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Regional * The trial of former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan has concluded in Azerbaijan. His state appointed lawyer Emil Babishov filed two motions, and both of them were denied by the judge. The next court process is scheduled for tomorrow. Armenia * Parliament has adopted a draft law reducing compulsory military service from 24 months to 18 starting from 1 January 2026. * Armenia and Luxembourg have signed a joint declaration on a strategic partnership. * The Foreign
Regional * Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, criticised the Trump Route (TRIPP) during a meeting with Armenia’s Ambassador to Iran, Grigor Hakobyan, on Monday, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Velayati said that TRIPP ‘is effectively the same as the Zangezur corridor project’, adding that Tehran ‘is firmly opposed to it’. * Commemorative actions in memory of Aishat Baymuradova, a native of Chechnya who was killed in Yerevan, took place i
Regional * Armenian companies interested in importing Azerbaijani fuel have been engaged in ongoing talks with Azerbaijan, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told RFE/RL, without disclosing the names of the companies. * The Investigative Committee of Armenia has completed its work with the body of murdered Chechen woman Aishat Baymuradova, who had earlier fled her family due to violence. A request has been sent to Russia for the transfer of the body for burial, but there has still been
Regional * On Thursday, Karen Avanesyan, one of the few Armenians who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh, stood trial in Azerbaijan on charges of planning an ‘armed provocation’. * Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians held in Azerbaijan delivered some of their final statements yesterday. Levon Balayan and Garik Martirosyan pleaded not guilty in their statements, Madat Babayan stated that he did not kill anyone but merely fired into the air, and Melikset Pashayan said he did not participate in combat operatio
