Breaking
“We stand at a pivotal moment. Armenia has been making irreversible choices toward democracy, toward peace, toward Europe. We trust that these decisive steps will be met with equally bold and strategic engagement from our European partners, solidifying a truly reciprocal and transformative partnership,” Mirzoyan said at a regional meeting of European Union ambassadors to Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
Satellite Imagery Reveals Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Forests in Occupied Armenia
Azerbaijan is focusing on Shikahogh, Armenia’s second largest forest reserve in the southeastern Syunik Province, as a “soft spot” to make further territorial inroads into Armenia.
Hetq, using Planet satellite maps and Google Earth satellite photos, estimates that Azerbaijan has already cut down some sixty hectares of forest in the reserve to build new military fortifications and roads in the border region separating the two countries.
U.S. Congress
Global ARM Submits FY26 Appropriations Requests to Strengthen U.S.-Armenia Ties and Advance Peace in the South Caucasus
“Armenia is a valuable and strategic partner in advancing U.S. foreign policy and security interests. Strengthening Armenia as a sovereign, resilient, and self-reliant nation aligns closely with U.S. priorities and the Trump Administration’s agenda. We look forward to working with House and Senate Appropriations Committees to achieve these goals,” said Global ARM President Timothy Jemal. “Now is the time for the U.S. to provide targeted support to a Strategic Partner who shares its values and strategic vision for regional peace.”
Key requests include:
- ️Security Assistance to Strengthen U.S.-Armenia military ties.
Support for renewable energy development and cybersecurity. - State Department human rights report on Azerbaijani war crimes, preserving Armenian religious and cultural heritage.
- Identifying next steps for right to return for Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and Genocidal Policy
Christian Warns ‘None of Us are Safe’ After Father ‘Illegally’ Locked up and Churches Destroyed in ‘Ethnic Cleansing’
By George Bunn
Human rights lawyer Jared Genser told GB News from Washington that Ruben Vardanyan has been denied access to a bible.
“This goes against the narrative of the Azerbaijanis, that this conflict has nothing to do with the fact they’re Christian but instead that it is about illegal occupation of the land,” he told GB News. Genser also took aim at the lack of global coverage of the incident, saying the world’s media has focused eyes on other conflicts including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, while “ignoring” the plight of Christians in the region.
However, he was also quick to praise President Donald Trump, who he said has been “quite engaged and helpful” in working towards freedom for Christian Armenians, adding that current Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has “no interest” in peace.
International Efforts to Help Karabakh Armenians Return to Their Homeland
A year and a half after their forced displacement, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) are united in their desire to return, writes Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Joel Veldkamp. They have found support in an unexpected place – Switzerland.
On May 26, a cross-party committee of 19 parliamentarians in support of the Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno Karabakh will be launched in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno Karabakh to launch in Bern
UNICEF to Reportedly Shutter in Azerbaijan ‘in Coming Months’
UNICEF is not the only international organisation to announce it was facing closure since the beginning of 2025. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been told ‘they must leave’ Azerbaijan.
Driven by Fear from Nagorno-Karabakh
Demir Sönmez and Nora Sahakyan: A Story of Survival and Reunion
A mother’s gaze, etched with the scars of four wars, meets the lens of a son she never bore. In a quiet nursing home in Yerevan, nearly five years after their first encounter in a bomb-shaken church basement, Nora Sahakyan and Swiss-Armenian photojournalist and documentarian Demir Sönmez are reunited. Their story began on October 30, 2020, in the cold, uncertain hours of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war. On the ground floor of Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert, Artsakh, Sönmez first met Sahakyan. She was celebrating her 84th birthday, not with family, but in the company of fellow refugees—her only light, the flicker of a church candle.
Sönmez’s book, The Wounded Eagle: The Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) War, is far more than a collection of photographs—it is a powerful document of survival, memory and a challenge to collective amnesia.
President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Meets Forcibly Displaced Nagorno-Karabakh Families in Armenia
As part of her visit to Armenia, President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Annita Demetriou met with forcibly displaced families from Nagorno-Karabakh in Aragatsotn Province. Through the My Step Foundation’s “Economically Sustainable Families” initiative, funded by the Cypriot government, these families received greenhouses to support their livelihoods and reintegration.
Photos of the Week
An Armenian man feeds doves, symbols of peace. The photo is from The Wounded Eagle, a new book by Swiss-Armenian photojournalist Demir Sönmez, documenting crimes against ethnic Armenians from 2020 to 2023.
Photo Courtesy of Demir Sönmez.
A funeral ceremony for a soldier at Saint Marianeh Church in the town of Ashtarak, Aragatsotn Province, Armenia. The photo is from The Wounded Eagle, a new book by Swiss-Armenian photojournalist Demir Sönmez, documenting crimes against ethnic Armenians from 2020 to 2023.
Photo Courtesy of Demir Sönmez.
Security
Armenia Ends Reliance on Russian Arms, Strengthens Defense Ties with India and France
Armenia has significantly reduced its dependence on Russian arms, signing over $1.5 billion in defense deals with India and $250 million with France between 2022 and 2024. The agreements include advanced rocket systems, artillery, air defense, and anti-drone technologies, marking a major shift in Yerevan’s defense partnerships.
EU-Armenia Relations at a Crossroads: Between Normative Values and Pragmatism
By Sossi Tatikyan
Since early 2024, Armenia has received broader Western support through a structured cooperation platform with the EU and U.S. This followed the high- level trilateral meeting, including one between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and EU High Representative Josep Borrell on April 5, 2024. The platform advances the EU’s and U.S.’ strategic goal of supporting Armenia’s democratic resilience, economic diversification, and defense reform amid regional security challenges.
Armenian Prime Minister Meets EU Top Diplomat Kaja Kallas at European Political Community Summit
During the 6th European Political Community Summit in Tirana, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas. The two discussed strengthening Armenia-EU cooperation.
Opinion
Azerbaijan: Tourist Attraction or Hell on Earth?
By Michael Rubin
On May 11, 2025, Dennis Lennox described in The Chrisian Post his travel to Azerbaijan, “a country at the crossroad of everything.” He describes the country’s rich history and suggests the capital Baku “could be the TV double for a random European city.” There is a danger to parachuting into a place and trusting interlocutors to be honest.
Subterfuge and Surprise Attacks: Jerusalem’s Armenians Fight Against the Sale of their Homeland
By Sophie Holloway
While Gaza is under attack and tensions between Palestinian and Israeli communities in Jerusalem are well known, Jerusalem’s Christian Armenians say they are battling for their own existence. Campaigners trying to protect Jerusalem’s historic Armenian Quarter from development deals say attacks on the city’s minority Christian population are being ignored.
“In the US, you have all these hardcore Christians, who are supposedly Christians, but when you talk to them about the plight of Armenians, or even all Christians in Jerusalem, it’s as though they’ve never even heard of them,” says Kegham Balian, writer, ceramicist and media coordinator of the “Save the ArQ” movement, a campaign to protect the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem from an illicit land deal made in 2020.
Denial or Reform? How Pakistan Might React to Military Setback vs. India
By Michael Rubin
As Pakistan Confronts Military Failure, Will it Follow the Path of Russia, Congo, or Armenia?
In 2020, Azerbaijan attacked the Armenian-run enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, conquering half before accepting a ceasefire which lasted less than three years before overrunning the rest of the territory, expelling the Armenian population.
She Covered Human Rights for VOA in Azerbaijan. Now She’s in Jail
By Kelly Kasulis Cho
Ulviyya Ali reported for Voice of America for years. Trump’s moves to dismantle the U.S.-funded outlet may have put her at greater risk, activists say.
EU–Azerbaijan Relations are a Blueprint for Authoritarians
The EU looks the other way as Azerbaijan jails journalists and crushes dissent. Officials in Tbilisi are surely taking note.
Courting Influence: Azerbaijan’s Lobbying Network in Italy
By Jelena Melikyan
In recent years, a sophisticated network of individuals and organizations has emerged in Italy, dedicated to advancing Azerbaijan’s narrative in academic and journalistic spheres. This network includes academics, professionals, researchers, and media figures who promote perspectives that align with Azerbaijani interests, often emphasizing historical interpretations that favor Baku.
The Perpetual Horizon: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Prospects for Peace
By Marie Dumoulin
Armenia and Azerbaijan have never been so close to peace—but bilateral issues and geopolitical complications mean a new escalation is still possible. The EU needs to use what levers it has to help the two countries ensure the former comes to pass
In Armenia, the Genocide’s Memory Lingers in Limbo
By Thomas Guichard
As Armenians mark the 110th anniversary of the genocide that began in 1915, efforts toward recognition and historical research remain stymied, due in large part to strained diplomatic ties between Armenia and its neighbors.