The Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MoD) congratulated Azerbaijan on Armed Forces Day. The relevant publication was posted on social networks, on the pages of the Ministry.
“Congratulations on the 108th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. We salute the heroic Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, who perform day and night service for the stability and security of the country. We will always be united with Azerbaijan”, the congratulatory message stated.
—
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Armenia rejected the request of 7 parties to declare the results of the elections invalid.
Earlier, the representative of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, lawyer Aram Orbelyan, mediated the session of the CC with the full composition, taking into account the relevant constitutional requirement. The lawyer reminded that holding the session with a reduced composition, without judges Vladimir Vardanyan and Artak Zeynalyan (taking into account their previous party affiliation), may cause problems related to legitimacy in the future.
Today, the question of the participation of Judge Seda Safaryan was raised again at the session of the CC, as well as the participation of Judge Davit Khachaturyan. However, due to the lack of objections among the judges of the CC, the president of the CC Arman Dilanyan considered the matter exhausted. they will participate.
Earlier, the “Armenia” bloc led by the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, applied to exclude the participation of judge Seda Safaryan in the investigation of the electoral dispute in the CC. This political force believes that Safaryan is “biased, has a negative attitude towards Kocharyan and participated in the 2021 elections with Arman Babajanyan on the same list.” Babajanyan’s “For the Republic” party is one of the 7 forces contesting the results of the current elections.
Summarizing the discussions, Arman Dilanyan noted that when deciding on the non-participation of Vardanyan and Zeynalyan, the choice was between a reduced team and legitimacy. At the same time, he reminded that in such cases the court can make decisions with a composition of up to 5 judges.
—
It is obvious to me that the June 7 parliamentary elections did not reflect the true will of the people. I do not believe that the current government actually won these elections. I am convinced that the elections were rigged and the results were falsified. Former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan wrote about this.
“I often hear that they say that neither the government nor the opposition won. I do not agree with that assessment. The total number of votes in the elections is 100%. If the current government did not get a legal majority, then those votes belong to the opposition as a whole. In my opinion, their victory was simply taken away. Election violations and election fraud worked in both directions, like a saw. On the one hand, they contributed to the reduction of the votes of the opposition, on the other hand, to the increase of the votes of the government.
Before the election day, almost all local and international polls showed that Nikol Pashinyan’s support is around 35-40%. I believe that this indicator is the closest to reality. The rest of the results, in my opinion, do not reflect the free will of the citizens. The government continues to rely on power structures in hopes of maintaining power, creating a serious legitimacy problem.
However, the problem is not only in internal legitimacy. There is also another, no less dangerous consequence. The international community, friends and strangers of the Armenian people can conclude that the people of Armenia have chosen this government again with their free will, despite the heavy losses the country suffered in recent years and the humiliation of the national dignity. Such a perception can seriously damage the reputation of Armenia and the Armenian people and distort the perception of the real sentiments of the people. In many ways, this is as dangerous as the existence of an illegitimate government.
I hope that this situation will be corrected in a legal and democratic way in the near future,” he wrote.
—
Alkhas Ghazaryan, deputy of the “Civil Agreement” faction of the National Assembly, is running for the post of NA vice-president and has already been nominated.
Earlier it became known that Vahagn Aleksanyan from the CP faction was nominated for the position of NA deputy speaker.
Let’s remind that yesterday CP decided in a closed secret vote that Ruben Rubinyan will be nominated for the post of Speaker of the National Assembly in the new parliament.
—
It is necessary for Yerevan to answer the question about the strategic choice between EAEU and the EU as soon as possible. This was announced by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
According to him, Armenia’s behavior cannot be called bona fide membership of EAEU. The diplomat added that, judging by the statements of the Armenian authorities, it turns out that participation in the EAEU is now only a temporary measure for Yerevan to prepare for EU membership.
“Pashinyan’s recent statements regarding the EAEU divert the conversation to the field of demagoguery, as it already happened in the case of the freezing of Armenia’s participation in the CSTO,” said Zakharova.
—
In his speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Hayk Mamijanyan, deputy of the “I have honor” faction of the National Assembly, stated that democracy in Armenia is under serious threat, calling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a “dictator” several times.
In particular, he noted: “Today I want to talk about democracy and even play a little quiz with you.
What would you call a politician who deprives citizens of their fundamental right, the right to vote? The answer: a dictator.
And what would you call a politician who arrests his political opponents every day? I mean literally, every day some dissident is arrested for expressing his opinion. I think the answer to this question is also obvious. dictator.
Or what would you call an official who behaves as if he is the Prime Minister, the Chief of Police, the Attorney General, the Chief Justice and even has ambitions to lead the church at the same time? Here, too, there is only one answer: a dictator.
Harassment of public sector employees, selective application of the law, excessive use of pretrial detention, insufficient investigation of politically motivated police abuses, and weakening of the independence of the judiciary. These are the wordings of the preliminary report of the OSCE observation mission on the Armenian parliamentary elections.
However, I will not touch on all the violations, because one of them is special. Thousands of voters were disenfranchised in this month’s 2026 elections, as election results in three polling stations were simply declared invalid. A second vote was not scheduled, although the law directly required it.
Pashinyan’s government simply ignored the clear requirement of the law. And it is important, because as a result, one of the opposition parties did not overcome the passing threshold by only a few hundred votes. Those voices were simply taken away from them.
All these violations were committed in order for the ruling party to secure a 3/5 majority in the parliament. The votes of the people of Armenia were stolen.
During the last five years, I have spoken from this podium about the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the aggression and crimes committed by the Aliyev regime, the fate of my compatriots held in Azerbaijani prisons, the fate of the missing, the occupied territories of Armenia and many other issues.
Today, there are no more Armenians left in Artsakh. And today I am again talking about gross violations of human rights in my country. I hope that this time the international organizations will react faster than before, until those who speak out against these violations are in jail.
Even if Europe tolerates another post-Soviet dictator, we, the people of Armenia, will not tolerate it. Thank you.”
—
In accordance with Articles 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and 44 of the “Regulations of the National Assembly” constitutional law, at the initiative of the Government, on July 2 at 11:00, an extraordinary session of the National Assembly will be held with the agenda set by the initiator.
The agenda includes 43 issues.
It should be noted that the National Assembly of this convocation has already completed its work, in the last session, the session was solemnly closed under the sounds of the national anthem. However, as it turns out, there are unfinished business, for which an extraordinary session is convened.
The first session of the new National Assembly is scheduled for August 2.
—
The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Caracas
The Armenian community in Venezuela remains vigilant, yet on edge, following the two devastating earthquakes that hit the country this week, causing enormous damage and loss of life.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, announced that he has been in contact with Bishop Bedros Manuelian, the spiritual leader of Venezuela’s Armenian community to assess the impact of the earthquake on the community.
The Catholicos said he is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela.
Manuelian conveyed to the Catholicos that the earthquakes were a devastating blow and have resulted in significant material destruction and numerous casualties. Fear and uncertainty have gripped the community. The houses of two Armenian families were destroyed, and several Armenians have been reported injured or missing.
“Manuelian, the church and community organization remain vigilant, continuously tracking developments and maintaining ongoing communication with His Holiness Aram I,” said a statement from the Cilician Catholicosate.
—
Councilmember Adrin Nazarian released a statement after it was announced that Turkey rented the Gloria Molina Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles this week and installed the “Türkish Vibe Zone” to promote that country’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The text of the statement is below.
We in Los Angeles are happy to welcome all nations participating in the World Cup to root for their teams and enjoy all that Los Angeles has to offer. However, at least one visitor is abusing our hospitality to promote a political agenda that is repugnant to large segments of our population, and should be unacceptable to all Americans who cherish peace and democracy.
The Republic of Turkey, in a shocking display of bad taste and worse manners, has erected a large installation in Grand Park, directly facing our city hall, festooned with banners in the blood-red color of its flag, proclaiming ‘Türkiye Is Here!’ This is offensive for many reasons.
Never more than a fragile democracy at best, Turkey has once again relapsed into dictatorship and is pursuing an aggressive foreign policy, destabilizing an entire region with its support for Azerbaijan’s brutal aggression against Armenia, along with its continued occupation of Artsakh and its illegal detention of Armenian prisoners.
The Erdoğan dictatorship continues to brutally suppress its ethnic Kurdish population, denying their very existence as a people. It continues to occupy territory of the sovereign Republic of Cyprus, maintaining by military force a puppet regime recognized by no other nation on earth.
The Turkish government continues to deny the incontrovertible historic reality of the Genocide committed by its predecessor regime, the Ottoman Empire. In a crime that shocked the world, that regime’s actions led to the death of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians, along with Greeks, Assyrians, and members of every other Christian community under its rule. The Turkish regime continues to deny these facts and to prosecute those who dare to speak the truth.
Words mean something. For a nation that still denies the fact of the Genocide to proclaim they are ‘Here’ in the midst of the largest Diasporan community of the people they tried to annihilate is a bitter irony.
A word to our friends in the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration who control our Grand Park: You need to reconsider your approach to future partnerships and not allow yourselves to be used as pawns by a foreign dictatorship pursuing its own agenda.
Turkiye is Here? No. The City of Los Angeles is here, and we extend no welcome to Genocide deniers or advocates of lawless aggression. 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
—
Hundreds of alumni, supporters and officials have gathered in Nicosia, Cyprus to mark the 100th anniversary of the Melkonian Educational Institute through various events and gatherings.
The celebration kicked off on Thursday with the presentation of the new Commemorative Album of the Melkonian Educational Institute at the Presidential Palace. Community leaders and clergy were joined by Cypriot officials and representatives of Armenia’s Embassy to Cyprus.
The book presentation was coordinated by the Office of the Representative of the Armenian Community in the House of Representatives, Varkes Mahdessian, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus and the Press and Information Office.
Following the singing of the institute’s anthem, addresses were delivered by the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Dr Athena Michaelidou, the Representative of the Armenian Community, Vartkes Mahdessian, the Coordinator of Religious Groups, Dr. Kyprianos D. Louis and the Director of the Press and Information Office, Aliki Stylianou.
The event included an artistic program featuring the Youth Choir of St. Mary’s Church, under the direction of Vicky Kouyoumdjian, and Armenian dances presented by the Hamazkayin Sipan Dance Ensemble, under the direction of choreographer Krikor Keleshian.
The commemorative publication pays tribute to the century-long history of the Melkonian Educational Institute, an emblematic educational institution that shaped generations of Armenian youth from across the diaspora and played a vital role in preserving Armenian identity, language, heritage, and cultural continuity.
The Commemorative Album was presented by philologist Dr Antonia Loizou.
At the conclusion of the event, each guest received a complimentary copy of the Album.
The publication was made possible through the valuable contributions of Armenian community members, scholars, alumni, and dedicated individuals who worked together to document and preserve the remarkable legacy of the Melkonian Educational Institute.
—