More and more common todaywho gets «debanking» the new word. It even appeared in explanatory dictionaries. Means be deprived to the person from banking services: But not because the actual or potential customer violates some laws related to money, for example, engages in money laundering or transfers money to terrorists. Such a person cannot access their bank accounts. they must be blocked in accordance with applicable laws.

No, it is about depriving a person of access to banking services for political reasons. Or because of the person behavior defies the bank’s notions of what is good and what is bad (by the way, some banks have their own corporate value system, which may differ from the general system adopted in the country):

It seems that banks should be apolitical and tolerant of their customers, serving everyone regardless of nationality, religion, political views and behavior (except when the behavior is in clear conflict with existing laws).

Looks like «debanking» start the termto spread widely In 2023, when in the UK flared up scandal՝ associated with the famous English politician Nigel Farage around։

Being a member of the European Parliament since the end of the 1990s, he stood out for his sharp criticism of European integration within the framework of the European Union and the Eurozone. And became one of the most active initiators of Brexit. At the end of December 2019, the British newspaper Financial Times included Farage in its published list of 50 people who “made the face of the decade”. Presumably, Faraj had many political opponents. But unexpectedly it turned out that he has opponents not only among politicians, but also from the banking world.

In June 2023, Coutts, a member of the NatWest group, blocked Nigel Farage’s personal and business accounts without explanation. At first, the politician assumed that this happened because of the news of receiving money from the Russian RT channel. Farage later said he had been denied access to the accounts because the bank had identified him as a “political figure”.

According to Farage, the 36-page document attributes to him a friendship with former US President Donald Trump, and also discusses his political views, his stance on LGBT people and his attitude towards Russia. Moreover, the politician claims that he was characterized as a “racist and xenophobe”.

The scandal was huge. By the way, not only Farage was upset, but also many other politicians who realized that they are also not immune to the whims of bankers. The confrontation between Farage and the bank ended in a victory for the politician. Even British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the blocking of accounts due to political views. The scandal led to the resignations of NatWest Group chief executive Alison Rose and Coutts bank chief Peter Flavell.

Farage’s aforementioned story reminded us that debanking has happened in the UK before. Several Muslim organizations, in particular, have recalled that In 2014, HSBC closed their accounts, probably due to a religious factor: Bank executives said the decision to close the accounts was “absolutely unrelated to race or religion.”

Here is another similar case in the foggy Albion Isles. In 2016, the Co-operative Bank closed the bank accounts of Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestine Solidarity Campaigns and about 25 other Palestine-related organizations. The Independent reported in the same 2016 that the decision to close the accounts was made without any explanation. At that time the Govt to announce was that it empowered banks to reduce the risks associated with possible questionable financing or money laundering.

There are many similar cases in continental Europe as well. in April 2023 former lobbyist Frédéric Baldan initiated a criminal case against the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the investigative chamber of Liège. Baldan accused von der Leyen of abuse of official position.

We are talking about the famous “Pfizergate” scandal. The essence of the scandal is that there was a secret SMS correspondence between von der Leyen and the head of Pfizer, Albert Burla, which led to a dubious deal to supply 1.8 billion doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus, worth about 35 billion euros. In June 2023, Baldan’s lobbyist certification was revoked. Two years later, he reported on Platform X that his accounts at ING and Nagelmackers banks in Namur (Belgium) had been closed.

Baldan published a letter in which the bank informed him about the decision to close the accounts. According to Baldan, the closing of the accounts affected not only his personal bank account, but also the accounts of his consulting firm, his household, as well as his five-year-old son’s savings account.

The loudest scandal related to debanking in Germany took place in November last year. At the same time, several German cooperative banks have closed the accounts of the opposition party Alternative for Germany, which has serious chances of winning the next Bundestag elections.:

Some banks brazenly announce that they will pursue a debanking policy based on their understanding of what is good and what is bad. From 1 November 2023 National Australia Bank (NAB, Australian Banking Group, one of the big four banks in Australia) threateningly stated: will block accounts of citizens publishing unauthorized statements on the Internet.

In Canada, in 2022, a wave of closing accounts rose, which can be called debanking. At that time, the country was engulfed in protests by citizens and companies regarding all kinds of bans and restrictions, which were allegedly introduced to fight against the “COVID pandemic”. The prohibitions and restrictions were illegal in nature. In response to the protest, Canadian banks blocked at least 76 accounts of the protesters, worth a total of C$3.2 million.mb: Later, the courts recognized them as illegal.

There were not few cases of debanking in the USA. On August 7, 2025, Trump issued an executive order calling for an end to debanking and punishing those who unfairly cut off legitimate customers from the banking system.

Here is the most recent and perhaps the most resonant story on the subject of bank debanking. The most recent, since it started in the second half of January 2026. Most resonant for at least two reasons. Because Donald Trump, the 47th president of the USA, appears in it as a victim of debanking. And the bank insulting the US president is JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States։

All this is quite detailed is described “What is debanking and why is Trump suing JPMorgan over it?” in the article. On January 22, CNN and Bloomberg reported that Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank and its CEO Jamie Dimon because the bank stopped providing banking services to him personally, Donald Trump, and his businesses in 2021.

The denial of services, the lawsuit states, was due to political reasons. The mentioned article states: “Trump’s legal team not only claims that JPMorgan made the wrong decision, but accuses the bank of turning financial infrastructure into a political tool.”

The closing of the accounts has caused significant financial and reputational damage to Donald Trump. Moreover, as if on the sidelines, the US president explained that he filed the lawsuit not only to compensate for his own losses, but also to create a convincing precedent and prevent future debanking in America that violates the US Constitution.

This precedent, Trump supporters say, should strengthen the president’s August executive order mentioned above. This ordinance prohibits banks and other financial institutions from denying or restricting services based on political or religious beliefs. The order directs federal bank regulators to remove “reputation risk” provisions from their guidelines, reinstate customers who have been illegally deprived of bank accounts, investigate past discriminatory practices and refer religious denials to the attorney general.

Jamie Dimon denies wrongdoing and believes there is an element of “personal vendetta” in the lawsuit. After all, Trump could address his claim only to the bank, and he is also addressing it to the head of the bank, Jamie Dimon. The decision regarding Trump was “subjective” and “politically motivated.” Furthermore, Dimon is a member of the Democratic Party and thus a political opponent of Republican Trump.

Those who agree with Dimon’s opinion about “personal revenge” pay attention to such a “trifle”; US President Donald Trump announced on January 10th the introduction of a fixed maximum interest rate of 10% on credit cards, starting on the anniversary of his inauguration on January 20th. Dimon responded to this initiative of the president.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, he said Trump’s proposed restriction would lead to an “economic disaster”. Probably, it angered the owner of the White House. Because the lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank and Jamie Dimon appeared literally one day after the speech of the head of the bank in Davos.

By the way, Trump said that in 2021 he was debanked not only by JPMorgan Chase, but also by Bank of America. However, the head of the second bank is afraid to criticize Trump, hoping that he will be able to avoid the trial.

The lawyers of the Trump team emphasize that the guilt of JPMorgan Chase bank can be proven even on the basis that the blocking of Trump and his business in 2021 was done in gross violation of the bank’s own internal rules.

Some observers believe Trump’s lawsuit against a major Wall Street bank is unprecedented in US history. No owner of the White House has dared to do this. It is believed that the 47th US president wants to control the US banking system: By the way, at the beginning of November, the US government started an investigation against JPMorgan Chase by order of the president. The investigation concerned whether the bank provided its customers with fair access to banking services.

JPMorgan what happened at the time was connecting with Trump’s August executive order overhauling bank policies that could have led to customer rejections due to “reputational risks.” Especially given that he has already launched a prosecutorial investigation into US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which has a very high chance of escalating into legal proceedings against Powell. of the claim.

For now, experts refrain from evaluating what decision the court will make in this case. Of course, the court’s ruling on Trump’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and Dimon could have far-reaching consequences. The mentioned article concludes:

«If the court considers the idea that a major bank used control of its accounts to punish a sitting president for political reasons, it could open the door to new legal restrictions on how financial institutions manage reputational risks.:

On the other hand, if JPMorgan successfully defends its right to close accounts, the outcome of the case could strengthen banks’ broad powers to decide which customers they serve, even if those decisions affect influential public figures.”

VALENTINE KATASONOV

fondsk.ru

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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During the past weekend, the “campaign bus” led by Nikol Pashinyan, with its regular passengers, CP members, was singing and dancing in the Vayots Dzor region. Like the previous marz visits, this time Nikol Pashinyan traded in the markets, ate in front of cameras, convinced people that there was peace, and thinking that everyone was satisfied and happy, he went to Syunik marz.

In 2023, when Nikol Pashinyan went to Vayots Dzor Marz again, Narine Asatryan, a mother of many children forcibly displaced from Berdzor, threw a raincoat in his direction, remembering the thousands of victims, the destroyed homeland, her lost house in Berdzor, thus expressing her anger. After that incident, Narine Asatryan was charged under part 3 of Article 44-452 of the Criminal Code, which provides imprisonment for 2-5 years.

He was guilty recognized He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for committing the crime provided for by Article 44-452, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code. By applying Article 84 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, Narine Asatryan was sentenced to probation for a period of 2 years, and the probation service of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia was placed under probation.

The court obliged Narine Asatryan, without the decision of the competent authority exercising control over the convict’s behavior, not to allow him to leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Today, we asked Narine Asatryan whether she met him during Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Vayots Dzor marz.

After hearing Nikol Pashinyan’s name, Ms. Narine said, she no longer gets nervous when hearing that name.

“I’ll bear your pain, don’t give me that name, who is he who says that there is no question of Artsakh, forget it, he has his head against the wall?” I don’t want to say other words, who is he, when that person talks about that topic, my nervous system gets disturbed. Who is it, what is it that has brought our Armenian nation to this law, if he wants to become a Turkish fan, let him go, but away from us.” of 168.am Narine Asatryan said in a conversation with

He found it difficult to say whether anyone forcibly displaced from Artsakh went to meet Nikol Pashinyan in Vayots Dzor or not.

“Yesterday I was watching that person’s live broadcast, I was at work, I could hardly stop myself from calling a taxi to go upstairs. I am convicted because of it, today is the day to sign, there are 3 months left for me to be released completely.

Let the National Security Service also listen: the blood of thousands of our boys should come from their noses, at least after all this, they should keep a little restraint, the people are in a state of paralysis.

If at least a part of our nation were dignified, naturally we would not be in this situation,” emphasized Narine Asatryan.

Let’s also remind that Narine Asatryan came to Armenia with her children after the 44-day war. After the war, he returned to Artsakh to live in his permanent home in Kashatagh, but in August 2022, when the Armenian authorities handed over Berdzor, Narine Asatryan’s family was forcibly displaced and moved to Armenia, to Malishka settlement. He was one of the last residents of Berdzor who left his home.

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Until last week, Nikol Pashinyan, the Minister of Justice and the CP members in general did not clearly say that there will be no reference to the Declaration of Independence in the new Constitution. Nikol Pashinyan in a press conference with journalists after the Cabinet meeting last Thursday confirmed.

“There will be no reference to the Declaration of Independence in the new Constitution.”

Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan in a conversation with journalists at the National Assembly on March 2 had saidthat the new text of the Constitution is ready, but there is still no final decision regarding the Declaration of Independence. He also said today that the text of the Constitution will be discussed at the session of the CP department.

Founder of “Njar” constitutional movement, human rights activist Nina Karapetyantsi in my opinion, Nikol Pashinyan should not be given any chance to be re-elected, all legal measures that are allowed both by RA law and international conventions should be used.

“Everyone should take part in the elections, should give an account of what situation we are in and what danger threatens us. This is not about the presence or absence of the Declaration of Independence, this is not about constitutional changes, but about canceling the Republic of Armenia as a state, many people are already talking about this.” 168.amNina Karapetyants said in a conversation with

According to Nina Karapetyants, when the former speak, they try to target them as “pro-Russian” forces, “formers”, etc., but she does not personally represent either the former or the present, nor is she pro-Russian, and continues to insist that Nikol Pashinyan’s proposal can be implemented only in one case: when the statehood of the country is canceled, the Third Republic of Armenia is canceled.

“There is simply no other way to not refer to the Declaration of Independence. Nikol Pashinyan has announced this and has full support from Aliyev, he has exclusive support only from him. And he does not have any support from adequate people inside Armenia, this is the reason why he constantly seeks support abroad and receives support abroad. Naturally, it will be very difficult to fight against this, because Nikol Pashinyan has started using all possible and impossible methods and will continue to use them before the elections,” added Nina Karapetyants.

According to him, Nikol Pashinyan will continue all that after the elections, when people will face a situation where no one will ask the opinion of RA citizens regarding the implementation of Aliyev’s Constitution in RA.

He is sure that it is not possible for Nikol Pashinyan to get 51 percent of votes. “I am sure that he alone cannot gather so many votes, moreover, the political forces that could have supported Nikol Pashinyan with their votes do not have any chance, because they have been ruthlessly discredited and will not enter the National Assembly at all. It is a different matter that Nikol Pashinyan will collect enough votes, including through fraud, pressure, administrative resource and other various machinations. But it will not be enough to form a government. Here comes the next question: will the opposition forces be able to unite and form a coalition in the post-election phase, will they have enough common sense or not, and will they have enough votes or not?

On the other hand, I do not rule out the street struggle at all, the way Nikol Pashinyan came to power on the street. His election in 2018 did not follow the RA constitution, but it was the will of the people gathered on the street. So I think we can do that too, there is nothing illegal about it. If Pashinyan sees something illegal in this, first of all, a criminal case should be initiated against him,” emphasized Nina Karapetyants.

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Journalists asked the President of the Central Bank, Martin Gastyan, whether the increase in pensions and benefits, as a factor, was included in the factors of demand growth and inflation.

“Yes, according to our estimation, it can bring inflation of 0.1-0.2 percent, but until the end of the year,” Galstyan said in response.

To remind, it was announced earlier that pensions in Armenia will increase from April 1. For 623,353 people, the pension will increase by 10,000 drams and more, and for 39,594 people, it will increase by around 8,500 drams.

Details in the video

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Famous Armenian-American lawyer, “Kerkonyan

In his speech, Kerkonyan noted that after the forced deportation of 150 thousand native Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan continues to prevent their safe return, violating the decision of the International Court of Justice of November 17, 2023. According to him, in fact, just two months ago, Azerbaijan expelled the 11 Armenians remaining in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“But this is not enough, Mr. Vice President, Azerbaijan continues to destroy Armenian culture and religious heritage, violating the requirements of the decision of the International Court of Justice of December 7, 2021, seeking to erase even the evidence of our people’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, a presence that has lasted for 4,000 years.

Today, Azerbaijan is deviously detaining 20 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, subjecting them to false trials and torture, without access to a lawyer or even evidence against them. By expelling the Red Cross, Azerbaijan deprived these detainees of independent humanitarian observation. These violations require a response from the board.

Mr. Vice President, the elected representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh are ready to participate in the peace forum initiated by the Swiss Parliament last year. We ask the Human Rights Council to stand by our people, because we strive for the most fundamental human rights, the right to return to our native homeland,” said Garnik Kerkonyan.

On his Facebook page, referring to his above speech, Kerkonyan wrote:

“JUST PEACE.

The right of forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to return to their native homeland remains on the agenda of the international community, and today also in the UN Human Rights Council. Real and lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan must address the right of the people of Artsakh to collectively return to their homeland, under security and protection and with the undisturbed preservation of their fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination. Ethnic cleansing is not the way to peace. It has never been like that.”

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At the request of RA: The EU will send a rapid response team Armenia to protect democracy during elections. the information that became known earlier was confirmed yesterday by the high representative of the EU, Kaya Kalas.

“We will not leave Armenia alone in the fight against foreign interference. Democracies under pressure can count on Europe,” the diplomat quoted his leader as saying. department.

Back in December, Kalas announced that the European Union would help Armenia in the fight against “hybrid threats” and third-party interference attempts in the 2026 parliamentary elections. He claimed that the EU plans to allocate 15 million euros for this.

168․amtalked about the topic political scientist Hrant Mikayelyan with, specifically wondering if this “support” to fight against “interventions” is not actually an intervention, and is this not also a prologue to the perspective that the elections will proceed according to the consensus scenario of the authorities and the West?

In response, Hrant Mikayelyan mentioned: “This is definitely an interference and of course they are interfering and they should say that it is against interference. it is an Orwellian reality in which we live, where, say, war is peace, and where foreign intervention is against foreign intervention, and not foreign intervention.

But the fact is that Brussels is already heavily involved in the internal politics of Armenia, and this is just another step. In addition, in a month and a half, the Brussels union will gather in Armenia at the 8th summit of the European Political Community, and, probably, after that, the RA-EU summit. And this, other than calling it an election campaign for Pashinyan, is not possible.”

The political scientist reminded that this is not the first episode when Brussels supports the current government and the so-called democracy, and, according to him, it is in this context that it is outlined that all repressions that take place in Armenia are, by and large, under the permission of Brussels.

As an example, the specialist reminded the situation of Moldova and Ukraine.

To the question: There are precedents that Brussels was able to play a role with its influence, and are there precedents indicating the opposite, when it was possible, for example, to overcome the “Brussels influence”, Hrant Mikayelyan answered:

“It is the experience of Georgia. Brussels tried (Brussels, of course, was not alone, together with London and Washington) to carry out a street coup. A new government came in America, they even confirmed that USAID, which was financed by US state funds, had participated in that anti-government activity.

But, in any case, the government in Georgia resisted such pressures with power levers. this is one thing, however, as for the opposition, it is a little more difficult to say here;

The EU has now become an internal political player in Armenia and exerts a great influence on the internal political process of Armenia, but we have seen several polls, according to which the opposition should win, therefore, there are opportunities for the opposition to win.”

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The military operations launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 continue, and there is no move to stop the military operations.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a conversation with the French President said that Iran did not start this war, and they have no intention of conceding, statements with almost the same content are also being made by the United States and Israel.

E:Associate Professor of the Chair of International Relations and Diplomacy, international scientist Nubar Chalymyan speaking about the possible developments of the Iran-Israel-United States war, the possible role of various countries, including Turkey, he noted that before this war in the Middle East began, the 2 countries, or 2 1 countries, the United States and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran, on the other hand, did not make such correct calculations before entering into the conflict.

“I mean, they did not calculate the issue of extending or deepening the war. First of all, I think that the United States did not imagine that the military operations would last so long. Israel also did not imagine that the Iranian side could show such resistance to the US-Israeli missile strikes. Iran also did not imagine that 2 militarily powerful states would bring Iran to Iran within 2 weeks. We still don’t know many details about the devastation, but still, Iran suffered a lot and is suffering every day.”– 168.amNubar Chalemyan said in a conversation with

Regarding Turkey’s position in this situation, Nubar Chalymyan said, Turkey took more cunning steps, showing that it will never be included in the conflict. The military operations taking place in neighboring Iran are not beneficial for Turkey. In this context, we should not forget the ups and downs and contradictions of the relations between Turkey and Israel, which is developing more and more.

“It is never in Turkey’s interest that, on the one hand, Iran is bombing American military bases in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, be it Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, or the United Arab Emirates. In general, it is not in Turkey’s interest for the war in the region to take on a larger scale, and it is also not in its interest for the final defeat of Iran. On the other hand, it will be beneficial for Turkey if the United States and Israel finally resolve the issues of Iran, change the regime that both countries are striving for, then Turkey will become a major player in the region, so to speak, watching the “zone”, our interlocutor noted.

Continuing, the international expert noted that today the United States does not talk as much about changing the Islamic regime in Iran as Israel, as they say, Israel has grasped the root of the issue. The most important thing for Israel is to change the regime in Iran, because it understands that if the regime remains, even a little softer, it will still be considered an enemy state for Iran.

“The wrongness of the calculations of the United States was shown when they said that they could solve the issue very quickly.

The United States is gradually trying to drag Europe into the war, because we hear Trump’s sharp speech that Europe should help him so that these oil pipelines pass through the Strait of Hormuz unhindered, etc. Not all European countries are inclined to follow Trump’s speech. Now, on the one hand, the United States is stuck in this quagmire, but on the other hand, Israel is intensifying its rocket attacks to destroy Iranian cities, etc.

As they say, Iran should stay here with its “solution”, because it has thrown down the gauntlet to Israel and the United States, and the US president does not want to negotiate with Iran, he says that he will go to the end, that is, he will destroy Iran to the end. Trump’s goal is to change the regime in Iran not with the intervention of external forces, but with internal forces, which we still do not see,” stressed Nubar Chalymyan.

As for Armenia and the question of what dangers may threaten Armenia if the military operations in Iran continue, Nubar Chalymyan answered that Armenia has adopted the right policy during this period: a policy of “positive neutrality”, not a passive policy.

“The Republic of Armenia sent a condolence telegram on the occasion of the assassination of the spiritual leader of Iran, our representative made a note in the mourning book at the embassy, ​​that is, he is not in the status of a passive observer.

Our goal is not which regime we will sympathize with in Iran, we need Armenia to have neighborly relations with the people of Iran, this is the most important thing. We should not associate our politics with individuals and regimes, we should promote our friendship with the people. We should not allow a wedge to be driven between Armenians and Iranians, today we can go out to the outside world through Iran,” emphasized Nubar Chalymyan.

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A few days ago, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, approved the changes in the law “On Expropriation of Land for State Needs”.

According to the approved amendments, the expansion of state-owned airports and aerodromes, as well as the construction of new airports and aerodromes, have been added to the list of state needs for which land expropriation can be carried out.

In addition to this, the Civil Code of the country of changes according to this, in the presence of state needs, the state will be able to buy back the owned land for the expansion of the seaport area, and again for the expansion of existing state airports and aerodromes or for the construction of new ones.

It should be noted that in 2021, Aliyev and Erdogan were in occupied Varanda (Fizuli). airport to open(by the way, according to various reports, Aliyev’s plane mainly or only lands at Fizuli airport, if it comes from somewhere through the airspace), and in 2022, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey will attend the opening ceremony of the airport in the occupied Kovskakan. to participate:

Already in May 2025, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in occupied Lachin had opened Azeri airport, which received the status of an international airport, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif was also present at this ceremony.

In this context, let us add that in June 2025 from Baku officially it was announced that there is no plan to build a new airport in the occupied Artsakh territories. Another issue is that it is not excluded that in September 2023, as a result of the depopulation of Artsakh, after Stepanakert or Ivanyan airport comes under the control of Azerbaijan, the authorities of Azerbaijan will see the need to expand it, it was said about modernization.

Simultaneously, in early 2025, Baku had reported About the construction of a new airport in the Alyat Free Economic Zone, not far from Baku International Seaport.

What is the purpose of Aliyev’s decision to amend the law “On the Expropriation of Land for State Needs” in order to expand Azerbaijan’s existing airports or build new ones, and should we see only military plans or footnotes against the background of regional and geopolitical developments? 168.am–has discussed Analytical “Base”. of the center expert Shiraz Khachatryan in a conversation with

“These initiatives are not limited to military and security purposes in the short and long term. Those present changing regional and: geopolitical a waste of time is are more լայն՝ also transportation and: logistic «big of the game» important component. This stage In Azerbaijan airports construction and ports expansion oriented are country transportation nodes development, which ones pinning are from the east to: west aerial, marine and: terrestrial the ways. This the steps aimed at are to him, that Azerbaijan become regional transit main center, which opportunity is gives talk his economic interests increase and: of investments of involvement about already this stage։

At the same time, these steps also have a clear political message for both internal and external audiences in the sense that “the state builds, develops, controls”. By doing so, Azerbaijan shows that it is strengthening itself in the territories controlled by it in the long term and aims to become a key regional hub.

However, along with the priority economic component, it is important to emphasize that long term in perspective this processesof course they also have a military and: security նշանակություն՝ providing appropriate infrastructure base any regional of change or of the script case. And we have referred to that more than once in our discussions,” he said.

It should be noted that regarding the opening of the occupied Lachin airport in May 2025, with us in the conversation Shiraz Khachatryan drew attention to the fact that it allows Azerbaijan to control the northern borders of Armenia and Iran.

“Lachin airport has a great symbolic and military-political significance, it is not just a point of air communication. Turkey and Pakistan, which are preparing to participate in the opening of the airport, state that this project is not only an Azeri initiative, but also an initiative showing joint strength. It is a message addressed to Armenia, Iran, and more broadly to regional players.

Lachin is located at a strategic height, and this newly built airport actually becomes an observation and control node, which enables Azerbaijan to control the northern borders of Armenia and Iran with its allies.

The fact of the Lachin airport and the large infrastructure being built by Azerbaijan in the occupied Artsakh territory in general shows that after the war, Azerbaijan not only continues the power policy, but also tries to form a new military-political architecture without the primary mediation of Russia or the West,” explained the expert.

By the way, deviating a little from the topic, we want to draw attention to an interesting episode, on March 16, Azerbaijani sources circulated information and videos that the sounds of ATS were heard in the sky of Baku. And today, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, without clarification, noted, that there is no reason to worry. It’s interesting.

P.S. By the way, the other day 168.amthe had written that the period of the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan once again has been extended until April 1, 2026. In other words, for almost 6 years, under the pretext of fighting against the coronavirus, Azerbaijan has been with its neighbors land borders is closed keep: But days after this, when the deadline has not yet expired, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan decides that Azerbaijan’s land borders should remain closed until July 1, 2026. Naturally, the reason is regional events.

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