By Eduard Araqelyan A recent Hetq publication, based on the testimony of a participant in a 25-day military training exercise, has once again brought long-standing problems within the Armenian Armed Forces into the public spotlight. The significance of the article lies not so much in its description of conditions at a single combat position, but […]
By Eduard Arakelyan The Iranian government has approved a bill on the ratification of the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and submitted it to parliament. The bill was approved under an “urgent procedure,” meaning it will undergo expedited review in the relevant parliamentary committees. In addition, an upcoming Caspian summit […]
By Tigran Grigoryan On August 2, renowned public intellectual Nassim Nicholas Taleb posted on X that he would not visit Azerbaijan as long as Ruben Vardanyan remains imprisoned in Baku. In his post, Taleb wrote: “Was asked to go to Azerbaijan for a lecture . I declined (they yuugely upped their offer, not understanding my […]
By Hayk Khanumyan As a result of the 2020 war and Azerbaijan’s attack in September 2023, the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh—around 150,000 people—was forcibly displaced from their places of residence and lost their homes. Beginning in 2022, the Armenian government launched housing assistance programs for different groups of people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. The first […]
By Tigran Grigoryan #DemocracyWatch – Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections were the most geopoliticized in the country’s modern history. All the major external actors involved in the South Caucasus had clear preferences in the race and were actively engaged during the pre-election period in promoting their respective agendas. While Russia supported the opposition through its […]
by Eduard Arakelyan Last week, Azerbaijan showcased several key developments in the evolution of its armed forces. The country conducted training flights of its new JF-17 Block III fighter jets, launched large-scale ground forces exercises, and had its special operations forces participate in joint survival training with Serbian troops. Taken together, these activities reflect Baku’s […]
By Hayk Khanumyan The campaign for Armenia’s 2026 National Assembly elections ended on June 5, with voting taking place on June 7. Compared to May—which was saturated with hate speech targeting forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh and featured incidents involving senior public officials, community leaders, and other political actors—June saw fewer such incidents involving high-ranking […]
By Tatevik Ghazaryan #DemocracyWatch – From July 1 to 3, the National Assembly of Armenia, in what was effectively a 24-hour legislative process conducted over two readings and without prior public consultations, adopted amendments to the Electoral Code and the Law on Referendums, making the right to vote conditional on a period of actual residence in Armenia. […]
by Tigran Grigoryan #DemocracyWatch – On July 6, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, was arrested and taken to the Investigative Committee. During the day, investigative actions were also carried out at companies owned by Tsarukyan. According to the statement released by the Investigative Committee, he faces criminal charges including organizing fraud on an especially large […]
