Swedish parliamentary delegation visits Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Armenia15:58, 8 April 2026
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The Third Deputy Speaker of Sweden’s Parliament (Riksdag), Kerstin Lundgren, led a working group to Armenia on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the democratic development cooperation program between the legislative bodies of the two countries, the parliament’s press service reported. 

 First Deputy Speaker Kenneth G. Forslund was also part of the delegation. Armenian Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan led the working group from the Armenian side.

The program aims to develop democratic institutions and promote democratic values. The core of the cooperation is the exchange of experiences among parliamentarians, the strengthening of contacts, and the development of inter-parliamentary relations.

During the visit, the parties held discussions on topics such as “Relations between Parliament/MPs and Civil Society Organizations,” “The Role of Parliament in Security Issues,” “The Role of the Judicial System and Courts,” and “Gender Equality in Parliament.” The delegation also met with Artur Atabekyan, President of the Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia, and Arman Dilanyan, President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia.

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Estonian Foreign Minister to visit Armenia on official trip

Emil Lazarian
Armenia21:27, 8 April 2026
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On April 9–10, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna will pay an official visit to Armenia, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will be held at the MFA on April 10, followed by a joint press conference.

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Armenpress: ‘Armenia’s transit moment is bigger than 43 kilometers’: Ex-FM hi

Jirair Kafian
Politics16:12, 8 April 2026
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Op-ed by Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The article was originally published by EVN Report.

Public debate in Armenia over the proposed TRIPP transit project has been both limited and misdirected. Too much attention has been given to a 43-kilometer section of sovereign territory, and too little to the wider geopolitical and economic shifts that give the project its real significance.

This is a mistake.

TRIPP is not simply a local infrastructure arrangement. For Armenia it’s a window of opportunity in a much broader sense. It sits within a wider reconfiguration of Eurasian trade routes, as geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions force governments and businesses to rethink how goods move between Asia and Europe.

At the center of this shift is the so-called Middle Corridor, a Trans-Caspian route connecting China to Europe via Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Turkey. For now, it remains underdeveloped and relatively expensive. But its appeal lies elsewhere: diversification. In a world where the Northern route through Russia is constrained by sanctions and traditional maritime routes via the Suez Canal face persistent security risks, redundancy is fast becoming a strategic asset.

In this context, TRIPP offers Armenia a potential point of entry into emerging East–West trade networks. Properly leveraged, it could reduce the country’s long-standing economic isolation and increase its relevance in a region where connectivity is once again a source of power.

Yet opportunity does not guarantee inclusion.

Infrastructure developments in Azerbaijan and Turkey suggest that alternative routes may take shape that bypass Armenia altogether. The risk, therefore, is not simply that Armenia mishandles TRIPP, but that it becomes peripheral to a system being built around it.

Avoiding this outcome will require a broader strategic approach. Transit alone rarely generates sustained economic value. It must be accompanied by investment in complementary infrastructure—rail, road and logistics—as well as integration into regional supply chains. Projects such as Armenia’s North–South road corridor and renewed road and rail links to Turkey are not supplementary; they are central to whether Armenia participates meaningfully in the region’s evolving transport architecture.

There are also longer-term opportunities. TRIPP is evidently not tied up to just one administration in Washington. Growing demand in Europe and the United States for critical minerals, including uranium and lithium, is drawing attention to Central Asia’s resource base. Efficient trans-regional routes could connect these supplies to global markets. With its existing capabilities in nuclear energy and technology, Armenia is well placed to benefit—if it is connected. 

More significant is the cascading effect of connectivity to Armenia’s economic and industrial development. The diversification of outreach to regional and global markets and the opportunities it opens to augment global private investments and link Armenia to global value chains are a case in point. 

A potential opening for the promotion and diversification of intra-regional trade in the South Caucasus, besides pure economics, is a promising and solid foundation for a gradual emergence of regional integration and long term sustainable regional security.   

The geopolitical constraints are no less important. New trade corridors inevitably redistribute influence. Russia and Iran, both of which derive economic and strategic weight from existing transit routes, are unlikely to view these developments neutrally. Their responses, whether economic, political or otherwise, will shape the environment in which TRIPP operates. For Armenia, the question is therefore not whether transit creates risk, but whether it can be turned into leverage.

That will depend on policy. A narrow focus on sovereignty, while necessary, is insufficient on its own. What is required is a more integrated strategy, one that aligns infrastructure development with economic policy and foreign policy engagement, and that recognizes the interplay between connectivity and power. 

Security guarantees, understood in narrow military and political terms and grounded in great power protection have proven their futility more than once. Security guarantees and protection are interest based. Great power interests are fluid and shift over time. Such guarantees deliver questionable protection. At best, they secure dependency and ensuing security vulnerability for the protected. 

Connectivity and diversification, solid integration in regional and global supply and value chains are meant to elevate Armenia’s relevance, both regionally and globally. Relevance is a source of consolidated interest of global actors in sustaining sovereignty, regional peace, stability and predictability; significant foundations for sustainable national security. Strategic equidistance from the three regional powers is a justified policy framework for advancing these objectives.

TRIPP, in other words, is not just about movement across territory. It is about positioning within a shifting global system.

For a country long defined by its constraints, that makes it a rare strategic moment. 

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Verelq: A tough conversation took place behind closed doors

Emil Lazarian

“Hraparak” daily writes:


Official Moscow, according to the news that reached us, has realized that it is not possible to reach any agreement with Nikol Pashinyan, and has taken practical steps.


In particular, the Kremlin decided to ban all businesses, companies, and even cultural organizations affiliated with the Pashinyan government from entering Russia. Yesterday it was said that the license of the Proshyan brandy factory, which used to export alcoholic beverages to Russia, was suspended.


Even Gurgen Arsenyan, who has established quite warm relations with the Russians, and his entourage have found themselves in “persona non grata” status.

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The negotiation logic has already changed in favor of Iran

Emil Karabekian


If indeed the two-week ceasefire negotiated between the US and Iran tonight is preserved, then Iran will benefit the most from it, not only increasing the range of negotiating parties, but also increasing the price of the resumption of armed operations for the US and Israel.

And the negotiation logic has already changed in favor of Iran. The Strait of Hormuz opens with Iran’s permission. Something that didn’t exist before the war.


Wars are not about advanced weapons, they are about the systems that operate those weapons and the will and resistance of the elites willing to operate them. Iran has demonstrated this brilliantly in the last 1.5 months.


Turkologist Varuzhan Geghamyan




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The adventure of the US-Israel tandem ended in a strategic fiasco

Maghakian Mike

A ceasefire has been established between Iran and the US.


According to me, the adventure of the US-Israel tandem has ended in a strategic fiasco. But that’s less important now.


What matters is that no more innocent people will be killed.


Of course, this conflict is not settled, institutional peace has not been established, but negotiations, no matter how difficult they are, are an opportunity for peaceful solutions.


Political scientist Suren Surenyants




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Aliyev will try to complicate the transit of Armenian goods to Georgia at any cost

Albert Nalbandian

Aliyev’s surprise visit to Georgia went unnoticed in the turmoil surrounding Iran. Judging by the notes of Georgian experts, it is somewhat of a surprise for the Georgian authorities as well.


In Georgia, they are preparing for Holy Easter and at the same time the election of a new Catholicos and suddenly Aliyev with his wife. The visit followed Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow and it cannot be a coincidence.


Aliyev will try at any cost to complicate the transit of Armenian goods through the territory of Georgia, promising to invest millions of dollars in the Georgian economy. A great danger hangs over the head of our state, which is becoming more and more realistic.


Political scientist Grigor Balasanyan




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The loss of state political content and subjectivity will continue

Torgomian Varazdat

What does the prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, the number one political official, stand out in the morning, when the whole world’s attention is on the agreement of a two-week ceasefire around Iran? Everyone is trying to discuss, understand what is going on behind the scenes, how big is the prospect of a permanent ceasefire, what developments will happen, and that.


Armenia’s number one political official speaks with the rhetoric characteristic of a group that gathers in practically any backwater, talking about opposition rivals, in this case specifically Samvel Karapetyan.


It seems that on the morning of the agreement on Iran, the Prime Minister of Armenia should perhaps first of all welcome the two-week ceasefire, hope that it will be long-lasting and that two countries of great importance for Armenia will be able to reach a more stable diplomatic agreement, which is also in the interest of the security environment of the Republic of Armenia. At least one political official would use the opportunity, as well as the objective necessity for Armenia, and express himself on that topic.


But, I repeat, the Prime Minister of Armenia stands out for the rhetoric I mentioned above, on the domestic political topic. By and large, this is another evidence that Armenia has ceased to be a state containing political content and subjectivity. Otherwise, I repeat, the political subject would be the first to respond to the important issue of the world agenda, moreover, I would like to emphasize that it is directly bordering Armenia and has deep significance for Armenia. Then let him move on to his internal political concerns.


The loss of state political content and subjectivity will be continuous. As I have said many times, the current ruling power no longer has any other political possibility, potential, if it ever had. Moreover, whether he wants to or not, it is a matter of no importance, because even if he wants to, he himself has given up all opportunities, handed over all opportunities and rights to the neighboring state. Therefore, the task of any citizen who is concerned about the fate of Armenian statehood is very simple: to return Armenia to statehood, using the election of the parliament the opportunity.


Analyst Hakob Badalyan




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Stepanakert is the target of Azerbaijani attacks, distortion and misappropriation

Emil Lazarian

“Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was and continues to be at the center of Azerbaijani vandalism policy. Stepanakert, as the center of Artsakh’s statehood and identity, has been and continues to be subjected to appropriation, desecration, Islamization and direct destruction in recent years,” warns the website monumentwatch.org, which monitors Artsakh’s cultural heritage.


“As a result of the wars, genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing of 2020-2023, many monuments were destroyed by Azerbaijan throughout the territory of Artsakh, but it is especially important to record that Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was and continues to be at the center of Azerbaijani vandalism policy.


Stepanakert, as the center of Artsakh’s statehood and identity, has been and continues to be subjected to appropriation, desecration, Islamization and direct destruction in recent years. As a result of many studies and monitoring activities, the team of Artsakh cultural heritage monitoring project has found out cases of destruction of a number of monuments in the city in recent years. These processes were also not free from the rhetoric of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, promoting racial hatred. In particular, on December 21, 2023, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the stadium of Stepanakert, announced that “Khankendi (Stepanakert) is an old Azerbaijani region. This village was founded by the Khan of Karabakh, and after that, a large city was created by Azerbaijani architects and builders with the funds of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is obvious that the speech of the President of Azerbaijan contains blatant falsifications and distortions of historical facts, and the “Azerbaijanization” of the identity and history of many settlements of Artsakh, as well as the city of Stepanakert, is part of the Armenian-hating policy of this country’s regime.


As for the destruction of unique historical evidence, let’s note that the Azerbaijani side destroyed the historical district in the center of Stepanakert, whose houses were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The monuments erected in memory of the Armenian Genocide and the heroic battles of Artsakh were also destroyed. The Armenian writing on the wall next to the bell tower-monument erected in 2015 in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide has been erased.


In February 2025, the Azerbaijani side caused significant damage and desecrated a number of tombstones in the Stepanakert memorial complex. In particular, the faces, eyes and mouth of the freedom fighters depicted on some tombstones were deliberately carved and erased. Some tombstones are also broken.


In addition, projects of new cultural infrastructures are being developed in the city, which are done by destroying the Armenian language. In particular, on July 20, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev presented to the participants of the III Global Media Forum held in Shushi the plan to build a “Victory Museum” in Stepanakert (Azerbaijan’s official name is “Khankendi”), which, according to the president’s statement, will be located in the building of the “Former Party Committee of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region” (the presidential seat of the Republic of Artsakh).


On September 2, 2025, the Independence Day of the Republic of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani side demolished the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh in the center of Stepanakert, which was an architectural structure created in the 50s of the last century and included in the list of monuments of the Republic of Artsakh.


In February 2024, Azerbaijanis destroyed the memorial stone of Ashot Ghulyan (Bekor), which was made by the sculptor Yuri Samvelyan, within the framework of the 1996 Artsakh Annual Symposium, as well as the Artsvi monument, built in the 1960s in the Upper Park of Stepanakert, built during the Soviet era and a symbol of Stepanakert residents’ childhood. The statue of Soviet statesman-politician, intellectual and literary scholar Alexander Myasnikyan, which was carved by sculptor Yuri Hovhannisyan, was also destroyed on Martuni Street in Stepanakert. Azerbaijan also destroyed the bust of Charles Aznavour in the Armenian-French friendship park in Stepanakert. On February 16, 2024, the Azerbaijani side removed the bust of Admiral Ivan Isakov in the city of Stepanakert. In the city, Azerbaijan destroyed the monument of famous Armenian artist Hovhannes Aivazovsky, made by famous Russian sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.


On January 10, 2023, in the city of Stepanakert, Artsakh district, the bust of former Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, Lieutenant General Anatoly Zinevich was destroyed. The statue of Stepan Shahumyan, a public and political figure of the Armenian SSR, was also targeted for destruction.


In Stepanakert, the Azerbaijani side is also destroying whole districts of the city. This is noticeable in the vicinity of Artsakh State University, where apartment buildings and private houses have been demolished, and the university building has been “reconstructed” and changed (for details, see: Under the pretext of creating a “new university” of Azerbaijan, Artsakh State University is being demolished and disfigured…). Also noticeable is the tendency to change the external image of the city, the complete complexes, which is done by carrying out large-scale destruction in different parts of the city. The private property of citizens deported from Stepanakert is being demolished with all their property.


After the demolition of the National Assembly building in 2023. On July 5, Ilham Aliyev laid the foundations of a new administrative building on the site of the demolished National Assembly and Union of Freedom Fighters buildings.


The Azerbaijani side also started the reconstruction works of one of the central streets of Stepanakert, Azatamartiki Avenue. Let’s emphasize that the city’s music college, adjacent buildings, and construction equipment are standing near the Stepanakert geological museum.


In addition, let’s also note that the Azerbaijani side also knocked down the 50-meter illuminated cross on one of the hills near the village of Dashushen near Stepanakert.


Recently, the data on the destruction of Stepanakert was also supplemented with the data of the biannual Google Earth updates made by the Artsakh Culture and Tourism Center. in particular, the monuments of heroes of the Great Patriotic War: Marshal Hovhannes Baghramyan, pilot Nelson Stepanyan, cultural figures: Henrikh Barkhudaryan, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Khachatur Abovyan, Vahram Papazyan, human rights defender Andrey Sakharov, participants of the liberation movement and defenders of the homeland: Kristapor Ivanyan, Yuri Poghosyan, Alexander Tsaturyan were destroyed.


Our response


Actions of Azerbaijan against the monuments of Stepanakert contradict the 1972 UNESCO. Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention “On the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage”. Accordingly, each state is obliged to recognize, protect and preserve the cultural heritage on its territory for future generations. Deliberate destruction of heritage or failure to take necessary measures for its preservation is a gross violation of the state’s international obligations.


As a result of the wars, genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing of 2020-2023, many monuments were destroyed by Azerbaijan throughout the territory of Artsakh, but the statue is especially important.


Attempts to appropriate and privatize the cultural layers of the city violate UNESCO’s 1970 Convention “On Measures to Prohibit and Prevent Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Values”. In particular, according to Article 11 of the Convention, the forcible change of ownership of cultural values ​​by the occupier is considered illegal.


The destruction of the cultural heritage of Stepanakert also affects the spiritual heritage of the population, which is protected by UNESCO’s 2003 With the Convention “On Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage”. The change and “Islamization” of the historical environment of the city aims to eliminate the social and cultural memory associated with these places, which is contrary to the convention’s principle of respecting cultural identity.


Furthermore, targeting cultural heritage violates the provisions of the Faroe Convention (On the Value of Cultural Heritage to Society). This document states that everyone has the right to use cultural heritage and participate in its preservation. The systematic destruction of the Armenian trace deprives the Armenian people of the realization of their cultural rights and is considered as a violation of human rights.


A key requirement of the Convention is that the protection of cultural heritage is directly related to human rights and democracy.


Azerbaijan, as a state, is obliged to recognize that everyone has the right to use cultural heritage and contribute to its enrichment. The Convention emphasizes the right of society to participate in the preservation of its heritage. The targeting or destruction of Armenian monuments in Stepanakert violates the fundamental right of Artsakh Armenians to participate in their cultural life.


The document requires states to protect heritage as an essential element of society’s identity and historical memory.


As a member of the Council of Europe and a potential party to the convention (or a state guided by its principles), Azerbaijan bears responsibility for respecting cultural diversity and preserving heritage in the territories under its control, regardless of its ethnicity,” the website wrote.

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It is planned to adopt a new law on investments

Hovhannisian John

The aim of the project is to establish simple, transparent and predictable legal bases adapted to the modern requirements of investment relations to ensure the protection of investors’ rights, the freedom and promotion of investments, both for local and foreign investors. This was stated by RA Deputy Minister of Economy Lilya Sirakanyan, presenting the draft law “On Investments” for consideration in the first reading at the regular session of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on April 8.


It was noted that with the adoption of the project, a clear and predictable investment legal environment will be formed, which will enable Armenia to increase its international investment rating and competitiveness, investment attractiveness and promote stable and inclusive economic growth.


According to the information of the Deputy Minister, the “Foreign Investments” law, which was adopted in 1994, is currently in force, but it does not provide a complete regulation of the investment process that meets modern requirements. According to the reporter, the regulations defined by the draft will be extended not only to foreign, but also to local investors and investments.


The law will regulate the legal bases of investments in the Republic of Armenia, the freedoms and guarantees applied to investors and their investments, the rights of investors and the structures for the protection of those rights, the responsibilities of investors, the legal bases of investment incentives – privileges, the principles and administration of provision. The institutional framework of the investment policy will also be regulated.


Babken Tunyan, deputy chairman of the commission, informed that the draft law was discussed for a long time, a working discussion took place with the participation of interested businessmen.


It was noted that after the adoption of the project, the current law “On Foreign Investments” will be declared invalid.


The project was approved by the commission. It is planned to be included in the draft agenda of the upcoming regular sessions of the National Assembly.

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