democracy” in the region, which they did not do to his predecessors.

This allows him to carry out more large-scale repression, taking advantage of the complete carte blanche given by his European and American partners, who prefer to maintain grave silence in the background of the mass arrests taking place in Yerevan.

The situation in the security sector is even more threatening.

Turning into an arena of violent confrontation between Russia and the West, Armenia loses the remains of its subjectivity and becomes a hostage to the game of others.

Instead of the promised stability and prosperity, Pashinyan’s authoritarian regime is persistently pushing his country into internal disturbances and new regional upheavals, making the Armenian state the main victim of the global struggle of great powers.”

Naturally, we have no desire to spread Azeri assessments, even if it is about the regime of Nikol Pashinyan, who speaks from international platforms and podiums about his country’s internal political problems, opponents, and the church.

We are writing this so that Pashinyan, who sacredly keeps confidential information that has the power to shake up the internal situation of Azerbaijan, and in no way notices the Turkish-Azerbaijani interference when it comes to supporting him, sees that the same Aliyev and the Baku propaganda machine can interfere in the internal affairs of Armenia by criticizing his administration and actions.

Aliyev himself jails opposition figures and even journalists, and by and large, it’s not like Europe takes much notice of his dictatorial actions, except for international organizations that occasionally remember imprisoned Azerbaijani journalists.

And what does Aliyev want to show with this, that Nikol Pashinyan is not better than him, that he is forgiven much more? But the dictator of Baku leaves Pashinyan with the responsibility for possible regional upheavals and clashes between the main players.

It is interesting that despite this, Nikol Pashinyan continues to spare Aliyev, and why, Pashinyan himself should answer.

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