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Articles by Anush Mkrtchian
EU Accused Of Ignoring ‘Political Arrests’ In Armenia
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments EU Accused Of Ignoring ‘Political Arrests’ In Armenia Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia - Protesters hold pictures of jailed opposition figures during EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, July 2, 2026.
Jailed Karabakh Activist’s Hunger Strike Enters Fourth Week
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments Jailed Karabakh Activist’s Hunger Strike Enters Fourth Week Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia-Artur Osipian from Nagorno Karabakh talks to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, 18May2026 An exiled activist from Nagorno-Karabakh arrested on May 18 right after publicly arguing with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan remained on hunger strike for the 22nd day on Tuesday.
EU Mulls More ‘Support’ For Armenia
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments EU Mulls More ‘Support’ For Armenia Կիսվել Կիսվել Belgium - EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos gestures during a press conference in Brussels on March 17, 2026. The European Union promised on Tuesday to help Armenia cope with growing economic pressure exerted by Russia in response to the Armenian government’s desire to join the EU.
Pashinian Ruining Ties With Russia, Insists Kocharian
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments Pashinian Ruining Ties With Russia, Insists Kocharian Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia - Former President Robert Kocharian campaigns in Yerevan's Erebuni district, May 24, 2026.
Yerevan Keeps Downplaying Tensions With Moscow
Citing sanitary grounds, Russian authorities completely banned the import and sales of Armenia’s most popular brand of mineral water. A Russian food safety watchdog said that as many as 37 million bottles of the water produced by Armenia’s Jermuk Group will be removed Russian shops. It already blocked the sale of more than a million other Jermuk bottles late last month. The Rospotrebnadzor agency gave a similar reason for a separate ban on wine and brandy produced by three other Armenian companies.
Pashinian Steps Up Attacks On Key Opposition Challengers
Pashinian raged at Karapetian on Friday as he recalled the latter’s claims that he will allow a mass influx of Azerbaijanis into Armenia in case of winning the upcoming parliamentary elections. “You are also a brainless spy because you don’t understand what you are doing,” he said during a campaign trip to the western Armavir province. “You are trying to make the issue of the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis a political agenda in Armenia.
Azerbaijan Defends Destruction Of Karabakh Armenian Churches
It claimed that the Azerbaijani authorities had “both legal and moral grounds” for tearing down them. “The demolition of two illegal buildings constructed during the [Armenian] occupation cannot be considered a destruction of religious or cultural heritage," it said in a statement.
Armenian Federation Chief Quits After Skier’s Refusal To Promote Azerbaijan
The 26-year-old athlete, Mikael Mikaelian, competed in the annual Tour de Ski event that took place from December 28 to January 4. Like other participants, he was handed a race bib bearing the word “Azerbaijan” in line with a sponsorship deal signed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) with the Azerbaijani government last year. He covered the inscription with a white tape and was fined by the organizers as a result.
Armenian Electric Utility’s Future Still Uncertain
The authorities effectively seized the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator from billionaire Samvel Karapetian’s Tashir Group in July shortly after he was arrested on charges stemming from his strong criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Investigators Detail Corruption Charges Against Former Armenian Mayor
Gasparian resigned in May after six and a half years in office. The 37-year-old mayor gave personal reasons for the resignation which followed repeated media claims that she is using her position to enrich herself and her family through dubious redevelopment projects and other business deals. Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) launched a criminal investigation into one of those projects last year. The ACC reportedly indicted Gasparian in July this year.
Karabakh Office In Yerevan Raided By Armenian Investigators
The Investigative Committee declined to immediately give a reason for the searches conducted in the building by its officers. According to Karabakh-born lawyer and activist Roman Yeritsian, the raid is supposedly part of a criminal investigation into “presumed economic crimes.” There was also no immediate reaction from Karabakh’s exiled leadership in Armenia.
Karabakh Office In Yerevan Raided By Armenian Investigators
The Investigative Committee declined to immediately give a reason for the searches conducted in the building by its officers. According to Karabakh-born lawyer and activist Roman Yeritsian, the raid is supposedly part of a criminal investigation into “presumed economic crimes.” There was also no immediate reaction from Karabakh’s exiled leadership in Armenia.
Armenian Watchdog Sees No Progress In Government Fight Against Corruption
Armenia- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian chairs a meeting of the leadership of his Civil Contract party, Yerevan, October 28, 2025. Armenian Watchdog Sees No Progress In Government Fight Against Corruption Կիսվել Կիսվել Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government has made no progress in the last few years in its declared efforts to combat corruption in Armenia, the country’s leading anti-graft watchdog said on Tuesday.
Higher Court Upholds Karapetian’s Pretrial Detention
Attorney Armen Feroyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Friday that investigators have now submitted a new motion to the Anti-Corruption Court seeking to extend Karapetian’s detention. “We consider this yet another example of absolutely unlawful actions,” he said. He added that the defense plans to appeal any extension to the Court of Cassation, despite having little expectation of success.
Azerbaijan To Allow Wheat Transit To Armenia
He also continued to describe as “Zangezur corridor” a special transit corridor for Azerbaijan which Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged to open during a recent summit in Washington. “Azerbaijan has lifted the ban on the transit of goods to Armenia,” Aliyev said during a visit to Kazakhstan. “The first transit cargo will be a batch of Kazakh wheat delivered to Armenia.
Armenian Government To Largely Scrap Mandatory Income Declaration
A law enacted by the government in 2023 ago calls for a gradual introduction of universal income declaration in the country, which has until now been obligatory only for senior state officials and members of their families. Government officials have said that it will further complicate tax evasion and make it easier for the authorities to identify people who are really in need of government aid.
Armenian Archbishop Handed 2-Year Jail Term
A court in Yerevan handed the sentence to Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian at the end of an unusually quick trial condemned by the church, opposition groups and other critics of the Armenian government as a travesty of justice. It convicted him last week of calling for a violent regime change. Ajapahian was taken into custody on June 27 the day after Pashinian threatened to forcibly remove Catholicos Garegin II from his Echmiadzin headquarters if the supreme head of the church refuses to resign.
Jailed Armenian Archbishop Convicted In ‘Political Trial’
Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian was taken into custody and charged with calling for a violent regime change the day after Pashinian threatened to forcibly remove Catholicos Garegin II from his Echmiadzin headquarters if the supreme head of the church refuses to resign. Security forces met with fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laymen when they raided the Mother See on June 27 in a failed bid to arrest Ajapahian there.
Jailed Armenian Archbishop Convicted In ‘Political Trial’
Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian was taken into custody and charged with calling for a violent regime change the day after Pashinian threatened to forcibly remove Catholicos Garegin II from his Echmiadzin headquarters if the supreme head of the church refuses to resign. Security forces met with fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laymen when they raided the Mother See on June 27 in a failed bid to arrest Ajapahian there.
Armenian Government Plans Shorter Military Service
A bill drafted by the Defense Ministry and posted on a government website would reduce the length of the military duty for male citizens from 24 to 18 months. An explanatory note attached to it says that the resulting drop in the number of conscripts serving in the armed forces would be offset by an increased number of contract soldiers recruited in recent years. Opposition lawmakers dismissed this assertion on Thursday.
Armenian Church Head Visits Jailed Archbishop
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments Link has been copied to clipboard Կիսվել Armenian Church Head Visits Jailed Archbishop Catholicos Garegin II was allowed to visit on Tuesday an outspoken archbishop who was arrested more than two months ago amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s campaign against the top clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Armenian, Azeri Bids To Join China-Led Grouping ‘Blocked'
The leaders of both South Caucasus nations attended and addressed the summit held in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday. The Armenian Foreign Ministry did not deny Azerbaijani media reports about a Pakistani veto on Armenia’s SCO membership bid which came the day after Yerevan and Islamabad agreed to establish diplomatic relations.
Armenia, Pakistan Establish Diplomatic Ties
The foreign ministers of the two states signed a relevant communique at the weekend on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
Armenian Archbishop On Trial For Alleged Call For Government Overthrow
Ajapahian, the primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, surrendered to investigators on June 27, several hours after security forces raided the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin in an attempt to arrest the outspoken archbishop. They failed to do so facing fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laypeople.
Armenian Prosecutors Allowed To Indict Opposition Lawmakers
The Office of the Prosecutor-General formally requested such permission about a month ago. It said that Ohanian, who is now the parliamentary leader of the main opposition Hayastan alliance, illegally privatized land and built a summer house in a natural reserve when he served as Armenian defense minister from 2008-2016. It said that Artsvik Minasian, another Hayastan parliamentarian, facilitated the alleged land seizure in his then capacity as environment minister.
Pashinian Moves To Seize Armenian Electric Utility After Owner’s Arrest
Karapetian was charged with calling for a violent overthrow of the Armenian government the day after strongly condemning Pashinian’s controversial efforts to depose Catholicos Garegin II and other senior clergymen of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinian effectively admitted ordering the crackdown as he reacted furiously to the condemnation on Tuesday. “I think the time has come to nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA),” Pashinian wrote on Facebook the following morning.
Armenian Parliament Blocks Bill On Shorter Military Service
The length of the service for Armenian men aged 18 and older has long been set at two years. The bill would give them the option of serving in the armed forces only one or four months in exchange for paying 24 million drams ($61,500) and 18 million drams ($46,000) respectively. Hayk Sargsian, a pro-government parliamentarian and the main author of the bill, has argued that affluent parents already pay bribes or find other ways to exempt their teenage sons from the military duty.
Ruben Vardanyan’s Lawyer Again Appeals To Armenian Government
Jared Genser pointed out that a draft Armenian-Azerbaijan peace treaty finalized in March reportedly does not address the fate of the prisoners and instead commits the two sides to withdrawing their international lawsuits filed against each other.
Regular Shootings Highlight Increased Gun Violence In Armenia
Such incidents are now a regular occurrence in Armenia, highlighting recent years’ significant increase in armed robberies, shootings and other firearm-related crimes committed there. According to the Armenian police, their total number rose from 94 in 2023 to 109 in 2024. It surged by 40 percent in 2023.
Armenia More Independent Than Ever, Says Pashinian
Կիսվել Armenia More Independent Than Ever, Says Pashinian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian claimed on Wednesday to have made Armenia far more independent and sovereign during his seven-year rule, drawing scorn from his political opponents. The latter insisted that he has on the contrary dramatically weakened the country and left it facing existential threats from Azerbaijan as well as Turkey.
$590,000 Stolen From Armenian Law-Enforcement Agency ‘Recovered’
The ACC has also found and recovered the bulk of the sum which the Investigative Committee temporarily confiscated from criminal suspects a year ago. It was stolen on May 20 from a safe located on the sixth floor of a building in the city center housing an Investigative Committee division that deals with smuggling and other economic crimes.
Armenian Judge Held In Corruption Probe
ACC officers raided a district court in Yerevan where the 60-year-old judge, Artush Gabrielian, presided over a hearing. They reportedly interrupted the hearing and took Gabrielian away for questioning.
Armenian Government Defends Sharp Cut In Housing Aid To Karabakh Refugees
Up until this month, the government gave each refugee, who does not own a home or live in a government shelter in Armenia, 50,000 drams ($125) per month for rent and utility fees. The aid program has benefited the vast majority of some 105,000 Karabakh Armenians who fled their homeland after it was recaptured by Azerbaijan in September 2023. The government decided in November 2024 to phase out the housing scheme.
Riot Reported In Key Armenian Prison
The agency said that the violence broke out after guards at the Nubarashen prison in Yerevan moved to transfer an unruly prisoner to another jail. It said that he has systematically “disrupted the normal functioning of the institution” and made “illegal demands” in a bid to enjoy privileged treatment by the prison administration.
German President Urges Baku To Sign Peace Deal With Yerevan
“Nothing now stands in the way of signing, ratifying and implementing the peace treaty,” Steinmeier said after talks with this Armenian counterpart Vahagn Khachaturian. “In that regard, Armenia has made decisions that have made the peace treaty possible, and now the Azerbaijani side must stop being skeptical.” “We can say that it was not easy for Armenia to settle this issue. Many countries can follow its example,” he told a joint news conference.
Concerns Reignited for Syrian Armenians
By Anush Mkrtchian YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Armenia is monitoring the latest developments in Syria, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday, March 10, amid renewed concerns about the security of Syria’s Armenian community raised by the reported killings of hundreds of civilians blamed on Syrian government forces.
Yerevan Silent As Concerns Reignited For Syrian Armenians
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at the weekend that at least 745 civilians belonging to Syria’s Alawite minority were killed in two days of clashes between security forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad in the Latakia province.
Yerevan Mayor Again Under Fire As Public Transport Paralyzed By Snow
The disruption appears to have been instrumental in the Armenian government’s decision to cancel classes in schools across the country on Friday. Some universities switched to remote courses for the same reason. The snowfall, which began on Thursday afternoon and continued less intensively the following day, caused huge traffic jams in Yerevan and brought public transport there to a halt. Bus drivers stopped working en masse and told commuters to get off, citing safety reasons.
Yerevan Mayor Slams Commuters Defying Higher Bus Fares
Կիսվել Yerevan Mayor Slams Commuters Defying Higher Bus Fares Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinian on Monday condemned and threatened to crack down on commuters continuing to heed opposition calls to boycott a significant increase in the cost of public transport initiated by him.
Yerevan Council Members Clash Over Higher Bus Fares
They were forcibly removed from the council’s main auditorium after physically and verbally clashing with their pro-government colleagues. The municipal legislature met to discuss Avinian’s decision earlier this week to scale back the price hikes that are due to come into force on Saturday. The mayor’s office will replace the existing bus and minibus fees of 100 drams (25 U.S. cents) per ride with a complex tariff system involving electronic payments for season tickets.
U.S. Watchdog Decries Azeri ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Of Karabakh
The 130-page report presents the findings of a joint fact-finding mission launched by them after Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive that forced more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians to flee to Armenia. “The policy of ethnic cleansing was executed through a combination of meticulously planned violent and non-violent measures that have been in place since 2020.
Armenian PM Attends Summit Of European Political Community In Budapest
Before the opening ceremony, Pashinian, along with other high-ranking guests of the event, was welcomed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Armenian prime minister’s press office said that Pashinian, in particular, participated in a round-table discussion titled “Economic Security” with the leaders of a number of countries, which was held in a closed format. It said that Pashinian’s meetings with leaders from different countries were scheduled as part of the summit.
Kevin Spacey Honored In Armenia
Spacey is a “guest of honor” at the ongoing Golden Apricot International Film Festival (GAIFF). He was awarded a special prize during its opening ceremony held on Sunday. The Hollywood star’s visit sponsored by the Yerevan municipality prompted protests from some Armenian activists pointing to sexual assault allegations that were first publicly made against him in 2017.
Pashinian Cools Talk Of Referendum On EU Membership
He said the Armenian government should clarify whether the EU is ready to admit the South Caucasus country before holding such a vote. Pashinian’s political team brought the issue back to the political agenda late last month amid a continuing deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations. It held a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan featuring leaders of pro-Western fringe groups loyal to the prime minister. The latter urged the government to hold the referendum within the next three months.
EU Mission Backs Armenian Proposal On Truce Violation Claims
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian floated the idea on June 15 following a series of statements by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry that accused Armenian forces of opening fire at its troops at various sections of the border. The Armenian side categorically denied the claims. Pashinian’s office said on June 22 that it has communicated to Baku through unnamed “diplomatic channels” a proposal to create a “bilateral mechanism for investigation” of such claims.
Yerevan Offers Joint Probes With Baku Into Truce Violation Claims
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian floated the idea on June 15 following a series of statements by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry that accused Armenian forces of opening fire at its troops at various sections of the border. The Armenian side categorically denied the claims. Pashinian’s office said on Saturday morning that it has communicated to Baku through unnamed “diplomatic channels” a proposal to create a “bilateral mechanism for investigation” of such claims.
Another Karabakh Armenian Arrested Over Anti-Pashinian Protests
An Armenian court remanded the 29-year-old man, Narek Tevosian, in pre-trial custody on Wednesday night a few hours after he was detained and indicted by the Investigative Committee. The case against Tevosian is based on the audio of a phone conversation between two men speaking in the distinct Karabakh dialect of the Armenian language. Armenian Public Television aired it earlier on Wednesday. It did not say how it obtained the audio clearly recorded in breach of the law.
Armenian Protest Leader Campaigns In Another Border Region
A motorcade of cars led by him made brief stops in two local towns before reaching the border village of Sotk which was heavily shelled by Azerbaijani troops in September 2022 during deadly fighting at several sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Several other Gegharkunik villages lost much of their pastures and agricultural land after Azerbaijani military offensives carried out at that time and in May 2021.
Opponents Of Georgia's 'Foreign Agent' Law Gather For Fund-Raising Rally
Georgian opponents of the recently passed "foreign agents" law to heighten public scrutiny on outside funding of NGOs and online media are preparing to gather for a rally in downtown Tbilisi later on June 2. They are expected to voice anger at the widely criticized legislation, which threatens to stall the Caucasus nation's EU drive and dampen relations with the United States.
Zelenskiy Arrives In Singapore For Shangri-La Dialogue
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue conference on June 1, where he planned to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and discuss support for his embattled country in an address to delegates.
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