CIVILNET

As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Armenia ahead of the country’s parliamentary election, Insights host Eric Hacopian examines the growing internationalization of Armenia’s political landscape. He stresses that Armenia’s democracy was built by the Armenian people and can only be sustained by them. The episode also covers the government's planned May 28 military parade and new allega...

Independent journalists from Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia met in Yerevan as part of the Seizing Synergies project by the Network for Border Crossing Journalism, also known as n-ost. The initiative focuses on cross-border collaboration to strengthen reporting and editorial exchange in an era of growing disinformation, political pressure, and shrinking resources.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #Seizin...

📍 Armenia and the United States have initialed a framework agreement on strategic cooperation concerning the “Trump Route” while also signing a rare earths and minerals deal.📍 A total of 61% of Armenians believe the country is heading in the right direction, a survey by the International Republican Institute shows.📍 The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's election monitor...

📍 Armenia gains new rail access to Europe via the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway. 📍 A new poll shows 75% of Armenians support the county's possible accession to the European Union, though most still want to maintain friendly relations with Russia as well. 📍 Aliyev once again threatens Armenia with war- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5qNcu12oc#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Armenia will consider legislation to introduce reverse mortgages for retirees.📍 Armenia approved changes to a law that grants tax breaks to tech companies.📍 Armenia announced plans to develop a new customs center in the Syunik region.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #civilnetbusiness

📍 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will miss an upcoming Russia-led economic summit as he campaigns for June 7 elections, amid renewed concerns in Moscow over Yerevan’s turn toward Europe. 📍 Armenia is currently hosting the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles wine competition, welcoming hundreds of wine experts. 📍 Voskevaz Winery and Armenia’s Wine Revolution- https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

As Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev once again threatens Armenia with war while presenting himself internationally as a supporter of peace, Insights host Eric Hacopian examines why the threat of renewed conflict remains central to Baku’s political strategy. The episode also looks at Armenia’s increasingly volatile election campaign, including allegations of vote buying, intimidation, abuses of...

📍 A new report by the exiled Russian investigative outlet The Insider has revealed Moscow’s intelligence network in Armenia. Using leaked databases, they published what they describe as proof of opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan’s collusion with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB.📍 Armenia's Investigative Committee has filed criminal charges against Samvel Ka...

With Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election fast approaching, political commentator Eric Hacopian joins the CivilNet podcast to assess a race that looks markedly different from previous campaigns. The contest is being shaped by unprecedented levels of spending from frontrunners, while smaller parties compete for visibility through social media. Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Nikol Pashiny...

📍 According to Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey, Baku is urging the Turkish government to hold off on opening Turkey's border with Armenia. Armenia has previously accused Baku of hindering Yerevan’s normalization with Ankara.📍 Armenia’s foreign minister acknowledged that Yerevan cannot be a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union at the same time, responding...

📍 A video showing armed masked men threatening Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has triggered a criminal investigation and intensified political tensions. 📍 A man from Artashat, who had been in police custody for allegedly taking down an election poster, died by apparent suicide in a psychiatric ward. 📍 Pashinyan has proposed a controversial easing for Armenia’s drivers who lost their li...

📍 YouTube has launched monetization in Armenia, High-Tech Industry Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan announced.📍 U.S. infrastructure consulting firm Aecom started site surveys for a major new transit route planned in Armenia, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan announced.📍 Turkey eased decades-old restrictions on trade with Armenia, amid continuing efforts to reopen the two countries’ long-shuttere...

With less than a month until Armenia’s parliamentary election, the campaign has entered a volatile phase marked by escalating political rhetoric. On Insights, host Eric Hacopian identifies potential violations of campaign spending limits by the leading parties, and examines how the current government’s strategy may be to encourage voter disengagement. The episode also highlights Ruben Vardanyan’s...

📍 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says four school principals in Aragatsotn province offered resignations as authorities investigate allegations that teachers and students were mobilized to attend a ruling party campaign rally. 📍 Former Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Minister David Babayan, currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan, says appeal documents filed by Armenian detainees have disappeared. 📍 Armeni...

📍 Turkey has lifted restrictions on direct trade with Armenia. Though it continues to keep the shared border closed, it is expected that the import costs of Turkish goods to Armenia will reduce.📍 The International Committee of the Red Cross says it continues visiting Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan from abroad despite the closure of its Baku office, amid concerns over prisoners’ treatment and l...

📍 Russia’s foreign ministry claims that unlike Moscow, the European Union has little to offer Armenia in terms of trade, security, and political representation.📍 Armenia and the United States held another round of consultations on the so-called ‘Trump Route,’ a proposed Washington-mediated transport link through Armenia’s southern 📍 Syunik region that would connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of...

In this CivilNet interview, political scientist Cengiz Aktar joins Eric Hacopian to examine Turkey’s deepening political and economic crisis under President Erdoğan. The discussion explores the country’s autocratic trajectory, declining living standards, strained EU relations, and the future of Kurdish rights. Aktar also addresses Armenia-Turkey normalization and the broader regional implications...

📍 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for Armenia to choose between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union, saying there is no immediate necessity to leave the bloc. 📍 Pashinyan faces backlash after questioning Armenia’s historical ties to Nagorno-Karabakh during a campaign speech in Syunik. 📍 Business Week Armenia: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Can the proposed Trump Route (TRIPP) through Armenia’s south bring lasting peace and prosperity to the South Caucasus? Anahide Pilibossian, Vice President of the Yerevan-based APRI Institute, discusses the think tank’s new report on the route. She argues that TRIPP is a necessary but insufficient step toward regional stability without broader border openings between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan...

British Ambassador Alexandra Cole discusses the expanding relationship between the United Kingdom and Armenia following the first-ever visit of a UK prime minister to independent Armenia. She outlines the launch of a new strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as the UK’s growing economic interest in Armenia, expanding people-to-people ties, democratic cooperation, and developing...

📍 Central Bank chief Martin Galstyan secured a second six-year term. The Bank held interest rates steady at 6.5%, citing elevated global energy prices.📍 Major Russian online retailers Wildberries and Ozon have restricted Armenian producers from selling their goods in Russia, citing strengthened Russian customs rules.📍 Lion Finance Group, Ameriabank’s parent company, joined the London Stock Exch...

Armenia hosted the largest gathering of world leaders in its history this week as the European Political Community summit and EU–Armenia summit came to Yerevan. On Insights, host Eric Hacopian explains what Armenia has gained, why the deeper political significance may matter more than the official declarations, and how the summit could shape Armenia’s domestic political landscape ahead of election...

📍 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not attend Saturday’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite having participated last year. 📍 From an Azerbaijani prison, former speaker of Artsakh parliament Davit Ishkhanyan has called on Armenia’s human rights ombudsperson to organize a visit to Armenian prisoners held in Baku and help secure access to their court documents. 📍 Strong Armenia part...

Partner content. As Armenia works to strengthen energy independence and climate resilience, especially in rural areas, new efforts are targeting high energy costs and reliance on fossil fuels. In this episode of CivilNet Business, Olga Weigel of the SE4Resilience project, co-financed by the European Union and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and implemented by GIZed, ex...

James Tufenkian, founder of the Tufenkian Foundation and a pioneer in Armenian hospitality, shares his journey from carpets to boutique hotels and now to winemaking. Filmed in one of his Yerevan hotels, he explains how wine, like carpets and local crafts, is a form of cultural expression — a way to share Armenia’s history, traditions, and excellence with the world. In this conversation with Paul K...