After the 44-day war of 2020, no special importance is given to the formation of the RA armed forces or the day of the Armenian army, so that there is no special “heroic” atmosphere in the country.

It’s not about empty toasts, nor about those events, from which those who fought for the defense of the army and the country’s borders were sometimes or often left out, but about the heroism of the Armenian army, individual officers, real life stories and not only that.

And for the first time after the change of power in 2018, the military parade organized on the Republic Square on May 28 of this year was mainly given a pre-election-city-propaganda background.

Any such event contains a political statement, but, as a Russian would say, it was “перебор”.

In any case, after the military parade, we tried to “tear” or “take out” the army from the pre-election environment and demonstrate an exclusively narrow professional approach, but the RA Ministry of Defense, its leadership, who are often “upset” by the fact that the opposition political forces approached the military parade exclusively from a political point of view, that they did not notice any positive things done, were not interested in us considering the military parade from a military professional point of view, because there were several clarifying questions.

The Armenian-American exercises “Eagle Partner” also ended a few days ago, we had a similar experience in this case as well, again we wanted to single out a good episode, but… In general, there have been many such cases over the years. We will not go into detail now, because it will be a separate reference, so let’s deviate a little from the topic.

Today, Azerbaijan celebrates the day of the country’s armed forces. The Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan emphasized in his address to the army.

“The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, considers military construction and defense issues a priority. And last year, the military parade dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the Victory held in Baku on November 8 was the result of the daily increase of our country’s military power and its display to the whole world.”

After that, Hasanov continued that the army should remain faithful to the constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan (it contains territorial claims against Armenia. – M.P.), strengthen its combat and morale-psychological preparation.

And the Azerbaijani propaganda machine “distributed” various propaganda materials on the occasion of the Day of the Azerbaijani Army, from which if we remove the toast and pathos part, we can also find some rational formulations.

First, the Aliyev regime admits “Conqueror of Karabakh” (“Conqueror/liberator of Karabakh”) under this military-political discourse for domestic consumption, before 2016, Aliyev started the purchase of new weapons, training of personnel, ordered to conduct military exercises to capture the “occupied territories” with the playing of episodes and operations. And, as the Baku propaganda machine notes, in April 2016, Aliyev tried to bring the new army, or the armed forces of his country following the path of the new army, into combat.

During the April 2016 war, the Armenian side managed to defeat the Baku super-problem with some territorial losses. And Aliyev for 4 years with new momentum prepared of the large-scale war that took place already in 2020. on September 27, as they say, the war started at the most convenient time.

Second, as confirmation of the first point, one of the Azerbaijani propaganda media in the context of the 44-day war in the editorial emphasizes: there are problems, which are solved by the soldier and the commander on the battlefield, and there are problems that the state must solve.

This is what we have written about many times after the war: the war is conducted by the state, the army fights on the battlefield, so the entire responsibility for the defeat in the war cannot be placed on the army, which is what Nikol Pashinyan did and is doing. That’s what we’re for to write Also, it should be clearly stated in percentage terms: what is the political leadership’s share in the 44-day defeat, and how much is the military leadership’s and the army’s, and if the army did not accomplish any task, how much is the political leadership’s fault, and how much is the military leadership’s and command’s?

Third, Baku’s propaganda machine, despite the above, also draws attention to an important circumstance: modern technologies, high-tech weapons should be emphasized, but victory depends not only on technologies, but also on the fighting spirit and morale of the army and soldiers.

Isn’t this the truth, and what did Nikol Pashinyan’s government do so that the spirit of the Armenian soldier, officer and commander is not damaged during the war? Are we not harming the morale and psychological state of the RA army after the war and until now, including by constraining, under-emphasizing and reducing the importance?

fourth, The leadership of Azerbaijan and the Aliyev propaganda machine once again state that today the Azerbaijani army is stronger than it was during the 44-day war, although the reforms in the armed forces began a long time ago. Yes, after the war, with the help of Turkey, the Baku army took the path of having a Turkish model army, which, perhaps, has not ended. Even today, new military units are being created in Azerbaijan, the number of special purpose or “Commando” units is increasing.

And the Baku propaganda machine gives an answer to this, stating:

“We “liberated our territory” and solved our military problems. And we are not planning to seize foreign lands. But it is not for nothing that it was said in ancient Rome“If you want peace, prepare for war,” because we live in a very troubled world… And, as in the past, so today, heaven is under the “umbrella” of swords.

It should be noted that in the analysis of caliber.az, which is close to the Azerbaijan Defense Army, for example, one can also find victorious episodes related to the Armenian army. In particular, the media wrote The casualties of the Azerbaijani side during the July 2020 battles There are 12 եղել՝ 12 soldiers, officers, that is, 3 times more than the Armenian side had.

We we wrote that Azerbaijan, in particular, lost its own during the July battles Chief of Staff of the Third Army Corps, Major General Polad Hashimov, as well as: 3Chief of Artillery of the 1st Army Corps, Colonel Ilgar Mirzaev and other officers.

Moreover, we reported that after the July battles, the mother of the Azerbaijani general Polad Hashimov had announced that in fact his son was “killed” by Kerim Veliyev, the current head of the General Staff of Azerbaijan, who was the country’s deputy defense minister at that time, that is, based on various motives, the military leadership of Azerbaijan sent Polad Hashimov to the place of combat operations, calculating that he would not return from there. Of course, Aliyev’s family “closed” Hashimov’s mother’s “mouth” with their special attention. And they demanded responsibility for their general during the “trial” in Baku.

About the resistance of the Armenian armed forces in the context of the 44-day war spoke also Aliyev, stressing not once that Karvachar, Lachin, Aghdam could not be taken by force, that there was strong resistance.

After the war, even specially from Azerbaijani military experts emphasize are the brilliant work of the Armenian artillery during the 44-day war, when Azerbaijan already had NATO-standard artillery at that time.

On the occasion of their Army Day, Aliyev signed decrees for posthumous and non-posthumous awards, as well as for 5 soldiers has been granted military rank of major general, moreover, 2 of them Gulmamed Tofik oglu Rzayev (chief of artillery) and Ruslan Dunyameddin oglu Aghasiev (chief of staff of one of the army corps) participated in the 44-day war of 2020, moreover, Agasiyev also participated in the April war of 2016 and the “anti-terrorist operation” in Artsakh in September 2023 participated:

Aliyev for his services awarded to one of the young generals, Farid Alibaba oglu Aliyev, who is currently the acting head of the Main Department of Military-Technical Supply (Support) of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.

By the way, on one occasion we wrote that high positions in the Azerbaijani army are entrusted to the heroes of the 44-day war and those who are familiar with the subtleties of the Turkish army, and that behind personnel changes in the Azerbaijani armed forces is standing Commander of the Ground Forces – Deputy Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, Lieutenant General Hikmet Mirzoev.

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Atom Mkhitaryan, dean of the International Scientific and Educational Center of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, expert in the field of education denies Nikol Pashinyan’s statements that the salaries of scientists have increased several times. says: there is a misunderstanding here.

“I am an employee of the NAS, my salary has not undergone any changes in the last 5 years. Moreover, the salaries of some scientists have increased, but the salaries of more scientists have also been reduced, because they will have to undergo some kind of grading.

There is an attestation procedure for scientists, as there is for teachers, and those scientists who pass the attestation, their salaries have increased to a maximum of 500 thousand drams. Many of them were also demoted because they were demoted, and many scientists left the system.” 168.am–Atom Mkhitaryan said in a conversation with

He emphasizes that the salary fund, which was allocated to the entire academic system 2-3 years ago, has remained the same because the number of scientists has decreased, and the salary of those decreased scientists has been redistributed among other scientists.

“Throughout history, the number of scientists is now the lowest: there are only 1,004 scientists per 1 million inhabitants, while in the Soviet years there were approximately 8-9 times more.

Good scientists go abroad to do the same work and receive several times higher salaries, while some scientists leave the system, go to the business sector or the public administration system, and the young people who replace them do not manage to replenish the ranks at the rate at which the seniors leave those ranks. This is the reason why the number of scientists is decreasing,” added Atom Mkhitaryan.

Talking about the total number of university applicants this year, the expert said that there are 0 applicants in all universities in 150 majors, this has never happened before.

“Compared to the previous year, the number of applicants this year is 500 more, but the results will show whether those 500 people applied just like that, or at least they have knowledge, because usually one of the 2 applicants is not accepted. We will know everything after the exams are over,” stressed A. Mkhitaryan.

Speaking about the future fate of the National Academy of Sciences, Atom Mkhitaryan said that the president of the National Academy of Sciences will become an executive position and he will be elected by the presidency.

“The sessions of the presidency will be chaired by the president of RA, Vahagn Khachaturyan, the presidency will consist of 11 people, 1 of them, who will chair those sessions, is the president of the Republic of Armenia. 2 more people will be appointed by the Government and 8 people will be chosen by the Academy from its composition. Then, those 11 people will elect the president of NAS, who will be the executive head. This is written in the statute of the National Academy of Sciences, in which it was stated that 6 months after the approval of the law, the Government must approve the statute of the National Academy of Sciences, this statute was approved on June 18, with a delay of 2 months.

The National Academy of Sciences was a system, now the presidency of the academy remains, and more than 30 scientific research organizations have been removed from the National Academy of Sciences system and are subordinated to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology,” emphasized Atom Mkhitaryan.

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During a recent meeting in Brussels, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Davit Khudatyan and Minister of Transport of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloglu «discussed the restoration of railway and road connections, which were actively used in the past.

Having started the necessary technical and preparatory works in our territory, we also assessed the course of preparatory and tender procedures by Armenia. In addition, we touched upon the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge between Kars and Ani and discussed steps towards the restoration of this important monument of our common historical heritage.” What if? let’s believe Yerevan Observer Khudatyan «proposed that the countries of the Turkic world or the organization of Turkic states join the Armenian-Turkish and Azerbaijani borders, as well as the reconstruction of the Ani bridge entrances and roads. According to the minister, such an approach corresponds to Armenia’s goal of multi-vector mutually beneficial dialogue»։

Moreover, the participation of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan in the conference dedicated to the restoration of Ukraine on June 25 in Gdansk is nothing more than «a clear signal to the Russian authorities that Russian assets in Armenia may be frozen, just as they have been done in the West, to be handed over to Kiev later»։

The negative information background about Russian companies has been created by the Armenian mass media in recent months. Thus, Ruben Grdzelyan, press secretary of SCR, as early as March commented The obviously inflated and, moreover, allegedly “unfulfilled” investment volumes, broadcast on one of the Armenian TV channels, where it was said that the company should allegedly invest 2 billion 150 million US dollars during the 30 years of concession management in 2008-20029.

…”The claim that ‘obviously the obligations have already been breached’ is untrue, as the company clearly fulfills its contractual investment obligations step by step.”

«In fact, SCR’s investment obligations for the years 2008-2038 amount to 174.5 billion drams (about 500 million dollars), of which around 145 billion drams have already been invested. In other words, more than 80 percent of the investment program has been implemented at the moment»։

“South Caucasian Railway” CJSC, let’s remind, is a 100 percent subsidiary of “Russian Railways” OJSC. The company has been managing the railway system of Armenia since 2008. SCR CJSC’s 2025 investment program has exceeded 2 billion drams aimed at infrastructure modernization. In 2024 alone, SCR spent an additional 2 million dollars to restore sections of the railway damaged by the May (2024) flood in northern Armenia.

Most likely, they want SCR «rewrite» the lack of a unified railway network, hence the periodic accusations, «allegedly for defaulting on investment obligations. Meanwhile, back in 2012 last was reported About the order by SCR about the 35 km long feasibility study of the Vanadzor-Fioletovo railway project, which allows to reduce the road section from Yerevan to the border with Georgia by about 100 km. However, the SCR leadership at that time soon announced the unprofitability of the project, which is not related to the development of the nearby almost unused deposits of non-ferrous metal ores.

Government of Armenia «Russian railways»has not agreed with the development priorities of the railway network, which is one of the reasons for its insufficient connectivity. But responsibility get complicated is exclusively on the Russian side, which hardly an allowancein: to the positive perspectives of cooperation in the transport sector.

At the beginning of March, Pashinyan announced that “working level discussions are underway with Russian partners” regarding the early termination of the SCR concession. We see some understanding on this issue, for which we are grateful. There is nothing against Russia in what was said,” adding that in the current situation, Armenia is allegedly “losing its competitive advantages (in the transit sector). We have no other motivation, and I hope we will reach concrete solutions.”

Earlier, Pashinyan announced that by the end of the year, Armenia can take over from Russia’s concession as property the sections of railways on its territory that lead to Azerbaijan (three lines, including communication with the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan) and the borders of Turkey (one line):

A number of experts do not consider it unfounded that the discourse initiated by Yerevan in this field is directly related to the unknown «Trump route» and, accordingly, with the line of the Trump administration, which is not interested in Armenia and, thein general, in the presence of Russia in Transcaucasia, not excluding transit projects.

ALEXEI BALIAND:

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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The European Union confirmed today that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will arrive in Armenia next week to emphasize Brussels’ support to Armenia in the face of political pressure from Russia. It is reported that the President of the European Commission will also visit Azerbaijan.

“The purpose of von der Leyen’s upcoming visit to the South Caucasus is to show the EU’s support to those countries,” the European Union reports, according to Reuters.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will also visit Armenia on July 5.

After the June 7 elections in Armenia, the results of which are still being contested by opposition forces in the Constitutional Court, the European Union has been active, announcing a quick package of aid to Armenia and essentially “protecting” it from Russian restrictions.

On June 14-15, RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan paid a working visit to Luxembourg. On June 15, Minister Mirzoyan participated in the discussion within the framework of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of EU Member States at the invitation of Kaya Kalas, High Representative of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU. A few days ago, the European Union officially launched the “Connectivity Agenda Platform”, an initiative that, according to the European Union, is designed to bridge Europe and Central Asia through the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus.

The representative of RA participated in the event, but the representative of Azerbaijan did not. Today it became known that the special representative of the European Union (EU) for the crisis in South Caucasus and Georgia, Magdalena Grono, is in Baku.

During his visit to Baku, he discussed regional processes, EU-Azerbaijan relations, as well as the prospects of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia in meetings with Azerbaijani officials.

Grono wrote on his X social network page: “I am happy to return to Baku for intensive consultations with my Azerbaijani colleagues, including the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, the head of the foreign policy department of the President’s Office, Hikmet Hajiyev, the representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments, Elchin Amirbekov, as well as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elnur Mammadov.

Our discussions focused on regional processes, EU-Azerbaijan relations, opportunities in the field of transport links, the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the upcoming high-level interaction of the European Union with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

We agreed to maintain the dynamics of the historical results achieved on the road to lasting peace between the two countries. The European Union will continue to support this process.”

Yesterday it became known that the special representative of the NATO Secretary General for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Kevin Hamilton, is on a visit to Azerbaijan. This is Kevin Hamilton’s first visit to Azerbaijan as NATO’s special representative for the region. At the same time, Bertrand Buchwalter, the diplomatic adviser of the French President on continental Europe, was also in Baku. And most importantly, in the coming week, Ursula von der Leyen will visit Yerevan and Baku, keeping the balance, although the visit had the agenda of expressing support for Armenia against the backdrop of Russia’s restrictions.

In this post-election phase of Armenia, Brussels has obviously adopted a policy of high intensity of involvement in the South Caucasus. Ursula von der Leyen’s upcoming visit to Yerevan and Baku is not only a symbolic step of support, but also a strategic calculation, where the European Union seeks to act as a guarantor of regional stability, counterbalancing Russian influence, while simultaneously advancing its own agenda and influence.

At the present stage, the development of transport and energy connections of the South Caucasus occupies a key place in the agenda of the European Union. The launch of the “Connectivity Agenda Platform” shows that Brussels views the region not only as a political partnership, but also as a strategic corridor connecting Europe, the Black Sea Basin and Central Asia. In that context, Armenia is considered as a possible transit link, while interest in Azerbaijan is due to both energy cooperation and its key role in East-West communication projects.

At the same time, Brussels continues to invest political capital in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, trying to maintain its mediating influence. Therefore, the high-level European visits planned in the coming days should be considered not only as a manifestation of political support for Armenia, but also as part of the EU’s broader South Caucasus strategy. That strategy simultaneously includes attempts to limit Russia’s influence, balance the growing role of China and Turkey, promote Europe’s transportation and energy interests, and maintain a parallel, balanced political dialogue with Yerevan and Baku without making a final choice in either direction.

This active diplomatic voyage of the European Union in the South Caucasus, including these days to Baku, testifies to the ambitious goal of Brussels to connect Azerbaijan even more closely to the Western orbit and soften its adopted policy of neutrality.

Despite Azerbaijan’s more balanced foreign policy, the EU, through its visits and high-level consultations, is trying to show Baku that European economic and transport integration can provide greater strategic stability. In this sense, the frequent visits of European officials to Baku are an indicator of the desire to draw Azerbaijan into the “western camp” as much as possible, where they try to present economic mutual benefit as the main impetus for the orientation of the political vector.

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