Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar moves to recognize Armenian Genocide…

Emil Lazarian
Syriac Press

June 27 2026
 27/06/2026

URISHLEM (JERUSALEM) — Israel has taken what could become a historic step toward confronting one of the darkest chapters of the late Ottoman Empire, after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that he will bring a proposal before the Israeli government to officially recognize the 1915 Sayfo Genocide, while a prominent Israeli strategic adviser called for extending that recognition to include the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian-Chaldean) and Greek genocides.

In August 2025, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already offered his personal recognition of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide in an interview with PBD Podcast host Patrick Bet-David, who comes from a mixed Assyrian-Armenian family from Iran. Asked why Israel, founded in 19148, has not yet formally recognized the Sayfo Genocide while many other countries have and while Holocaust denial is punishable in several nations, Netanyahu responded, “I just did. Here you go.”

Moral and Historical Duty

In a statement published yesterday on his official X account, Gideon Sa’ar said he would present a government resolution recognizing the Sayfo Genocide committed during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. “It is a moral and historical duty to recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people during the final period of the Ottoman Empire,” Sa’ar wrote in Hebrew. He added that Israel must also condemn “the denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth,” noting that the proposal would be submitted to the Knesset for approval.

The Foreign Minister’s announcement marks one of the strongest official signals yet that Israel may reconsider its longstanding reluctance to formally recognize the 1915 Sayfo Genocide, a position that for decades had been shaped by regional diplomatic considerations, particularly relations with Turkey.

Read Also: Netanyahu offers personal recognition of 1915 Sayfo Genocide, absent official recognition by State of Israel

Incomplete Recognition

Shay Gal, an Israeli senior strategic adviser, geopolitical analyst, and former Vice President of External Relations at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), argued that recognition should not stop with the Armenian people but should encompass all Christian communities targeted during the mass atrocities carried out between the late nineteenth century and the early years of the Turkish Republic.

Writing on X, Gal welcomed Sa’ar’s initiative but described recognition limited to Armenia as “incomplete.”

“The Armenian Genocide was not an isolated tragedy. The Assyrian Genocide was not an appendix. The Greek Genocide, including the Greeks of Pontus, was not a footnote,” he wrote.

Gal described the extermination of Syriac Christians, Armenians, and Pontic Greeks as “the Thirty-Year Genocide,” referring to the period stretching from the Hamidian massacres of the 1890s through the rule of the Young Turks and into the early years of the Republic of Turkey. According to Gal, the successive campaigns represented “one historical crime of extermination, dispossession and denial,” arguing that the changing political leadership did not alter what he described as a continuous policy of ethnic and religious persecution.

He further asserted that Israel, as the Jewish state, carries a unique moral responsibility to recognize all the communities that suffered under those campaigns. “No nation has the moral right to recognize only the part of this history that is easiest to name. Certainly not the Jewish state,” Gal wrote.

Shay Gal also referenced members of the Jewish Netzah Yisrael Lo Yeshaker (NILI) underground group who provided critical military intelligence to the British to help them defeat the Ottoman Empire, including Sarah Aaronsohn and Aaron Aaronsohn, arguing that they understood the implications of the Ottoman Empire’s treatment of Armenians and viewed it as a warning of what could eventually threaten other minorities, including Jews living in the Land of Israel.

The mass atrocities commonly known among Syriacs as the Sayfo (“the Sword”) reached their peak in 1915 and targeted the indigenous Syriac population alongside Armenians and Pontic Greeks. Hundreds of thousands were killed, while many others were forcibly displaced, subjected to mass deportations, forced conversions, and the destruction of churches, monasteries, and entire villages and towns across Anatolia and Upper Beth Nahrain (Mesopotamia). Historians have also documented the participation of local tribal forces allied with Ottoman authorities in many of the massacres.

While numerous countries and several international organizations have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, recognition of the Syriac and Greek genocides has remained more limited and continues to be the subject of political and historical debate.

Should Israel proceed with formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide, calls such as Gal’s are likely to intensify, urging Israeli leaders to acknowledge the full scope of the atrocities that befell the Armenians, Syriacs, and Pontic Greeks during the final decades of the Ottoman Empire.

For many descendants of the victims, recognition is viewed not only as an act of historical justice but also as a reaffirmation that the suffering endured during the 1915 Sayfo Genocide and the broader campaign of mass violence against the region’s indigenous Christian peoples will not be forgotten.

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Ethiopian-Armenian Museum Debuts with High-Level Diaspora Dialogue

Kanayan Tamar
Capital Ethopia

June 27 2026

Photo by Anteneh Aklilu

June 27, 2026

In a major celebration of cross-cultural heritage, the Armenian Cultural Center in Addis Ababa officially opened the History Museum of the Ethiopian-Armenian community on June 20. The landmark event was paired with a high-level diaspora dialogue featuring Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.

Co-organized by the Embassy of Armenia in Ethiopia and the Executive Council of the Armenian Community of Ethiopia, the opening marks a significant milestone in documenting a unique, centuries-old bond between the two nations.

In his welcoming remarks, Sahak Sargsyan, the Armenian Ambassador to Ethiopia, praised the profound impact the small but vibrant Armenian community has historically made on Ethiopia’s modernization and development. 

“The establishment of this History Museum is an important milestone toward preserving and popularizing the shared Armenian-Ethiopian heritage,” Ambassador Sargsyan noted, emphasizing the deep symbolic value of the new institution.

The Ambassador also welcomed High Commissioner Sinanyan, who traveled to Addis Ababa not only to engage with the local community but also to hold strategic meetings with counterparts at the Ethiopian Diaspora Service and the African Union.

Addressing the attendees, Commissioner Sinanyan highlighted the resilience and outsized influence of the local diaspora. Despite its relatively small numbers, Sinanyan stressed that the Armenian community has made an “invaluable and lasting contribution” to various sectors of Ethiopian society over the centuries, acting as a vital bridge between the two cultures while proudly maintaining its own national identity.
The museum’s creation is largely the result of years of dedication by community activist, author, and museum curator Vartkes Nalbandian. During the event, Nalbandian shared insights into the extensive, painstaking work involved in gathering archival materials, photographs, and historical artifacts to bring the exhibition hall to life. 

GeographicReference

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Israel to officially recognize Armenian Genocide in major diplomatic snub to T

George Mamian
I24, Israel

June 25 2026

Israeli Foreign Minister Sa’ar’s upcoming cabinet resolution breaks decades of strategic silence, aiming a direct blow at Ankara’s institutionalized denial campaign amid soaring regional tension

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will submit a resolution proposal at the upcoming cabinet meeting calling for the government’s official recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

According to the text of the proposal, Israel will formally recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people during the final years of the Ottoman Empire, framing the decision as both a moral and historical obligation. The resolution explicitly notes that any denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth surrounding these events must be firmly condemned.

The explanatory statement accompanying Foreign Minister Sa’ar’s proposal details the systematic nature of the atrocities, which began in April 1915 with the arrest, deportation, and execution of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Constantinople.

Following the removal of the community’s leadership, the Ottoman government executed a targeted campaign to eliminate the population: men were conscripted into forced labor and systematically murdered, while women, children, and the elderly were uprooted and sent on brutal death marches into the Syrian desert. These actions resulted in the deaths of approximately 1.5 million people and the near-total destruction of a millennia-old cultural heritage in the Anatolian region.

The resolution emphasizes that despite extensive and definitive historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains the target of an institutionalized campaign of minimization and denial, characterized largely by a manipulative rewriting of history books by Turkey.

While 32 countries have already formally recognized the Armenian Genocide through legislative acts, parliamentary resolutions, or executive declarations, Israel has historically hesitated to take this step due to complex, fluctuating strategic ties with Turkey.

Moving the resolution forward represents a major shift in Israel’s foreign policy calculus, prioritizing historical memory over diplomatic friction with Ankara. Following cabinet review, the resolution will be forwarded to the Knesset for final parliamentary approval.

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Armenia’s Constitutional Court begins hearings on challenges to election resul

Emil Lazarian
JAM News
June 26 2026
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenia‘s Constitutional Court has begun hearing a case concerning the results of the parliamentary elections held on 7 June. The results are being challenged by seven political groups. Despite some differences in the content of the appeals, the court decided to consolidate them into a single case.

The hearings are being held in oral proceedings. The ruling Civil Contract party is participating in the case as a third party, while the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the Anti-Corruption Committee are named as respondents.

Under Armenian law, the Constitutional Court must examine the case and deliver its ruling within 15 days of receiving the applications. This means the court is expected to announce its verdict on 4 July.

Opposition groups argue that the Constitutional Court “suffers from a serious lack of independence, neutrality and impartiality”. At the same time, they have refrained from predicting the outcome of the case.

Yuriy Avagyan, executive director of the Restart Foundation, said that Armenia had not experienced an acute political crisis following the elections, but argued that the country was facing a crisis of legitimacy. He attributed this primarily to the numerous cases of alleged vote-buying by opposition groups identified by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

“Regardless of what decision the Constitutional Court reaches, these problems will remain. They will continue to affect us in both domestic and foreign policy,” Avagyan said.

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Demands of political groups appealing to Constitutional Court

The following political groups have appealed to the Constitutional Court:

  • the Strong Armenia alliance;
  • the Wings of Unity party;
  • the Democracy, Law and Discipline party;
  • the Prosperous Armenia party;
  • the For the Republic – Alliance of Defenders of Democracy party;
  • the Armenia alliance;
  • the New Force reformist party.

Of these, only two won seats in parliament: the Strong Armenia and Armenia alliances. Strong Armenia is seeking to have the election results declared invalid and for a second round of voting to be held. The Armenia alliance is seeking only to have the results invalidated.

Arman Babajanyan, leader of the For the Republic party, stressed that his party’s appeal had nothing in common with the others.

He said the basis of their appeal was the question of whether the state could confidently claim that the election results reflected the free will of the people when state institutions themselves had documented evidence of organised, large-scale, repeated and interconnected electoral offences during the campaign. He was referring to the Anti-Corruption Committee’s findings on alleged vote-buying by some opposition groups.

“We are not asking the Constitutional Court to replace the criminal courts. We are not asking it to determine which individual committed which crime. That is a matter for the criminal justice system. We are asking the Constitutional Court to do what only the Constitutional Court can do: assess the constitutionality of the elections,” Babajanyan said.

Possible scenarios: what ruling can the Constitutional Court deliver?

Under Armenian law, the Constitutional Court may issue any of the following rulings:

  1. Uphold the election results.
  2. Uphold the election results and
  • declare the election results invalid;
  • declare the election results invalid and determine a new allocation of parliamentary mandates;
  • order a second round of voting.

The Constitutional Court is empowered to invalidate the election results if it finds violations of electoral rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Article 7 of the Constitution states that elections to the National Assembly and community councils of elders, as well as referendums, must be held on the basis of universal, equal, free and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Under Armenia’s Electoral Code, a repeat vote involving the same parties may be held no earlier than 15 days and no later than 30 days after the court’s decision invalidating the election results enters into force.

Article 101 of the Electoral Code provides that if the results of the repeat vote are also declared invalid, fresh parliamentary elections must be held no later than 70 days after the court’s decision enters into force.

Expert commentary

According to Yuriy Avagyan, executive director of the Restart Research and Educational Foundation, the post-election period has been marked by an unusually low level of political activity. He argued that if there had been widespread disagreement with the election results, there would have been public statements and mass protests.

Avagyan said such a scenario had not materialised because the two opposition alliances that won seats in parliament – Strong Armenia and Armenia – were ultimately expected to accept the election results and take up their mandates.

He said Armenia had not experienced a political crisis since the 7 June elections, arguing that the outcome had been largely predictable for society. At the same time, he said the country was facing “a certain crisis of legitimacy”, which he attributed to two factors:

  • the Anti-Corruption Committee’s investigations into alleged vote-buying;
  • the fact that votes cast at three of Armenia’s 2,005 polling stations were not counted after the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) decided not to hold repeat voting there.

“There is a discussion, including from a democratic perspective: yes, Civil Contract won a majority, but is that three-fifths majority legitimate? On the other hand, if even a single mandate was obtained through vote-buying, that also creates a crisis of legitimacy,” he said.

The CEC declared the results at three polling stations invalid but decided against holding repeat voting, arguing that this would create a risk of tactical voting.

According to the CEC, “voters’ choices could then be shaped not by their original political preferences and free _expression_ of will, but by calculations based on already known election results”. It therefore concluded that “a repeat vote would not guarantee a fair election outcome”.

The opposition Prosperous Armenia party, however, argued that the more than 200 votes it had received at those three polling stations would have been enough for it to enter parliament. It also claimed that, in such a scenario, the ruling Civil Contract party would have lost its three-fifths majority.

Avagyan argued that, regardless of the Constitutional Court’s ruling, Armenia was likely to face challenges in both its domestic politics and foreign relations.

On the domestic front, he predicted that parliament would be dominated by two competing narratives. According to him, the ruling party would portray the opposition as having entered parliament through vote-buying, while the opposition would continue accusing the authorities of “surrendering Artsakh”. As a result, he argued, the country’s most pressing challenges would be pushed off the parliamentary agenda.

Avagyan also warned that the CEC’s decision not to hold repeat voting at three polling stations could complicate Armenia’s relations with the West.

“This purely democratic issue could be used against Armenia as a club,” he said.

He suggested that the issue could be exploited both by pro-Russian groups within Armenia and by Russian influence networks operating in Eastern Europe.

As an example, he cited Armenia’s dialogue with the EU on visa liberalisation.

“When the time comes for EU member states to vote, many countries that are not favourably disposed towards us may use the situation surrounding those polling stations to create artificial obstacles for the Armenian government – in other words, to derail our plans for closer integration with the EU,” he said.

The head of the Restart Foundation argued that the legitimacy crisis could be overcome if courts delivered rulings in the vote-buying cases and new elections were subsequently held.

“New elections do not necessarily have to take place in two months. They could be held in six months or a year – however long the courts need to issue their rulings,” he said.

According to Avagyan, in order to conduct a swift but effective investigation, the courts could seek support from civil society and the international community. He also suggested asking the EU to share its “toolkit” with the relevant Armenian authorities.

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Armenians ‘disappointed’ and ‘frustrated’ with Vatican over Azerbaijan ties

Antonian Lara
The Pillar
July 27 2026

“Azerbaijan has been successful in preventing the Vatican from supporting the protection of our rights and especially our cultural heritage.”

Filipe d’Avillez
Jun 27, 2026

Armenians from the region of Nagorno-Karabakh are “disappointed” and “frustrated” with the Catholic Church over its ties to Azerbaijan and a foundation that has funded hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of restoration projects in the Vatican, a leading activist told The Pillar.

The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in 2024. Credit: Golden/wikimedia CC BY 

“Azerbaijan has been successful in preventing the Vatican from supporting the protection of our rights and especially our cultural heritage,” said Beglaryan Artak, former human rights ombudsman and chief minister in the Republic of Artsakh.

“We are quite respectful of the Catholic Church, but we are disappointed with its silence regarding cultural heritage and the rights of the Christian people, because we have been ethnically cleansed also because we are Christians,” he told The Pillar.

Beglaryan is also the founder and current president of the Artsakh Union, an organization that advocates for the rights of the former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh who fled or were expelled following the 2023 Azerbaijani invasion of the disputed region. Artsakh is the Armenian term for Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Azerbaijan has fully instrumentalized the Islamic world’s solidarity, even using ISIS terrorists and mercenaries from Syria and Libya in 2020, to fight against us,” he said.

“But we didn’t see any kind of tangible support from the Christian world, and this should have come, first and foremost, from the Catholic Church, which is the largest and most influential institution in the Christian world. That’s why we feel deep frustration about the Catholic Church’s passive attitude.”

Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis lived side-by-side in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh for centuries. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of the Soviet Union, but as Moscow’s influence waned, tensions rose, until a full-scale war broke out between the communities in 1991. The war led to full Armenian control and the declaration of the Republic of Artsakh – which was never recognized by the international community – and the displacement of the entire Azerbaijani population.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan retook the entire region, leading to an exodus of Armenians.

Beglaryan’s organization monitors the status of Armenian heritage sites, including Christian ones, that are now in the hands of Azerbaijan.

“We have more than 6,000 monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, mostly within 4,400 square kilometers. This is one of the densest and one of the richest examples of Christian heritage in the world and in Europe, with some churches dating back to the fourth century,” he said.

Significant sites include the 13th century Monastery of Gandzasar, which houses what is believed to be the head of John the Baptist.

But activists say that this heritage is now at risk, due to an Azerbaijani attempt to erase the Armenian identity in the region. Satellite imagery has shown the demolition of at least two major Armenian churches, and Beglaryan claims to have evidence of many more examples of vandalization and destruction, including of cemeteries.

“Many of our churches have been targeted by the Azerbaijani forces. Several of them have been fully demolished, and many have been vandalized,” he said.

The Azeris have also been accused of trying to erase Armenian cultural identity by labeling existing churches as “Caucasian Albanian” rather than Armenian.

One such incident took place in an exhibition on Christian heritage in Azerbaijan, which was held in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Speakers criticized Armenians as “aggressive settlers” in Nagorno-Karabakh who had defaced Caucasian Albanian churches to present them as Armenian.

The incident prompted criticism of the Vatican, which has also been accused of allowing Azerbaijan to practice “caviar diplomacy,” in part for allowing an Azeri foundation to fund restoration projects of Vatican cultural sites, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

These restoration projects are funded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which is run by Mehriban Aliyeva, wife of the current president of Azerbaijan.

An Armenian academic who asked not to be named told The Pillar that the Vatican’s decision in 2020 to award Mehriban Aliyeva the Order of Pope Pius IX, Dame Grand Cross, was “widely criticized in Armenian circles.”

“Critics interpreted it as prioritizing political and diplomatic interests over cultural and Christian solidarity,” he said.

“The Vatican, on the other hand, officially presented the recognition as an appreciation for cultural and interreligious cooperation, not as a political gesture. However, for a significant portion of Armenians, this cooperation raises moral contradictions, especially in the context of concerns over the state of Armenian churches and monuments in Artsakh,” he added.

Asked if he believed there was a direct connection between this partnership and the Vatican’s silence on the attacks on Armenian heritage, the academic responded, “There is no certain evidence that the Holy See’s public caution or limited response is directly due to its cooperation with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.”

“Objectively, it should be noted that Vatican diplomacy has historically been very cautious and balanced in managing conflicts,” he continued. “It often avoids harsh public statements, seeking to preserve the possibilities for dialogue and mediation with different states.”

A curial cardinal who spoke to The Pillar on the condition of anonymity said that “the Holy See’s philosophy is to keep the channels of dialogue open with everyone.”

“And some good may come of that,” he said, adding that the Holy See maintains relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. “And, as trust grows, opportunities may present themselves for the Church to play a positive role in problems that already exist or that may arise.”

The cardinal noted that Pope Leo recently received a visit from an Armenian patriarch, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilecia, based in Beirut, Lebanon, which oversees part of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the diaspora.

A senior cleric of the Catholicosate declined to confirm to The Pillar whether Aram and Leo had discussed the issue of the Vatican’s relationship with Azerbaijan, but did say that the Armenian Apostolic Church holds the Holy See in high esteem and does not want to let issues such as this endanger good ecumenical relations.

Meanwhile, the relationship between the Vatican and Azerbaijan seems to be deepening. The prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal George Koovakad, recently visited Baku and met with the president, who extended an invitation for Pope Leo to visit the country. Azerbaijani press highlighted the cardinal’s visit, saying that he also went on a tour of two historical Caucasian Albanian churches.

Neither Cardinal Koovakad nor the Heydar Aliev foundation responded to requests for comment.

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Armenians Criticize Vatican Over Ties to Azerbaijan Amid Cultural Heritage Des

Arsine Chaltikian
ASATU NEWS
June 27 2026
Abigail Donovan

Armenian activists from the Nagorno-Karabakh region expressed deep disappointment and frustration with the Catholic Church on June 26, 2026, over its diplomatic ties to Azerbaijan and silence regarding the destruction of Christian cultural heritage sites. The region, also known as Artsakh, saw an exodus of its Armenian population after Azerbaijani forces retook control in September 2023. Activists point to hundreds of millions of dollars in Vatican restoration projects funded by an Azerbaijani foundation as a source of moral contradiction. The Artsakh Union, an organization monitoring the status of over 6,000 historical monuments now under Azerbaijani control, reported that satellite imagery has already revealed the complete demolition of at least two major Armenian churches alongside widespread vandalization of cemeteries.

“Azerbaijan has been successful in preventing the Vatican from supporting the protection of our rights and especially our cultural heritage,” said Artak Beglaryan, former human rights ombudsman and chief minister in the Republic of Artsakh.

The human rights advocate noted that the region contains one of the densest and richest examples of Christian heritage in Europe, with some churches dating back to the fourth century. “We are quite respectful of the Catholic Church, but we are disappointed with its silence regarding cultural heritage and the rights of the Christian people, because we have been ethnically cleansed also because we are Christians,” Beglaryan told The Pillar.

Tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis escalated into full-scale war in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to initial Armenian control before the 2023 offensive reversed the situation. “Azerbaijan has fully instrumentalized the Islamic world’s solidarity, even using ISIS terrorists and mercenaries from Syria and Libya in 2020, to fight against us,” Beglaryan said.

Activists have accused Azerbaijan of attempting to erase Armenian identity by actively targeting religious landmarks and re-labeling historical Armenian churches as “Caucasian Albanian” during European exhibitions. “But we didn’t see any kind of tangible support from the Christian world, and this should have come, first and foremost, from the Catholic Church, which is the largest and most influential institution in the Christian world. That’s why we feel deep frustration about the Catholic Church’s passive attitude,” Beglaryan added. The widespread concern extends to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, an organization run by the wife of the Azerbaijani president that funds major Vatican restorations, which critics describe as an exercise in “caviar diplomacy.”

“Many of our churches have been targeted by the Azerbaijani forces. Several of them have been fully demolished, and many have been vandalized,” Beglaryan said.

An Armenian academic speaking on the condition of anonymity noted that the geopolitical partnership previously drew heavy criticism when the Vatican awarded the host nation’s first lady a high papal honor in 2020. “Critics interpreted it as prioritizing political and diplomatic interests over cultural and Christian solidarity,” the academic stated to The Pillar. The Holy See officially maintained that the honor was a gesture of appreciation for interreligious cooperation rather than a political stance, though many Armenians view the relationship as highly contradictory.

“The Vatican, on the other hand, officially presented the recognition as an appreciation for cultural and interreligious cooperation, not as a political gesture. However, for a significant portion of Armenians, this cooperation raises moral contradictions, especially in the context of concerns over the state of Armenian churches and monuments in Artsakh,” the academic added.

When questioned about whether the financial partnership directly caused the Vatican’s public caution regarding the conflict, the academic noted that historical precedents play a significant role. “There is no certain evidence that the Holy See’s public caution or limited response is directly due to its cooperation with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation,” the academic continued.

Vatican diplomats traditionally maintain balanced relationships during international disputes to preserve future opportunities for mediation between conflicting states. “Objectively, it should be noted that Vatican diplomacy has historically been very cautious and balanced in managing conflicts,” the academic said.

A curial cardinal speaking anonymously reinforced this stance, stating that the Vatican prioritizes keeping lines of communication open with both Yerevan and Baku. “the Holy See’s philosophy is to keep the channels of dialogue open with everyone,” the cardinal said. The diplomat suggested that cultivating mutual trust remains essential for the Church to eventually address ongoing bilateral issues.

“And some good may come of that,” the cardinal added.

The remarks follow a recent meeting between Pope Leo and an Armenian diaspora patriarch, His Holiness Aram I, though officials declined to confirm if the relationship with Azerbaijan was explicitly discussed. “And, as trust grows, opportunities may present themselves for the Church to play a positive role in problems that already exist or that may arise,” the cardinal said.

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Why Türkiye’s World Cup zone at Grand Park is ‘shocking’ and ‘offensive’ to o

Antranik Varosian
NBC Los Angeles

June 26 2026

The massive, 3,050-square-meter pop-up with large, red signs and balloons was visible from the sky when NewChopper4 was overhead.

While the nation of Türkiye may be successfully showing off its sports diplomacy skills during the 2026 World Cup, the team’s visit to Los Angeles has triggered painful memories and provoked historical grievances from Southern California’s Armenian community.

This week, Türkiye rented Gloria Molina Grand Park to set up the “Türkish Vibe Zone,” which was meant to create interactive fan experience and promote its national soccer team, especially for the historic match with Team USA Thursday. (Team Türkiye stunned the world Thursday evening by defeating the United States.)

The massive, 3,050-square-meter pop-up with large, red signs and balloons was visible from the sky when NewChopper4 was overhead. While the installation under the slogan “Türkiye is here” may seem harmless, Armenians in Los Angeles expressed anger and frustration, with some calling it a blatant provocation.

LA Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, one of the Armenian officials in LA, said what Türkiye set up at Grand Park is shocking and politically motivated, accusing the country of “abusing” LA’s hospitality.

“Turkiye is Here? No. The City of Los Angeles is here, and we extend no welcome to Genocide deniers or advocates of lawless aggression,” Nazarian, who is of of Iranian-Armenian descent, said. “We welcome athletes and their supporters as our guests, but our guests should leave their dictator’s propaganda at home and get it out of our park.”

The gesture is especially more offensive since LA is known to be home to the largest Armenian diaspora with a Armenian Genocide memorial set up at the very downtown LA park, Nazarian’s office told NBC Los Angeles.

Armenians’ animosity toward Türkiye stems from the 1915 Armenian Genocide, during which the Ottoman Empire systematically killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.

The deep historical trauma continues to reverberate as Armenians believe Türkiye has not taken accountability for the genocide amid ongoing border disputes in the region, according to Dr. Benjamin Radd, political scientist and senior fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations at the UCLA International Institute.

“(There is) a lack of any proper, formal recognition, acknowledgement and accountability of what Türkiye historically had done,” Radd explained. “And then, in the present day, the conflict Armenia has had with Azerbaijan — and Türkiye siding with the Azerbaiijanis as sort of ethnic kinfolk — has exacerbating tension.”

However, Radd believes Türkiye’s Grand Park display may have more to do with its own diplomatic ambitions, not the purpose of provoking the Armenian community in LA, largely because of the ongoing war in Iran.

“There’s a tension on Türkiye as possibly being the next phase of diplomacy between the United States and Iran, between Israel and its partners,” Radd said. “It’s at an interesting political and diplomatic crossroads where it can play these multiple roles.”

Türkiye, which should be aware of the existence of a large Armenian community in LA, may also be sending a signal to the Iranian diaspora and Jewish-Americans.

“If the Türkish government is trying to basically give a diplomatic show of force, it has arrived now as a diplomatic power, as an international player that is to be respected,” the political scientist said. “It wouldn’t be surprising that it’s using a very large and public venue like what we’re seeing here as the place to showcase its arrival on the global stage, not necessarily as a slight to the Armenian community.”

The nine-day pop-up at the downtown LA park was expected to wrap up on Friday.

NBCLA reached out to Music Center, which operates Gloria Molina Grand Park, to see whether county officials discussed the conflict between Türkiye and Armenian people in LA before renting out the space but did not receive a response.

NBCLA also attempted to speak with officials at the Türkish consulate in Los Angeles.

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ADB Puts $15 Million for Women Entrepreneurs and Green Lending in Armenia

Jalatian Sonya

June 27 2026

Yerevan (TDI): The Asian Development Bank has signed a $15 million financing deal with Yerevan-based Converse Bank, directing funds toward small businesses, women-owned enterprises, and sustainable lending in a country where the financing gap for small firms tops $2 billion.

The package, announced on Friday, combines a $13 million ADB loan with a $2 million contribution from the Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CANPA), a trust fund managed by ADB and backed by Can$360 million from the Government of Canada.

Of the $13 million, $11 million will be channeled to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, with at least 20% of that earmarked for women-owned businesses.

The remaining $2 million, paired with the CANPA contribution, will support sustainable lending that delivers measurable natural hazard mitigation outcomes for both MSMEs and households.

The deal targets a structural weakness in Armenia’s economy. MSMEs account for nearly 70% of employment and more than 65% of gross domestic product, yet a financing gap exceeding $2 billion continues to restrict their growth.

By funneling longer-term capital through Converse Bank, the ADB hopes to loosen that constraint and enable businesses to expand and hire.

ADB Armenia Country Director Lyaziza Sabyrova said the project would help expand access to finance for MSMEs including women-owned businesses while accelerating sustainable investments, adding that longer-term financing and stronger institutional capacity would support private sector growth, job creation, and the country’s transition to a more resilient economy.

Despite strong potential, sustainable lending remains limited in Armenia, and the project is expected to contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased adoption of energy-efficient solutions by supporting investments in green technologies and resilient activities.

CANPA, established in 2024, builds on two earlier Canadian-backed funds and aims to support private-sector projects across Asia and the Pacific focusing on climate and nature-based solutions while also promoting gender equality.

Converse Bank, established in 1993 and headquartered in Yerevan, is one of Armenia’s leading commercial banks, with a particular focus on MSME financing and financial inclusion.

The partnership gives the bank access to the kind of longer-duration funding that is difficult to source domestically, and that small businesses typically need to invest in equipment, expand operations, or weather economic shocks.

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If His Holiness is arrested, the entire Armenian people will pay the price – A

Kanayan Tamar
Aysor, Armenia

June 25, 2026

If His Holiness is arrested, God forbid, the entire Armenian people will pay the price, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan said during a briefing with journalists in the courtyard of the courthouse, responding to an Aysor.am question about whether he considers it possible that the authorities could arrest the Catholicos of All Armenians.

“The entire Armenian people will pay the price for this. Just as the Armenian people paid in 1938 with hundreds of thousands of victims, so it will be in this case as well,” the archbishop said.

When asked whether he would continue to criticize the authorities, Archbishop Mikael replied: “No, I will have to pat them on the head.”

It should be recalled that the Criminal Court of Appeal has published its ruling in Archbishop Mikael’s case. The court lifted the house arrest imposed on the Primate of the Shirak Diocese. It also overturned the decision of the court of first instance and remanded the case for a new trial.

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A landmark step for nature conservation in Armenia: IUCN National Committee of

Yeghisabet Arthur

June 25, 2026
A landmark step for nature conservation in Armenia: IUCN National Committee of Armenia officially established

This week, the Yerevan Municipality hosted the inaugural ceremony marking the establishment of the IUCN National Committee of Armenia (IUCN NCA). With this step, Armenia formally and institutionally unites its conservation forces around the world’s largest and most authoritative nature conservation network

Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), Ruben Khachatryan, Founding Director; Yerevan Municipality, Sirarpi Haykazyan, Head of the Environmental Department ;Aram Meymaryan, Deputy Minister of Environment of Armenia;  Institute of Botany after A. Takhtajan, NAS RA, Alla Aleksanyan, Coordinator of International Relations and Partnerships; ArAves NGO, Tsovinar Hovhannisyan, Director; SunChild NGO, Sona Kalantaryan, Director; American University of Armenia (AUA), Alen Gasparian-Amirkhanian, Director of the Acopian Center for the Environment; 

Armenia is globally recognized as a crossroads of two of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots — the Caucasus and the Irano-Anatolian regions. Yet climate change, land-use transformation, and ecosystem fragmentation are today placing this rich natural heritage under serious threat. The establishment of the National Committee — particularly ahead of COP17 — becomes the strategic platform that will bring together scientific expertise, civil society, and government institutions to amplify Armenia’s voice for nature on the global stage.

During the ceremony, the founding members formally signed the National Committee’s founding document — Vision and Mission of the IUCN National Committee of Armenia.

“Today’s cities stand at the frontline of climate change, biodiversity loss, and mounting pressure on natural resources. Yerevan has taken a clear approach: the city’s development must be grounded in a balanced and harmonious relationship between people and nature. The establishment of the IUCN National Committee will be a significant catalyst for advancing Armenia’s environmental agenda and bringing new conservation initiatives to life” highlighted Tigran Avinyan, Mayor of Yerevan.

Aram Meymaryan, Deputy Minister of Environment of Armenia, noted: “The Ministry of Environment will also be part of the National Committee’s work, as its objectives and activities are fully aligned with Armenia’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity. This initiative also aligns with Armenia’s preparations to host COP17 — the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. COP17 is a critical opportunity to present Armenia’s priorities, strengthen international partnerships, and contribute to the global biodiversity conservation agenda”.

“What brings us together is a shared ambition — and a shared mission. IUCN’s mission is to influence, encourage, and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. Everyone who joins IUCN subscribes to this mission. Through its members, and now through the National Committee of Armenia, this mission will find its _expression_ — and its impact. Armenia stands out as one of the strongest IUCN memberships in this part of the world — not only in numbers, but in the diversity of mandates and voices represented. The establishment of this National Committee is the crowning of years of dedication and commitment to that collective effort” emphasised Oliver Avramoski, Director, IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECARO). 

Ruben Khachatryan, Founding Director, Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) and IUCN Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stated: “With the establishment of this National Committee, we are creating a platform where civil society, government, NGOs, and institutions can unite around a single purpose — conservation in Armenia. What makes Armenia’s membership in IUCN truly unique is the breadth of that representation: governmental, scientific, cultural, advocacy, and educational — all at the same table”. 

The IUCN National Committee of Armenia will focus on five key priority areas to strengthen conservation efforts nationwide. It will work to coordinate stakeholders and establish a shared agenda among government institutions, NGOs, and the scientific community. The Committee will also play an advisory role by contributing expert knowledge to national policies, environmental strategies, and international commitments. Another priority is facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience, including adapting IUCN global tools and connecting Armenian experts with international networks. In addition, it will support Armenia’s active participation in IUCN governance processes and global initiatives. Finally, the Committee will enhance visibility and communication by raising awareness among the public, media, and decision-makers about environmental challenges and solutions.
  
Signatories of the Vision and Mission of the IUCN National Committee of Armenia:
  • Yerevan Municipality – Sirarpi Haykazyan, Head of the Environmental Department
  • American University of Armenia (AUA) – Alen Gasparian-Amirkhanian, Director of the Acopian Center for the Environment
  • Institute of Botany after A. Takhtajan, NAS RA – Alla Aleksanyan, Coordinator of International Relations and Partnerships
  • Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) – Ruben Khachatryan, Founding Director
  • ArAves NGO – Tsovinar Hovhannisyan, Director
  • SunChild NGO – Sona Kalantaryan, Director

All photos: ©IUCN National Committee of Armenia

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