Top stories in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from May 20-24, 2024

● Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a new visa restriction policy for those responsible for undermining democracy in Georgia, including in connection with the Georgian Dream’s proposed “foreign influence” legislation. Read more here

● Hungarian diplomat Olivér Várhelyi responded to the Georgian Prime Minister, who previously claimed that an unnamed EU Commissioner had threatened him during a phone call, saying he could share the fate of the assassinated Slovak Prime Minister Fico. Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, stated: “My words have not only been completely taken out of context but also misrepresented to the public regarding my phone conversation with the Georgian Prime Minister. Given the strong pro-European sentiments in Georgian society, I deemed it necessary to emphasize to the Prime Minister the importance of not exacerbating the already unstable situation by adopting this law. This could lead to further polarization and potential uncontrollable situations on the streets of Tbilisi. The tragic event in Slovakia was cited as an example of what high polarization can lead to even in Europe. I still urge the Georgian authorities not to pass this law.” More on the Georgian Prime Minister’s words here 

● Opposition deputies have sharply criticized the Prime Minister’s recent statements—both regarding the alleged threats from the EU Commissioner and the existence of a “global party of war.” Khatia Dekanoidze called it “a new stage of crazy political dystopia, whose main goal is to bring Georgia closer to Russia.” Tina Bokuchava labeled the Prime Minister’s remarks as “paranoid nonsense driven by fear of upcoming personal sanctions.” More on the Prime Minister’s press conference statements here

● A bill to sanction Georgian politicians responsible for passing the foreign agent law will be registered in the US Senate today. The document is called the Georgian People’s Act.

● A similar bill, named the MEGOBARI Act (Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act), will be presented in the US Congress today. Along with sanctions against Georgian politicians, it proposes visa liberalization between the US and Georgia, a free trade agreement, and a defense support package “if Georgian authorities return to the path of democracy.”

● “The ruling Georgian Dream party fails to take our warnings seriously that attempts to sever ties between the Georgian people and the US will have consequences,” said Congressman Joe Wilson, who will present the MEGOBARI Act.

● The prosecution has recognized the leader of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, as a victim 23 days after he was beaten by police officers during a protest against the foreign agent law.

● Former ruling party member Tamar Chugoshvili addressed her former colleagues: “Overriding the president’s veto on the foreign agent law will isolate Georgia from the Western world and lead to catastrophic economic consequences. You and your families will face financial sanctions. You are being told that there will be no sanctions. But that is a lie.”

● A new large march against the foreign agent law is scheduled for 7:00 PM today in Tbilisi. The march will start at Freedom Square and head towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs building.

Photo by JAMnews/David Pipia

● As of May 24, Armenian border troops officially assume control of a section of the border with Azerbaijan in the Tavush region. This includes a 1.9 km section near the village of Berkaber and 4.9 km sections near the villages of Voskepar and Baghanis. The 5.8 km section near the village of Kirants will be guarded under a transitional scheme.

● “The Armenian Apostolic Church has unused spaces that could be useful to the state; the church should cooperate with the government to help bring financial resources out of the shadows,” stated Arthur Hovhannisyan, Secretary of the “Civil Contract” faction.

● The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin responded to accusations by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who called the AAC an “agent of influence.” The statement asserts that “the political leadership is deliberately attacking the church amidst protests against unilateral concessions to Azerbaijan.” The church considers the accusations “reprehensible and unfounded” and urges the authorities to “change their policy, remember the church’s historical mission and its significance in the life of the people, as reflected in the Constitution.”

● In Yerevan, Hayk Shamiryans, who served as mayor of Askeran in the former unrecognized NKR, was detained, according to his lawyer. Law enforcement conducted a search of his apartment before taking him away. The specifics of the criminal case are not disclosed.

● Turkey should normalize relations with Armenia, stated former Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He said that the border between the two countries should be opened, and embassies should be mutually established.

● US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Louis Bono, is back in Yerevan, where he was received by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. They discussed the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the regional situation.

● President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon visited Azerbaijan, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev and signed intergovernmental documents. Agreements worth $700 million were signed at the bilateral business forum in Baku.

● Funerals were held in Sumgait for the remains of Javid Alekperov and Elmaddin Abbasov, who went missing during the first Karabakh war.

● Azerbaijan is considering increasing its external public debt to $10 billion, said Finance Minister Samir Sharifov. It currently stands at $5.5 billion.

● A beer and soft drinks factory, with the participation of the Georgian Beer Company Ltd, will open in the Gabala district.

● The Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau will open a representative office in Moscow.

● Teachers have been banned from smoking on school premises.

● The Azerbaijani men’s chess team is now ranked fifth in the world with a rating of 2645. The United States is first (2726), India second (2714), China third (2686), and Russia fourth (2645).

● The U.S. Secretary of State thinks that the Georgian government’s “foreign agents” law “is right out of Moscow’s playbook, and it clearly counters the desire of the overwhelming majority of Georgians to move toward the EU, and the EU integration.” “We are looking very hard at what we can do in response to that, and I anticipate we will take actions, the EU is looking at the impact on the accession process for Georgia, so I would anticipate that there will be things to come because of the impact this law may have,” Antony Blinken said during the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on “The State of American Diplomacy in 2024: Global Instability, Budget Challenges, and Great Power Competition.”

● EU High Representative Josep Borrell: “The Venice Commission has strongly recommended Georgia to repeal the Law on Foreign Influence in its current form. We call on the authorities to follow the recommendation in view of safeguarding the fundamental elements of Georgia’s democracy”.

●The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe co-rapporteurs for Georgia, Claude Kern and Edite Estrela urged the ruling majority in the Georgian Parliament not to override the Presidential veto on the “foreign agents” law. They said Georgia “already has a comprehensive legal framework to regulate the funding and transparency” of non-governmental organisations and the media, and “the authorities could focus on strengthening the existing legal framework, if there is an objective need for it, in close co-operation with the Council of Europe”. The PACE is set to hold a current affairs debate on “recent challenges to democracy in Georgia” during its Standing Committee meeting in Vilnius on Friday.

● The U.S. possesses information that “could damage the reputation of representatives of the Georgian political elite,” according to an anonymous source who spoke to a RFE/RL journalist in the U.S. Congress. Read more here

● Meanwhile Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze: “It is important to de-oligarchize the US and the EU from the influence of the global war party”.

● Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze accused the West of financing “revolutionary scenarios” in Georgia: “In recent years, there have been direct attempts by NGOs to carry out a revolution in the country. We all know very well where these NGOs are funded from. These are different Western organizations, states”.

● Michael Roth of Germany Bundestag responded to Kaladze: “Mayor Kakha Kaladze, obviously you misunderstood something: not NGOs or the young generation of Georgia plan a revolution but the ruling party of your country. The future of Georgia is free Europe not authoritarianism!”

● The United States is considering a “series of requests” from Armenia to determine how Washington can strengthen its support for Yerevan, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

● Nikol Pashinyan claims “two CSTO countries were involved in preparing the 44-day war against Armenia”. The Prime Minister made this comment in response to recent statements by the President of Belarus during his visit to Azerbaijan. According to Pashinyan, the Belarusian leader expressed what Pashinyan himself had wanted to say for four years but could not state directly. “Now, I’ll take the opportunity and say it directly: our allies were involved in preparing for the 44-day war—and not on our side. And I know of at least two CSTO countries that were involved. These countries were pretending to be helping us,” Pashinyan said.

● A concert dedicated to the centenary of Charles Aznavour, the legendary French chansonnier of Armenian origin, was held in central Yerevan. In honor of Aznavour, a square in the 8th arrondissement on the Champs-Élysées in Paris was named after him. It is noted that the choice of this square has symbolic significance, as the Esplanade Armenia is located nearby.

● Drivers from “Yerevan Bus” company went on strike and took their buses to the depot. They claim that the new director, Samvel Nazaryan, is hiring his close associates and firing other employees.

● Nikol Pashinyan met with Iran’s Acting President Mohammad Mokhber in Tehran, expressing condolences over the death of President Raisi and his entourage. “The late President of Iran was very sensitive to the issues concerning Armenia’s borders,” said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Throughout the day yesterday, the country’s political elite were visitingthe Iranian embassy in Armenia to offer their condolences.

● The design for the new terminal at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport is ready. The preliminary cost of the project is 450 million euros, according to Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

● “Armenia refuses to share information about the mines planted on the territory of Azerbaijan. By doing so, Armenia is deliberately delaying the processes of restoring the de-occupied territories and the return of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons to their homes,” Azerbaijan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Yashar Aliyev, said at a Security Council meeting.

● “The signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will have positive consequences not only for the two countries but also for the entire region,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries.

● President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has arrived in Azerbaijan.

● An Azerbaijani delegation headed by Prime Minister Ali Asadov participated in the memorial ceremony for the President of Iran.

●  The Azerbaijani Parliament stated that the Chairman of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies “is trying to hinder the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process.” Earlier, speaking in Yerevan, Claude Wiseler had made a number of accusations against Azerbaijan. “We strongly recommend that the Parliament of Luxembourg and its Chairman direct their support in a different direction,” said officials in Baku.

● Environmental taxes may be introduced in Azerbaijan. They would be levied on enterprises whose activities negatively impact the environment, according to Deputy Head of the State Tax Service Samira Musayeva.

● The UNESCO headquarters hosted the opening of the kelaghayi exhibition “Dance of Symbols.” Kelaghayi is an Azerbaijani women’s headscarf of a quadrangular shape made from silk threads.

●  A new suspension pedestrian bridge is being constructed in Baku. It will connect the “Fountain Square” park and the Seaside National Park. The single-span suspension bridge will be 230 meters long.

● Ilham Aliyev visited the Iranian embassy in Baku to express condolences for the deaths of Iranian President Raisi, Foreign Minister Abdollahian, and others in a plane crash.

● Zelensky called Aliyev. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Ukraine discussed regional security and bilateral cooperation.

● The restrictive measure for politician and economist Gubad Ibadoglu was changed from house arrest to a travel ban. A few days earlier, Ibadoglu announced the suspension of the Prosperity and Democracy Party, of which he is the chairman.

● Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, arrived in Baku.

● A shepherd was killed by a landmine in the Terter district. Arzu Hajiyev was herding livestock on a mine-infested area near the former contact line. He died on the spot from his injuries.

● The Turkic Investment Fund has officially started operations with an initial capital of $500 million. This is the first joint financial institution for economic integration among Turkic countries. The fund will support joint projects in infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, tourism, and IT. The founding countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

● Construction of the Caspian Dream Liner on the Caspian Sea is in full swing (pictured). The total area of the hotel, dubbed the equivalent of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, is 120,000 square meters. The project’s owner, Emin Agalarov, previously estimated the investment at $230-250 million. Construction will be completed in 2.5 years.

● The Futsal World Cup will be held in Baku in 2025.

●  The Venice Commission has released its opinion on Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ law, adopted on May 14, and strongly recommended that the government “repeal the law in its current form as it creates negative obstacles for freedom of assembly and expression, the right to privacy, civil rights, and allows for discrimination.” Read more here

● The ruling Georgian Dream party questioned the authority of the Venice Commission in response. Party representative Salome Kurasbediani claimed that “the Venice Commission distorts facts and encourages radicals, it has no legal or other arguments, and its reputation has been damaged.” Nevertheless, the Venice Commission presented a series of clear arguments criticizing the law. Read more here

● Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, urged the ruling party to implement the Venice Commission’s recommendations, stating that ‘the CoE is ready to assist.’

● “Germany will not support Georgia’s EU membership negotiations if the foreign agents law comes into force in its current form,” said German Ambassador Peter Fischer.

● Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis thanked the Venice Commission “for its persistent recommendation to repeal the Foreign Influence Act” and expressed hope that “Georgia’s leaders will do so.”

● The ruling party accused the US of “speaking to Georgia in the language of blackmail.” This was the Georgian Dream’s reaction to a Politico report stating that “Georgia could receive visa liberalization, economic and military support, and other benefits from America if its government abandons its anti-democratic course.” Read more here

●  Guro Imnadze, a lawyer from the Social Justice Center, stated that the Venice Commission provided clear arguments criticizing the foreign agents law: “It was decisively noted that the law contradicts international standards, and the process of its consideration was undemocratic. The law eliminates democratic space in the country, opposed by a significant portion of the population.”

●  Constitutionalist David Zedelashvili declared that “the Venice Commission’s opinion is an indictment of the regime in Georgia.”

●  If the foreign agents law comes into force, there will definitely be consequences for Georgia,” said Michael Carpenter, Director for European Affairs at the US National Security Council, in an interview with Voice of America.

●  The US is concerned and monitoring Russia’s influence in Georgia,” said US Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Brown. Read more here

●  The Formula TV channel, citing its sources, reported that a bipartisan group of US senators is actively working on a legislative initiative that involves sanctions against high-ranking officials of the Georgian Dream involved in corruption and human rights violations, as well as those who supported the foreign agents law.

● Leaders of the Lelo party proposed creating an “opposition center” that will not include the United National Movement (the party founded by Mikheil Saakashvili). “This way, the public will have a political alternative,” said party leader Mamuka Khazaradze.

●  The Student Parliament of the Latvian Academy of Culture issued a statement supporting Georgian students protesting against the foreign agents law. “We admire every student who, despite difficult circumstances, refuses to remain silent.

●  Georgian judoka Tato Grigalashvili became the world champion for the third consecutive time.

Photo JAMnews/David Pipia

● The speakers of the Armenian and Ukrainian parliaments discussed security in the South Caucasus and Ukraine via videoconference, according to Armenia’s National Assembly.

● Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is on a working visit to Iran, where he will participate in official events related to the tragedy of the presidential helicopter crash.

● While a group led by the church is calling for Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, the Armenian parliament is considering bringing the Armenian Apostolic Church into the tax system. The proposal was made by parliament speaker Alen Simonyan. “Enough playing on our emotions and history. Engaging in politics while collecting money from the diaspora, selling candles, Coca-Cola, and wine, running restaurants, and not paying taxes… I want to understand why a clergyman, whose hands are kissed, should be above an ordinary businessman who pays taxes and buys ammunition for the army. For me, major taxpayers are the most important people. They finance Armenia’s security,” he said from the parliamentary podium.

● Nikol Pashinyan received a CIA delegation led by Deputy Director David Cohen.

● The Armenian Ministry of Justice has refused to register the “Pan-Armenian Front” party established by former Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan. After the 2018 revolution, Karapetyan worked as an advisor to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for about three years. In 2021, Pashinyan appointed him as the Minister of Defense. Karapetyan now accuses his former superior of treason, claiming that it led to the destruction of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. The registration was denied based on the “Law on Parties,” which stipulates that the decision to create a party is valid only if the majority of the founding congress participants (at least 300 votes) support it. This criterion was not met.

● Former captain of the Armenian national football team, now Inter Milan player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, won the Italian championship title with his team for the first time in his career. Inter defeated AC Milan 2-1, securing first place five rounds before the end of the tournament.

● The 77th Cannes Film Festival featured the premiere of “Anora,” a film by American director Sean Baker, starring Armenian actors Karen Karagulyan and Vache Tovmasyan.

● “We stand with the Georgian people!” – the US Helsinki Commission wrote on X, sharing an article by POLITICO, which discusses a new bill dedicated to Georgia that will be presented to the US Congress in the coming days.

The bill, named the MEGOBARI Act (with “megobari” meaning “friend” in Georgian), proposes “a sweeping package of economic and security support” including visa liberalization for Georgia, “if its government abandons its increasingly anti-Western rhetoric and stops backsliding on human rights”.

●  The same bill stipulates strict sanctions against politicians from the ruling Georgian Dream party and their families if their “Russian-style foreign agents law” is not repealed.

●  Meanwhile, the ruling Georgian Dream party has registered a new bill in parliament – proposing amendments to the Electoral Code. According to these amendments, the advisory group of the Central Election Commission, which is formed during elections and is responsible for monitoring elections, advising the commission during electoral disputes, observing vote recounts, etc., will be abolished. The opposition has already called the bill a continuation of the “field-clearing policy” that they say the Georgian Dream is pursuing ahead of the parliamentary elections.

●  The Finance and Budget Committee of the Georgian Parliament has rejected the President’s veto on the so-called “offshore law” – amendments to the Tax Code developed by Georgian Dream, which provide preferential treatment and tax exemptions for the evacuation of capital and all types of assets from offshore zones to Georgia until January 1, 2028. The opposition believes that the law is a direct order from Georgia’s informal leader, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is trying to safeguard his assets from Western sanctions. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that the parliament will override the President’s veto at one of the next plenary sessions.

●  Expert Council on NGO Law of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe reviewed the Georgian foreign agents law and concluded: “There is no justification for this Law that would be consistent with European and international standards”.

● “Sorry, but your ‘sitting on the fence’ is harming both the EU and the Georgian people. We cannot afford to remain in a lethargic state while Georgian Dream undermines democracy and the European aspirations of the Georgian people!” – European Parliamentarian Miriam Lexmann addressed the German Chancellor and the French President, who earlier together had “expressed deep concern over the situation in Georgia.”

“The European path is marked out, but the speed and direction of travel depend on Georgia,” they said.

●  A new large march is announced in Tbilisi for May 24 – “in protest against the illegal actions of the police during the demonstrations against the Russian law and in solidarity with those who were temporarily detained, imprisoned, or otherwise suffered during these protests,” organizers report.

●   The Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Aliyev and Erdoğan, held a telephone conversation where they discussed regional issues and Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. Erdoğan expressed his satisfaction with the progress being made in the peace process between Baku and Yerevan.

●  As part of Azerbaijani government’s “Great return to the liberated territories” program, 3,146 residents are about to return to the village of Minjivan in the Zangilan district soon. 630 private houses and multi-story residential buildings for more than 9,000 people are planned to be built there by 2040.

●   The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has introduced an updated 1 gapik coin (one hundredth of a manat) into circulation.

●   The dismantling of the bridge on Javanashir Street in the heart of Baku has begun. This has caused significant traffic congestion in the capital during the evening hours. The road is expected to be reopened in five months.

● Azerbaijani judoka Hidayat Heydarov has become the world champion. In the finals of the championship held in Abu Dhabi, he defeated Japanese athlete Tatsuki Ishihara

● In the border village of Kirants, the last three posts were installed as part of the border delimitation with Azerbaijan. Several houses and shops have ended up on the Azerbaijani side. Local residents are protesting, claiming that living in the village will now be impossible.

● Yesterday, police detained people demanding access to the village of Kirants, where the delimitation and demarcation process is ongoing. The Armenian Ombudsman is seeking explanations from the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the incidents.

The police, while blocking access to the village for members of parliament and media representatives, attempted to bring state television journalists into the village.

● Reconstruction has begun on the Kirants-Acharquk road, which will replace the section of the road, including a bridge, being handed over to Azerbaijani control as part of the delimitation process.

According to Armenian Prime Minister’s advisor Arayik Harutyunyan, the road will be widened for truck traffic and will be completed within two months.

● The President of Turkey expressed “satisfaction” with the progress of the peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia during a phone conversation with Ilham Aliyev.

● Throughout the day, people brought flowers to the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan to honor the memory of the Iranian president and his companions who died in a helicopter crash the day before.

● “This law shall be in force only for the day it comes into effect” – this is the only amendment that Georgia president Salome Zourabichvili made to the government’s law on transparency of foreign influence, broadly known as the “foreign agents law”, in her remarks enclosed in the veto package sent to the parliament on Saturday. “The law cannot be improved,” as it is “unconstitutional, and therefore anti-Georgian, anti-European, and anti-democratic.” Therefore, the president concludes, there is no alternative but to withdraw this law. Today, the president’s veto will be considered by the parliamentary bureau, which is expected to include it on the agenda for the next plenary sessions.

● Salome Zourabichvili has written a letter to Emmanuel Macron, inviting him to visit Georgia on the country’s Independence Day, May 26. She says a visit by Macron to Georgia was initially planned for September, before the parliamentary elections, “But now it is not only Georgia that is at stake,” she said. The French president has not yet responded to her invitation.

●  However, Macron posted on Meta, expressing “deep concern” on behalf of himself and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the Georgian ruling party’s decision to pass the “foreign agents” law, stating that it signifies a deviation from the European path.

● Nusrat Ghani, British Minister of State: “Great Britain supports President Zourabichvili’s

veto of Georgia’s foreign influence legislation. The law is contrary to the Georgian people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. I urge the Georgian parliament to heed their allies’ concerns and not overturn the veto and withdraw this legislation”.

●  Chair of the Helsinki Commission Joe Wilson: “The situation in Georgia is heartbreaking. The Georgian people are an embodiment of freedom and continue to inspire Americans. Sadly, the pro-Russian [Georgian Dream] government is going against patriotic Georgians who reject life in the Kremlin’s dark ages. The repression of freedom-loving Georgians must stop, and the U.S. stands firm in calling for a return of democratic norms and values.”

● The most discussed topic in Azerbaijani social media is the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian following a helicopter crash yesterday.

● President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, expressed his deep concern over the news of the helicopter crash that occurred after his farewell with President Raisi. He offered prayers and support to Iran: “Azerbaijan, as a neighboring, friendly, and brotherly country, is ready to provide any assistance.”

● Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Ebrahim Raisi of Iran had met at the border to inaugurate two hydroelectric facilities on the Aras River, with a combined capacity of 280 MW: Khudaferin with 200 MW and Giz Galasi with 80 MW.

●  President Aliyev commented on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation, calling it a promising event that could lead to a peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan.

●  The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line has been reopened. The expansion project, which started last year, aims to handle 6.5 million tons of cargo annually and transport up to 1 million passengers.

●  Azerbaijan and Belarus have signed contracts worth $60 million in the economic sector. Agreements on joint productions are expected to supply both countries’ markets and expand into other markets, according to Sergey Rachkov, head of the standing commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus.

● The Days of Tajikistan Culture have begun in Baku, featuring film screenings and a concert by Tajik artists scheduled for May 23 in Ganja.

●  In Azerbaijan, there is a proposal to hold parents accountable for “profiting from child TikTokers”. Mehriban Zeynalova, head of a shelter for trafficking victims, advocates for updating the criteria for identifying human trafficking victims to align with modern trends.

● Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a condolence telegram to Iran’s spiritual leader regarding the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation. On behalf of the government and the people,

Pashinyan expressed sincere regret over “the tragic death of my dear friend and colleague, the president,” and wished strength and resilience to the government and people of Iran.

● Opposition deputies were denied entry to the border village of Kiranats, where delimitation and demarcation processes are ongoing. Six deputies arrived in the Tavush region to support protesting villagers, but were blocked by police.

● Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan called on the head of the National Security Service (NSS) and the Prosecutor General to hold accountable those who call him a “Kremlin agent.”

He says he filed a defamation complaint as far back as April 29, but it has not yet been processed. Galstanyan is the leader of large-scale rallies in Armenia that protest against “territorial concessions to Azerbaijan” and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Pashinyan.

●  One Run Marathon in Yerevan: The One Run marathon in Yerevan is over. The youngest participant was 6 years old, and the oldest was over 70.

All participants received commemorative prizes, and winners received additional awards, such as certificates for free sports training and gift cards for sports stores.

This year, the run took place simultaneously in 16 countries, with over 180,000 participants.

Top stories in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from May 13-17, 2024