April 8, 2026
Recently, the Azerbaijani media wrote that the human rights ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, issued a statement demanding the 1918 recognize the events as “genocide”.
“The international recognition of genocidal crimes committed against Azerbaijanis, as well as the restoration of justice, are important to prevent the repetition of similar crimes against humanity. International organizations and UN member states should take a principled position on the systematic “ethnic cleansing and crimes of genocide” committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis and recognize the events of 1918 as “genocide”. noted Sabina Aliyeva.
Chairman of the Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenians, expert on Azerbaijan issues Grigory Ayvazyan According to him, Armenia should talk about the genocidal acts committed by Azerbaijan, but for some reason, Azerbaijan is spreading false propaganda.
“There is a popular saying: ‘Instead of the squealing of the sel, the selvore squeals.'” Now it’s Azerbaijan’s propaganda. This has always been the case in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy and strategy, we just didn’t pay attention.
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As surprising as it is, in Azerbaijan they celebrate the “day of genocide of Azerbaijanis by the Armenians” 3 times: “the events of March, when in 1918 various forces tried to raise an uprising against the Baku Commune. Then they celebrate the “Khojalu Genocide” day, they put forward this fiction in order to overshadow the Armenian Genocide in Sumgait. They also celebrate the so-called “Black January” in 1990, when they had already finished the Armenian genocide in Baku and started shouting anti-Soviet slogans, trying to massacre other minorities as well. This was also invented to overshadow the massacres in Baku.” 168.amGrigori Ayvazyan mentioned in a conversation with
The expert reminded that over the past 30 years, Azerbaijan has been preparing to take revenge against Armenians, while it was in Azerbaijan that several genocides against Armenians were carried out. In 1918, Turkish Musavatist troops entered Baku and massacred more than 30,000 Armenians, which was followed by other genocidal acts.
“All these actions were not recognized as genocide, that’s why Azerbaijan continued to commit genocide in Artsakh in 2020 and 2023 in front of the eyes of the whole world in an atmosphere of impunity.
Apart from all this, Azerbaijan has also put the problem of returning to “Western Azerbaijan” as the basis of all its strategic documents, and that means occupying all of Armenia and populating it with Azerbaijanis. We are not talking about our historical lands, instead, Azerbaijan is talking, which implies that it is time for the Armenian side to talk about it, raise its voice. “Azerbaijan carries out its anti-Armenian campaign at the highest level of the state, and the rebuttal from our side should take place at the highest level,” Grigory Ayvazyan added.
According to our interlocutor, at the moment, Azerbaijan demands at least 25 thousand square kilometers of territory from Armenia, Azerbaijan even considers Yerevan “Azerbaijani”, therefore, Azerbaijan is preparing to file lawsuits against Armenia in various international courts.
“If until now Azerbaijan has not dismantled the “strategist’s park” in Baku, it already proves that they are not preparing for peace. And when the enemy is preparing for war, you must prepare your own people to resist, to defend the country, that is, the Armenian people must be ready to resist. We can no longer afford the “luxury” of defeat, this is our only homeland, this is the only homeland of the entire Armenian nation. The question of the existence of the Armenian people is on the table,” Grigory Ayvazyan emphasized.
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Iran has significantly strengthened its geopolitical positions. I don’t think so intense
April 8, 2026
On April 8, US President Donald Trump agreed to stop the strikes against Iran for two weeks and assured that the ceasefire will be bilateral. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced that Tehran will start negotiations with the US on April 10 in Islamabad (Pakistan).
After the US President’s statement, the Iranian Fars agency had transferred, that Iran has released details of a 10-point plan to the United States that has been accepted as the basis for a cease-fire agreement. The terms include withdrawal of US troops, cessation of hostilities and lifting of sanctions against Iran.
Can the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire last for more than 2 weeks? Did Iran manage to win this war that started on February 28?
Military expert Davit Jamalyan assures that Iran has won this 41-day war. Even if it is assumed that the actual ceasefire period is exactly 2 weeks, then Iran will use this period to the maximum to strengthen its military potential.
“Iran has won, and the criterion of that victory is that none of the goals of the American-Israeli aggressor side have been realized, none of the problems put forward have been solved. On the contrary, as a result of Israel’s aggression, Iran has significantly strengthened its geopolitical positions, at least establishing full control over the Strait of Hormuz. What was not there before the aggression is there and is a fact at the moment of the ceasefire. according to many calculations, only in case of charging 2 million dollars from one oil pipeline, Iran will have an income equivalent to 8 billion dollars, and an annual income of 96 billion dollars.” of 168.am Davit Jamalyan said in a conversation with
According to the expert, as a result of this war, the government in Iran was not overthrown, Iranian statehood was not weakened, on the contrary, it was strengthened.
Moreover, the consolidation around Iran’s leadership is evident, more than 14 million people have volunteered and are ready to give their lives for Iran. For ground operations, Iran took very smart steps.
“I think it is categorically not in the United States’ interest to start a war against Iran, instead Israel, especially the Prime Minister of that country and his entourage, need air and water to resume military operations. Israel received serious blows and losses in this war. Of course, these losses are recoverable, but it will take a long time, but it is a fact that Israel is not capable of fighting alone. I don’t think that Trump will be stupid once again and join Israel to wage war against Iran, if we take into account that against this background, Trump’s rating has declined, there are mid-term elections in the Congress in November, then Trump will not take such a step a second time.
I don’t think that military operations with such intensity can be resumed after 2 weeks,” added Davit Jamalyan.
Continuing, our interlocutor noted that previously it seemed that Iran had lost its control over various Shia structures, the axis of resistance, but this war proved that it not only did not lose, but also completely regained its influence in the Middle East.
“Let me also touch on all this and the consequences related to Armenia: the mine called TRIPP is completely losing its perspective, because Iran will take an emphatic and intolerant position against that, essentially, anti-Iranian and anti-Russian project. Taking into account the strengthening of Iranian positions, I am sure that the prospects of this project are becoming dim.
It remains for us to be smart, to force ourselves to get up from the soft sofas and go to the elections on June 7, so that the prospects of our statehood will become good with the newly elected authorities,” emphasized Davit Jamalyan.
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The head of state protocol of the RA MFA was not sent away from Moscow empty-handed. “Ho!
April 8, 2026
Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow, about which views are somewhat contradictory, considering the severity of the statements, also had small plot deviations.
For example, Gagik Vanoyan, the head of state protocol of the MFA, was probably not dissatisfied with that visit. at least, he was not sent away from Moscow empty-handed, as we learn from the “Gifts” department of the Corruption Prevention Commission.
Thus, Kitaev, the head of protocol of the Russian President, handed Vanoyan a wooden box with 3 bottles of wine, one bottle each of vodka and cognac, 4 boxes of assorted cheese, 3 assorted sausages, 1 pate, 3 boxes of assorted smoked fish, one glass container each with crab sticks, red roe and black roe.
The value of the gift was estimated by the recipient at 336,500 drams. as we find out from the form posted on the website of the Central Security Agency.
Please note that with the amendments made to the law “On Public Service”, new rules on accepting gifts have been established.
According to these regulations, gifts given in the framework of state, official visits, events, as well as working visits, business trips, if their value exceeds AMD 60,000, are handed over to the state or community.
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Zakharova on the participation of pro-Russian forces in the elections in Armenia and Elections
April 8, 2026
There are many political forces in Armenia that are ready for constructive interaction with Russia. Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, made this statement during today’s briefing.
According to him, the two countries are united by various ties, history, including civilizational commonality. There is a 2 million Armenian diaspora in Russia.
“We cannot fail to pay attention to the processes unfolding in Armenia and we expect that the pro-Russian forces will be able to freely participate in the expression of the will of RA citizens. It is not about interfering in internal affairs, but that those citizens of Armenia who have the right to vote and are in favor of relations with Russia due to a number of circumstances will also be able to do so in a free, democratic way,” said Zakharova.
According to him, cooperation with Russia is not a business project for those political forces, but a part of the historical essence, the ties that cannot be simply broken or abandoned.
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About 6 years after the war, how many people were found guilty of desertion, service?
April 8, 2026
yesterday we wrote that the RA Investigative Committee does not have “up-to-date” data on desertion during the 44-day war.
Has anything changed in the RA General Prosecutor’s Office data in the last year? On April 1 168.amhas also sent a written request to the RA General Prosecutor’s Office to get the answer to these questions.
1. During the 44-day war of 2020, between September 27 and November 9, how many cases of desertion were there, i.e., how many cases were initiated against how many people?
2. How many of the deserters in the 44-day war were from the regular army, how many from the reservists, volunteers?
3. Were there cases of desertion from the National Security Service and the Police during the 44-day war and how many cases?
In response to these questions, the General Prosecutor’s Office states in its reply.
“In response to your 2026 of the first point of April 1, we inform you that December 25, 2025 inclusive, according to Article 361, Part 7 of the Criminal Code (adopted on April 18, 2003) (voluntarily leaving the military unit or place of service), with part 3 of Article 362 (defection) and part 3 of Article 364 (refusing to perform military service duties) articles was initiated 1786 criminal proceedings 10.687 to the person. 486 criminal case 655 was sent to the court with an indictment on the person. A guilty verdict was reached 410 about the person.
Regarding the 2nd and 3rd points of the survey, we inform you that separate accounting is not carried out.”
And in June 2025, the RA General Prosecutor’s Office provided us with this data.
“In the service area of the RA Military Prosecutor’s Office during the period of the 44-day war of 2020 and the declared martial law (from September 27, 2020 to March 24, 2021) in accordance with Article 361, Part 7 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia adopted on April 18, 2003 (voluntarily leaving the military unit or place of service), According to part 3 of Article 362 (defection) and part 3 of Article 364 (refusal to perform military service duties), as well as with criminal proceedings initiated by a combination of the mentioned articles As of May 1, 2025 an investigation is being carried out in the pre-trial proceedings 8240 regarding persons.
Committed crimes provided for in the mentioned articles 352 guilty verdicts have been passed on the persons”.
Let us add that at the same time, the RA Investigative Committee informed us that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, in cases of crimes against military service in the divisions of the Main Military Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 or more servicemen. The picture was the same in 2025.
And even if there is a certain change in the data of the prosecutor’s office in the last year, in any case, almost 6 years after the 2020 war, there is no evidence of the desertion of 11,000 or more people confirmed by the court.
Moreover, the relevant authorities are reluctant to make clear claims about how many cases of desertion there have been among regular army soldiers.
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Priests Barred From Armenian Prisons As Well
- Susan Badalian
The Armenian Apostolic Church said on Wednesday that law-enforcement authorities have banned at least two of its priests from visiting prisons amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s continuing efforts to depose Catholicos Garegin II.
For more than two decades the authorities have allowed prison chaplains to talk to inmates and even hold religious services for them. One of them, Father Grigor Hovannisian, has visited Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison, the largest in the country, on a weekly basis since 2011.
The Armenian Justice Ministry’s Penitentiary Service confirmed earlier this week that Hovannisian was stripped of that access last month. In a statement to Aysor.am, it claimed that he “made political statements and carried out propaganda” inside the prison. It did not elaborate on the claim denied by Hovannisian.
“When I speak of one’s love for their country, homeland, nation, is this politics?” the priest told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Hovannisian lamented his inability to perform on Sunday Easter services at Nubarashen for individuals serving prison sentences there.
“They repeatedly called me, saying that they are waiting for me,” he said. “They have now been deprived of all that. They have been deprived of the main meaning of their life.”
Archimandrite Isahak Poghosian, head of the church’s 8-strong prison chaplain division, reported a similar ban imposed on another priest who has for years provided spiritual care to inmates of a prison near the northern city of Vanadzor.
“We have never had problems with mutual respect and communication at those institutions,” Poghosian said, criticizing the bans as “weird.”
Earlier this year, dozens of chaplains were removed from the Armenian army ranks after reportedly refusing to back Pashinian’s controversial campaign against the supreme head of the church. Defense Minister Suren Papikian effectively abolished the army’s Spiritual Service that had been jointly set up by the Armenian government and the church nearly three decades ago.
Pashinian began pressuring Garegin to resign last June shortly after the Catholicos accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and illegally occupying Armenian border areas during an international conference in Switzerland. Three archbishops and one bishop were arrested in the following months on different charges strongly denied by them. Three of them have been moved to house arrest in February and March.
Also, law-enforcement authorities indicted but did not arrest Garegin himself as well as six other clergymen. They were banned from leaving the country to attend an emergency episcopal conference held in Austria in February.
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Moscow Scoffs At Yerevan’s Warnings
The Russian Foreign Ministry shrugged off on Wednesday the Armenian leadership’s threats to leave Russian-led defense and trade blocs voiced by parliament speaker Alen Simonian.
Simonian, who is a leading member of the ruling Civil Contract party, responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stern warnings to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian publicly issued during their April 1 talks in Moscow.
Putin said, in particular, that Yerevan’s moves to eventually join the European Union are “not compatible” with Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which gives Armenian exporters tariff-free access to Russia’s market. Putin noted that Russia remains Armenia’s most important trading partner and supplies natural gas to it at a significant discount.
Simonian said on April 4 that Armenia will withdraw from the EEU and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) if Moscow raises the gas prices or imposes other economic sanctions on the South Caucasus country. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, likened that statement to “threatening a hedgehog by baring one’s own capabilities.”
“I don’t want to seriously comment on statements by emotional politicians, who have already made numerous controversial comments, including on the topic of the CSTO,” Zakharova told reporters.
“We’ve even heard this: it’s not Armenia that’s leaving the CSTO but the CSTO that’s leaving Armenia,” she said, citing Pashinian’s past statements. “I don’t know whether this process is complete or still ongoing.”
Pashinian insisted on April 2 that his talks with Putin were “very successful.” He said they reached unspecified “concrete understandings in all areas of our agenda.”
During the talks, Putin also warned Yerevan against disqualifying pro-Russian opposition groups from Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Zakharova repeated that warning.
“We cannot ignore processes unfolding in the republic, and we hope that pro-Russian forces will be able to freely participate in the _expression_ of the will of Armenian citizens,” she said. “This is not about interference in internal affairs but rather about ensuring that those Armenian citizens who … favor ties and relations with Russia will also be able to do so freely and democratically.”
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RFE/RL – Pashinian Threatens To Dispossess Wealthy Rival
- Ruzanna Stepanian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian threatened to turn Samvel Karapetian into a “tramp” on Wednesday in an intensifying war of words with the indicted billionaire emerging as his main election challenger.
Karapetian’s political team cried foul on Tuesday as the ruling Civil Contract party hastily pushed through the Armenian parliament legal amendments banning the tycoon from giving his name to his opposition alliance that will run in the June 7 parliamentary elections. The alliance was unveiled and named Strong Armenia With Samvel Karapetian just a week ago.
Critics said the amendments highlighted Pashinian’s fears that Civil Contract will be collectively defeated by Karapetian’s bloc and other major opposition groups. Karapetian’s nephew and right-hand man Narek aired later on Tuesday a short video message mockingly urging Pashinian not to be afraid of the tycoon.
“He won’t do anything bad to you,” said Narek Karapetian. “When he comes out [of house arrest,] he has a couple of things to tell you.”
“How can I not be afraid?” Pashinian responded tartly the next morning. “I’m afraid that by the end of the year you’ll go from being a billionaire to a tramp.”
“This is what happens when a tramp by soul becomes prime minister,” shot back Narek Karapetian.
The bulk of Samvel Karapetian’s assets, estimated by the Forbes magazine at over $4 billion, are in Russia where the 60-year-old has mostly lived and made his fortune since the early 1990s. His biggest asset in Armenia is the country’s national electric utility. It was effectively seized by the Armenian government last July shortly after Karapetian was arrested following his criticism of Pashinian’s controversial attempts to depose Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The tycoon challenged the seizure of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator in an international arbitration body, seeking $500 million in damages. Despite the legal action, Pashinian’s government is expected to formally nationalize ENA soon.
Karapetian was initially charged with calling for a violent regime change. Investigators also filed tax evasion, fraud and money laundering charges against him following his subsequent decision to challenge Pashinian’s party in the 2026 elections. The tycoon, who was moved to house arrest in late December, rejects all the accusations as politically motivated.
Pashinian pledged to “finally shut down your money laundering system” late on Tuesday when he responded to Karapetian’s scathing statement about his April 1 visit to Moscow marked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stern warnings to the Armenian premier.
Putin specifically warned Armenian authorities against barring what he called pro-Russian opposition groups or politicians from running in Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. He clearly singled out Karapetian. The latter claimed that Pashinian “disgraced himself in Moscow” and set the stage for a devastating “economic war” with Russia.
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Nikoli Can’t Save WhatsApp SMS Anymore
April 8, 2026
The logic of periodic dismissals of high-ranking officials is directly related to the illogical flow of cases and events that we have been witnessing in recent years.
In other words, all this is in a logical chain of illogical, defeatist processes leading to the abyss.
Details in the video
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“I can’t say now whether Pashinyan or Kocharyan is better for us.” Z:
April 8, 2026
In the context of the election struggle, Nikol Pashinyan is trying to convince that if he and his political force do not win, there will be a war, and his political opponents counter that he is the one who brought the war, and that they will not cancel the TRIPP project if they come to power, it is another question that it is possible that different guarantors will be included, certain risky moments will be neutralized.
Moreover, Pashinyan’s opponents are ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, to restore the occupied territories of Armenia only through negotiations, but not to change the constitution under the compulsion of Azerbaijan, which is one of Baku’s main conditions for signing the final peace agreement today. And Nikol Pashinyan takes this circumstance into account, but in no way wants to give up the title of peacemaker.
Մարտի 20-ին ֆեյսբուքյան ուղիղ եթերի ժամանակ, ըստ էության, առաջին անգամ Փաշինյանը խոսել է իր կողմից բանակցված փաստաթղթի հնարավոր փոփոխության մասին, ինչը ևս համարել է պատերազմաբեր:
“Even if we go with the most optimistic forecast to reopen the established peace, means to create an opportunity to transform all the content that we finally fixed as a result of the negotiation process. On a theoretical level, we can consider that this content can become better, but on the same theoretical level, this content can become worse. But it is much more likely that this content can completely collapse. As this simple, most neutral statistical enumeration shows, it is two against one. There is one chance that the content can get better, and there are two chances that the content can get worse. In either case, the logic of development leads to war. We must record this very clearly,” Pashinyan stated.
Can we say that for Pashinyan it is not so much peace and its establishment that is important, but that it is through his hands that which Pashinyan considers to be established on the one hand, and vulnerable on the other hand. Various circles close to the Azerbaijani authorities also are of the opinion that, yes, the peace agenda is established, but it is not irreversible, and a lot depends on the outcome of the Armenian National Assembly elections.
And the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Tofik Zulfugarov, does not attribute the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan only to the person of Pashinyan.
In recent days he has several interview gave In particular, vesti.azZulfugarov said in a conversation with
“And when we start asking who is the most beneficial for us, to be honest, I don’t quite understand why we need it. Yes, we have to monitor the situation, work with the whole political spectrum and neutralize any potential risks, that’s obvious. But I am not ready to say whether Pashinyan is better or Kocharyan is better. Even if we imagine that Kocharyan comes to power, and what will fundamentally change it, what will they start a war with us, with what forces, what resources, how will they take Karabakh, they do not have such an opportunity. And Russia is not going to do it for them, as it was in the early 90s.”
Here it is clear: on the one hand, the former minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan is showing “political arrogance” that Azerbaijan did not leave a chance for Armenia to go for revanchism or a space for such steps, on the other hand, Zulfugarov negates Pashinyan’s claims that the establishment of Yerevan-Baku peace is due solely to him. Although the question is whether under a different government they can think about the realization of long-term goals related to Syunik.
However, in this context, the Azerbaijani politician considered it necessary to emphasize that ensuring unhindered communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan remains an important issue for Baku.
“We accept that Zangezur is currently de facto under the control of Azerbaijan. And if Armenia does not provide the necessary conditions and communications, Azerbaijan, considering this as its key geopolitical issue, will continue to strive for the implementation of the “Zangezur Corridor”, whether it will be within the framework of the TRIPP project, the document of November 10, or within the framework of any other format, that is, the question remains open.– emphasized Zulfugarov, essentially proving that Syunik considers Baku de jure its own, and that the TRIPP project is an Armenian-American document in which Baku is not a direct party, but has a decisive say in the process of its implementation. In the mentioned interview, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan alluded to this. Moreover, he made it clear that Baku did not back down from the “Western Azerbaijan” political plan either. In other words, it is Azerbaijan that maintains the grounds for provoking a war, which Pashinyan does not try to see in any way.
And Zulfugarov did not ignore the Pashinyan-Putin meeting and its results either, noting that he witnessed a “professional staged theater”, and a bilateral one at that. According to him, Pashinyan went to get support from Russia before the RA NA elections, and that, by and large, he meets the main demands of Russia, which are presented to Armenia.
“Putin knew very well about Samvel Karapetyan’s dual citizenship, as for “Russia’s official friend, friend” Robert Kocharyan, the Russian side has a serious dissatisfaction with him for a long time, especially if we remember the events in the RA parliament (he means October 27 – M.P.). Since then, he has lost his previous level of trust… Pashinyan, with his current relationship with Russia, will be elected and continue the course he has been on for 8 years, sitting on two chairs,” predicted Zulfugarov, implying that Pashinyan remains under Russian influence.
Maybe there is an element of truth here, on the other hand, we should not forget that Russia and the CSTO do not forget Pashinyan’s decision to recall CSTO General Secretary Yuri Khachaturov, which faced difficult problems for the organization. And Baku proves through a former official that it is important for him to establish peace not only with Pashinyan, but also with RA, Armenian society.
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