Daily Brief

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Friday, 15 May 2026

•3 min read

Regional * Former Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili has been appointed CEO of the Italian petroleum company Italiana Petroli (IP), which had recently been acquired by Azerbaijan’s SOCAR. Davitashvili stepped down as minister in June 2025. * Yesterday, 14 freight wagons with Russian wheat were sent to Armenia via Azerbaijan. Armenia * In a heated exchange, former President Robert Kocharyan referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a ‘lackey’. Later the same day, Pashinyan r

Daily Brief

Thursday, 14 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Regional * In an incident of apparent vandalism at the Armenian Surb Nshan Church in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, church icons were thrown near the rubbish, prompting an official investigation. Armenia * The US and the EU welcomed the lifting of restrictions on bilateral trade between Armenia and Turkey. * Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan hosted a delegation from AECOM, which had come to Armenia under the US State Department to begin site survey work for the Trump Route. * The Akanates obse

Daily Brief

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Armenia * Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan received a US delegation to discuss the Trump Route (TRIPP). According to the Armenian readout, the sides ‘discussed and agreed on a number of operational and legal issues related to the implementation of TRIPP’. * Armenian authorities have arrested an unclarified number of Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s affiliates over electoral bribery offering material incentives for people to attend his alliance’s rally. Azerbaijan * Azerbaij

Daily Brief

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Regional * Armenia’s Catholicos Karekin II has congratulated the newly elected Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Shio III. Armenia * Responding to recent comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting Armenia should choose between closer ties with the EU and its current membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that ‘until this moment, when there is no need to make a choice [...] we are not placing such an issue on the agenda’

Daily Brief

Monday, 11 May 2026

by OC Media

•2 min read

Armenia * Armenia’s pre-election campaign began on 8 May. The ruling Civil Contract party began its campaign in the Syunik region. The head of the Armenia Alliance faction, former President Robert Kocharyan, claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government had jeopardised Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Larapetyan’s nephew, Narek Karapetyan, suggested in a Strong Armenia Alliance rally that they would replace Pashinyan’s last c

Daily Brief

Friday, 8 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Armenia * Today, pre-election campaigning kicked off in Armenia for the 7 June parliamentary elections. * Yesterday, Russia summoned Armenia’s Ambassador Gurgen Arsenyan, claiming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi had ‘voice[d] terrorist threats against Russia’ during his speech at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan earlier this week. * Armenian authorities have arrested an undisclosed number of people over allegations of vote buying and attempts to obstruct the free vo

Daily Brief

Thursday, 7 May 2026

by OC Media

•4 min read

Regional * Former Nagorno-Karabakh Parliamentary Speaker David Ishkhanyan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azerbaijan, has shared an audio message, asking Armenian Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan to mediate with Azerbaijan to provide his family with the full texts of his indictment and verdict. He also called his trial, which involved 15 other Armenians, as being not against them, but ‘against the Armenian people and Armenian statehood’. Ishkhanyan is the third Armenian prisone