The lawyer team of “Liormand Holdings Limited” company, a shareholder of HETC, issued a statement.

“Arbitration proceedings regarding the alienation of “Electrical Networks of Armenia” proceed to the consideration of Armenia’s jurisdictional objections

On June 16, 2026, the arbitration panel examining the investment dispute regarding the expropriation of HEC made a procedural decision to divide the proceedings into two separate stages.

In the first stage, the arbitration will examine the jurisdictional objections submitted by the Armenian government. After this stage, the arbitration will proceed to the discussion of the merits of the dispute, including the legality of the state’s actions and the responsibility for the expropriation of the investments.

Dividing proceedings into stages is a common phenomenon in international investment disputes that raise a large number of disputed issues. At the same time, the adopted decision is exclusively procedural in nature and does not indicate that the arbitration recognized Armenia’s arguments as justified or subject to satisfaction.

On the contrary, in its decision dated June 16, 2026, the arbitrators expressly stated that, for the purposes of this award, the arbitral panel was not required to rule on the merits of said objections, moreover, if it did so, the arbitral panel would be subject to reasonable criticism for allegedly proceeding with an unfair and premature assessment of the merits of those objections.
Thus, the question of the validity of the objections of the Armenian government regarding jurisdiction remains open and will be a subject of separate discussion. The decision to divide the proceedings does not predetermine the outcome of the given stage and cannot be considered as confirmation of the state’s legal position.

Moreover, the division of proceedings initiated at the request of the Government of Armenia may lead to a significant increase in the duration and cost of the arbitration proceedings. In the event that the arbitration rejects all jurisdictional objections and essentially satisfies the investor’s claims, the additional costs due to the two-stage discussion of the case may be imposed on Armenia.

Investors continue to pursue full protection of their rights in international arbitration and are confident in the validity of the claims made in connection with their confiscated/dispossessed investments.

The security measures established in July of last year and prohibiting any actions aimed at the alienation of the HEC to Armenia continue to be in force. Accordingly, any new illegal action by the Armenian government against HEC and its shareholders, including the nationalization of the company, will violate these measures and trigger Armenia’s international legal responsibility.

HETC shareholder of “Liormand Holdings Limited” company
legal team”

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A few days ago, at the “Zvartnots” airport, the second president of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, was not allowed to leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which he had no right to do, because, as factor.am– wrote, at that time he was not accused in any criminal proceedings, within the framework of which he was not allowed to leave the RA territory, which was confirmed by the court and investigative bodies.

But everything did not end there, not long after, the video of Robert Kocharyan being banned from leaving appeared on Nikol Pashinyan’s family. in the media.

The location and content of the camera allowed the media and various figures to claim that the video was from the surveillance cameras of the border checkpoint in “Zvartnots”.

Note that in 2024 on July 31, the representatives of the border guard service of the FSB of Russia handed over the state border of the “Zvartnots” air checkpoint to the protection of the Armenian side.

In what way did the footage recorded by the surveillance camera of the border checkpoint installed in “Zvartnots” get into the hands of the government media? We can make assumptions about the legality of that move. And both NSS director Andranik Simonyan and NSS border guard troops commander Garik Muradyan have their responsibility here.

Accordingly, how? 168.amGegham Manukyan, deputy of the Armenia faction of the National Assembly, said in a conversation with the National Security Service and the command of the border guard troops of the National Security Service about this issue.

“Haykakan Zhamanak” of Nikol Pashinyan’s family publishes a video almost immediately, and it is clear to the naked eye that it is from the camera installed at the checkpoint of the Zvartnots airport, that is, it belongs to the border guard troops of the RA National Security Service. And such a video and information can be released from the top-secret structure only by the decision of the top management and the execution of the Director of the National Security Service and the Commander of the Border Guard Forces. he emphasized, reminding that this is not the first such case.

About the rights of NSS border guard troops RA: in law specifically, it is said:

■ make appropriate notes in the documents giving the right to cross the state border, and if necessary, to temporarily take them, as well as to take fake documents, to prevent them from crossing the state border into the territory of the Republic of Armenia or from the territory of the Republic of Armenia persons who do not have the relevant documents giving the right to exit until the proper preparation of the documents giving them the right to cross the state border or the clarification of the circumstances of their loss of the documents,

■ in order to establish control over the maintenance of the state border regime, border regime and regime of state border crossing points, perform registration of persons, accounting of actual data, statistics and for these purposes, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, use information systems,

■ carry out an investigation in cases related to their proceedings according to the law,

■ to carry out the prevention of the crimes against which the fight is within the jurisdiction of the border guard troops etc.

As for the responsibilities:

■ To ensure the fulfillment of the obligations related to the state border regime, which are provided by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia,

■ prevent the regime of the state border of the Republic of Armenia, the border regime and actions of persons violating the regime of state border crossing points etc.

We repeat: the Border Guard troops are under the National Security Service, and the Security Service is directly subordinated to Nikol Pashinyan.

In particular, attached to Nikol Pashinyan’s decision of June 28, 2018 on approving the RA NSS statute and structure հավելվածի՝ In the section related to NSS administration and management, it is stated that “The National Security Service is managed by the Prime Minister.” And the director of the National Security Service “manages the organizations and institutions assigned to the national security service”.

And, according to the law and established կարգի՝ The tasks and functions of the NSS, in particular, are:

■ Participation in the development and implementation of measures for the protection of information constituting state and service secrets, control of the preservation of state and service secrets in state bodies, military formations, organizations, implementation of measures related to allowing citizens to access information constituting state and service secrets in the prescribed manner,

■ implementation of state control in the field of information security in accordance with the law, as well as Coordinating activities in the field of cryptographic and technical protection of information protected by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, defining a unified procedure for countering technical intelligence in the Republic of Armenia,

■ communication, information and data transmission systems, information protection means for coordinating activities and summarizing results in the national security service (including cryptographic protection measures) creation, national in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia defining the order of recording, storage and use of operational, archival and other materials related to the activity of the security service, etc.

Is there a clause that allows the release of video belonging to the National Security Agency to a private media outlet, which we have witnessed more than once?

Let’s wait what the National Security Service and the command of the Border Guard troops will answer to the written requests of Gegham Manukyan, deputy of the “Armenia” faction, but they can already assume that the National Security Service and the command of the Border Guard troops, perhaps, crossed the limit of their powers.

And there is still a question: will Nikol Pashinyan, who is directly under the authority of the National Security Service and whose instructions he carried out, see his own responsibility in the incident?

Why do we say this? Back in April “Pashinyan “relinquished” his responsibility regarding the service of the NSS border guard forces” We are an article with a reprint to publish the basis for which was the following wording of Nikol Pashinyan regarding the service of border guards during the briefing organized after the Government session on April 30.

“I am the prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, but I may not know if there is a question about how the border guard of the Republic of Armenia performs his service, with what logic, because it is not a matter of my agenda.”

Of course, this was said more about the service of the border guards at the state border, but we can safely project it on the case described in the article, because it is not excluded that Nikol Pashinyan will not accept the extent of his responsibility in the distribution of the video and put it entirely on the command of the NSS and Border Guard troops.

By the way, from November 10, 2025, he was appointed as the commander of the border guard troops of the RA NSS Garik Muradyan is a military man, and served in Artsakh Armed Forces, then in the 3rd Army Corps of the RA Armed Forces, holding various positions, and during the first stage of the demarcation and demarcation process in Tavush, he was in military service in this sector. And now Nikol Pashinyan has entrusted him with the protection of the state border, if at first sight we accepted this positively at least in the sense that he is a military man and knows the “combat” protection of the borders, then now we have to make negative records.

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Turkish-Western big two skilled experts with experience appear on the website of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace coming Program entitled “Next steps towards peace after the elections held in Armenia”. by article։ Ismail Alper Joshkun, the former ambassador of Turkey and UN representative in Baku, and Karo Paylan, the former deputy of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, suggest without delay to “give new momentum to the process”, and Ankara, which is hosting the next NATO summit in early July, “can become a platform for the next important window of diplomatic opportunities”.

According to the authors, “Nikol Pashinyan has won a vote that could determine the future of the South Caucasus,” and “his victory preserves the prospect of peace with Azerbaijan, normalization of relations with Turkey, and gradual integration of Armenia into broader regional and Western economic networks.”

Meanwhile, as a result of the vote, the Civil Pact party did not receive enough votes to advance the constitutional changes demanded by Azerbaijan, which Azerbaijan requires before the final conclusion of the peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan signed in Washington in August 2025. However, this “should not cause a delay in the process for any party,” Joshkun and Paylan write. – On the contrary, the more limited mandate makes it more important to create visible dividends of the world with the support of Azerbaijan, Turkey, the USA and Europe. If the peace process stops, the forces interested in overthrowing it will strengthen, and the Armenian society will more often perceive the settlement as a unilateral concession. And if peace brings concrete benefits—open borders, trade, investment, energy connections, and new economic opportunities—it will help build domestic support for any long-term settlement.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may use the July 5-7 NATO summit in Ankara as an opportune moment to organize a quadrilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the purpose of which “should be to prevent the stagnation of the peace process and develop joint commitments to create a political and economic base for its further advancement.” Let’s note that such meetings have not yet taken place, and it is not at all a fact that it will be possible to properly prepare it during the remaining upcoming weeks.
“The first step can be the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, with the support and understanding of Azerbaijan, for direct trade and movement of citizens of third countries. It is necessary to start trade and free movement of people. The residents of the region, first of all, the Armenians, should see that normalization brings real benefits. Azerbaijan can show that military victory can become the basis of leadership in the peace process. Turkey, for its part, will be able to demonstrate that its support for regional connectivity also includes Armenia, and that the special relationship with Azerbaijan is used for the common good,” the columnists continue, thereby suggesting a soft revision of Baku’s aforementioned demand, which rigidly binds Armenia’s constitutional referendum as a precondition for signing a peace agreement. Apparently, it is assumed that Trump should have a corresponding influence on Ilham Aliyev and Recep Erdogan, which is far from obvious.

“The South Caucasus is closer than ever to the interconnectedness that replaces war, fragmentation and historical mistrust. with interdependence and with joint economic benefit. This opportunity cannot be missed. The region does not need another frozen diplomatic process. He needs an economy of peace,” Joshkun and Paylan write, further discussing the key role of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIP). In a narrow geographical sense, we are talking about the transport corridor passing through the Syunik region of Armenia, which will connect the main territory of Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan and Turkey.

Strategically, this route could become part of a wider network of transport, energy, digital and trade connections between the Caspian region, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Turkey and Europe. “If properly implemented, TRIPP should not turn into a corridor that benefits one side at the expense of the other. It could become the beginning of a new Pan-Caucasian economic agreement based on the principles of sovereignty, reciprocity and common interest… The opening of the Turkish-Armenian border for the trade and movement of citizens of third countries will not be a concession to Armenia.  It will be an investment in regional stability, the development of the Middle Corridor and the strengthening of Turkey’s strategic influence. In addition, it will allow Azerbaijan to support the move to strengthen the peace process without giving up its key negotiating positions. – write the employees of the European Program of the Carnegie Foundation, calling to think about a bright future. – The South Caucasus is located in the center of the geopolitical area stretching from the Black Sea to Central Asia and the Middle East. At a time when wars, sanctions and crises have shown the vulnerability of global supply chains, the region’s geographic location can be an advantage rather than a source of problems.

A peaceful and interconnected South Caucasus can strengthen the Middle Corridor, increase trade stability between East and West, create new trade, energy and digital communication channels, and provide the US and Europe with a more stable outlet to Central Asia.

For Azerbaijan, this is an opportunity to turn a military victory into a political success and strengthen Ilham Aliyev’s legacy. Baku can participate in the formation of a new regional order, where the country’s security, sovereignty and economic interests will be strengthened through peace, not constant confrontation.”

For Pashinyan’s “Fourth Republic”, “open borders, investments, trade, infrastructural development and raising the standard of living of the population are necessary. For Turkey, the regulation of relations with Armenia also derives from its long-term interests. It will allow to strengthen Turkey’s role as a regional connecting center, support the development of the medium-term corridor to Central Asia, expand Ankara’s influence in the South Caucasus and form a positive agenda in relations with Washington and Brussels.”։

Acknowledging that “interconnection should not be limited to roads”, the authors express a bold idea that “energy and the digital economy can play an analogue of the European coal and steel agreement in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has serious energy resources and is striving to become a regional center of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. Turkey has a strong industrial base and access to European markets.

Collectively, these advantages can enable the implementation of a new generation of regional projects: data centers, digital corridors across the Caspian Sea, energy and logistics networks, as well as production chains connecting Central Asia and Europe through a more sustainable South Caucasus.” Recent investment programs in the field of artificial intelligence and data processing centers in Armenia, including initiatives with the participation of the company NVIDIA, testify to the ability of the states of the region to attract the world’s largest technology companies.

According to the authors, “peace will become truly sustainable only when it is supported not only by politicians and diplomats, but also by entrepreneurs, investors, workers, local communities and ordinary citizens interested in maintaining open borders and mutually beneficial cooperation.” The South Caucasus should not turn into a theater of competition between world powers, needing an open and inclusive system of interaction based on trade, interdependence and development.

In the end, the authors state that Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Turks deserve a future without conflicts, mutual hostility and constant competition. Despite the complex historical legacy, they see the opportunity for the Caucasian states to move to a new model of relations based on coexistence, exchange, trade and peaceful cooperation.

The pathos of Joshkun and Paylan is understandable, but it is not so clear how realistic their proposals are.։ Even if the leaders of the four countries meet in Ankara, it is not at all a fact that their meeting will lead to practical results. it is enough to remember the infamous “Peace Council” named after Donald Trump, which is now largely forgotten. According to Carnegie Endowment experts, some “permanent coordination mechanism” with the participation of the United States, the European Union, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and interested international financial institutions could help track progress, identify bottlenecks, attract investment and prevent deviations from the peace agenda, being “practical, targeted and aimed at the implementation of projects that can bring tangible benefits: modernization of customs services, development of border infrastructure, transport links, energy cooperation, digital investments and support for SMEs that can take advantage of new trade channels”.

This idea, to put it mildly, does not quite correspond to the “three plus three” format put forward by Russian diplomacy, excluding Russia and Iran from the formats of regional interaction. Armenia’s subordinate position in the geopolitical structure proposed by Joshkun and Paylan is no less obvious. On June 14, in Dilijan, Azerbaijani President’s Assistant Hikmet Hajiyev and Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan discussed the issues of the “peace agenda” between Baku and Yerevan, emphasized the continuation of bilateral dialogue within the framework of promoting stable peace and stability in the region. The interlocutors confirmed the intention to maintain working contacts and agreed to hold the next meeting in Azerbaijan.

Alexander Grigoriev

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program political scientist Sergey Markedonov:

During the conversation, the results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia, the issues of the legitimacy of the new political configuration and the future prospects of the country’s internal political development were discussed.

Particular attention was paid to the evaluations of the elections by Russian officials and the impact of the voting results on the authorities’ ability to implement their own political initiatives, including possible constitutional changes.

Armenia’s relations with Russia and the West, the foreign policy course of the Armenian leadership, as well as possible scenarios for the development of the situation in the region against the background of the ongoing political uncertainty were also discussed.

In addition, current international processes, including the policies of the US President Donald Trump’s administration, prospects for conflict resolution in Ukraine, and the development of the negotiation process between the United States and Iran, came into focus.

Hayk Derzyan

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On June 14, the working meeting of the Secretary of the RA Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, and the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, took place in Dilijan. About this had reported From the Security Council.

According to the statement of the Security Council, during the meeting, the parties exchanged ideas on measures to strengthen mutual trust between the civil societies of the two countries.

Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev also agreed to continue working contacts, noting that the next meeting will take place in Azerbaijan.

What did Grigoryan and Hajiyev discuss, what discussions are taking place in Azerbaijan regarding this meeting?

Tatevik Hayrapetyan, an expert on Azerbaijan issues speaking about these issues, he noted that the visits of Azerbaijani officials or their related experts take place according to this principle: no information is distributed beforehand, after the visit they distribute a statement with a few sentences and limit it to that.

“What these visits are about, we understand later, from the developments taking place or from the agendas put into circulation by Nikol Pashinyan and his team, which actually reflect Azerbaijan’s demands. Only 90% of the Azerbaijani press published an official statement regarding this visit, there were no special discussions about it in Azerbaijan. I have come across an article in only one place, where an Azerbaijani expert expressed the opinion that Hajiyev’s visit to Armenia could be related to discussions on “enclaves”, taking into account the fact where he visited, in particular, Tavush Marz, Dilijan, etc. of 168.am Tatev Hayrapetyan said in a conversation with

The expert reminded that on May 19, the same Hajiyev took part in an event where he once again called Armenia “Western Azerbaijan” by the invasive name, saying that Azerbaijanis dream of returning to their “homeland”.

“This was before the elections, the elections are ending, and Hajiyev immediately visits Armenia, Dilijan. Moreover, taking into account who Hajiev is, he is one of the most active propagandists of the Artsakh blockade and genocidal actions in the media field.

In general, it is difficult to speak in the conditions of such limited information, but I can say one thing that after the elections in Armenia, the most active discussions in the Azerbaijani media are about the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. They understand that Pashinyan does not constitute a constitutional majority, and articles are published with the caption “Where has he disappeared? He should change the Constitution.” In other words, the discussions are taking place around this, I will not be surprised that this topic was also discussed at the meeting with Hajiyev,” our interlocutor added.

To the question: was it a coincidence that Hajiyev was walking in Dilijan with Armen Grigoryan in the place that was reconstructed by the efforts of Ruben Vardanyan, who was illegally convicted in Baku at the moment, Tatevik Hayrapetyan answered that it is difficult to find any coincidence in the case of the synchronization of the steps of the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“In my opinion, the goal of Azerbaijan in general is the continuous degradation of the Armenian society and the Armenian state with various tools. Today they will demand to change the Constitution, tomorrow they will say: remove Mount Ararat, that is, the final goal of all these processes is to destroy us, as a society and a state, in the psychological and moral field.

Now they come, they walk in the park rebuilt by Ruben Vardanyan, but Vardanyan is in captivity in Baku, they say the worst things about him. Is this a coincidence? It’s hard to say. I think this is one of the important components of the psychological and moral invisible war waged against us,” emphasized Tatevik Hayrapetyan.

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What the Central Electoral Commission did is simply mandate theft. About this 168 TVof Revue announced on the air of the program Elinar Vardanyan, the candidate of the National Assembly deputy on the pre-election list of the “Prosperous Armenia” party (PAP).commenting on the CEC’s decision to invalidate the results of the June 7 vote in three polling stations, due to which the PAP does not overcome the electoral threshold.

According to the member of the National Assembly, during the summarization of the preliminary results of the National Assembly election, fewer votes were counted in favor of the PAP than the party actually received as a result of the voters’ vote.

“If I say it in one word and try to express myself in an educated manner, it is simply absurd. What the Central Electoral Commission did is simply mandate theft. Look what happened. At the beginning, when the preliminary results were being summarized on the morning of June 8, it suddenly became clear that the “Prosperous Armenia” party did not cross the threshold of 4 percent. Then, when we investigated, we saw that even without recalculation, the numbers they entered did not match the extracts from the records we have. Of course, they say that it was a technical defect, but I have an inner belief that it was a deliberate step, so that they would not notice that four forces passed into the parliament at the stage of summarizing the preliminary results,” commented Elinar Vardanyan.

Elinar Vardanyan emphasizes that before the summary of the final results on June 14, the results of the recount were published, with which it was recorded that the PAP overcomes the electoral threshold of 4 percent, after which the voting results in three polling stations were declared invalid, which means that the invalidation of voting in those polling stations affects the results of the elections.

“When you put aside the votes of more than 2,000 citizens, those votes are the same for you – that’s one side of the issue, but on the other hand, it turns out that you are directly interfering with the results of the elections. We all saw that there were problems in those two polling stations, but what is the fault of the ordinary citizen who went to vote, that the CEC and electoral district commissions are not able to properly organize elections in their polling stations?

It turns out that the CEC decides whether my vote has value or not, and this is in the event that election violations occurred due to their fault, and here the requirement of the Election Code is definitely that a re-voting should be scheduled in case of invalid results in some polling stations. This is an imperative requirement. There can be no dilemma here,” emphasizes the deputy.

Elinar Vardanyan adds that according to the Electoral Code, if the above is not possible, then the entire election is declared invalid.

“And what did they do now – riot?” You can’t describe it any other way. You know, for these people, the constitution and laws have no meaning. These people simply don’t care about the constitution and laws,” the interlocutor adds.

Elinar Vardanyan also spoke about the fact that PAP, “Strong Armenia”, “Armenia” blocs, “Unity Wings” party intend to apply to the Constitutional Court with the demand to declare the election results invalid. According to Vardanyan, at the moment the PAP and other forces are preparing their applications to submit to the Constitutional Court.

Elinar Vardanyan does not have any expectations from the CC, but he believes that it is definitely necessary to apply to the CC in order to fix all the election violations that occurred during the entire election process with those applications.

“It should be emphasized that the election was not only the June 7 vote and it was not the counting of the voting results. The election is the whole process, and such a shameful election has never happened in the history of newly independent Armenia. These elections were organized exclusively within the framework of terror. First of all, in the pre-election phase, unequal conditions were created for the government and other political forces. What was allowed to the government, was not allowed to the opposition.

For what the opposition was subjected to criminal prosecution, in the same case, no proceedings were carried out against the ruling power. Threats, hate speech, criminal prosecutions, the use of administrative resources, along with scaring people – all this cannot have an impact on the entire electoral process,” Elinar Vardanyan adds.

Let’s remind that the Central Electoral Commission recognized the results of the June 7 vote as invalid in election precincts No. 12/13, 10/51, 36/65. As a result, PAP’s votes decreased, and the party did not overcome the electoral threshold of 4 percent. According to the final results summarized by the CEC, the PAP received 58,287 votes or 3.98 percent of the votes.

Full interview in the video.

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Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the “Strong Armenia” bloc, announces the process of consolidation of the opposition forces. He said that in an interview with a number of mass media editors, which will be published tomorrow, June 18.

“We made that mistake before the elections, many opposition forces, who maybe fought honestly, but overestimated their strength, we could not come to an agreement with many opposition forces, that’s why this consolidation is very important for our country and people,” Karapetyan said.

He believes that the opposition forces, for whom the country is dear, will respond to the offer and it will be possible to create a coalition of opposition forces at this post-election stage.

Samvel Karapetyan suggests forming a coordinating council, addressing the people in a live broadcast format, presenting the problems, assessing the situation, discussing possible steps and going in that direction.

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