An exchange of Armenian and Azerbaijani detainees could help build trust to make further progress in peace negotiations – but it could also exacerbate tensions.
The Armenian prime minister blamed “remnants of the corrupt system” for trying to use the exchange with his Russian counterpart to mock him on social media.
The prime minister has long had a confrontational attitude toward critical press. Now he has escalated the fight by involving the security services and arresting the operator of a satirical site.
Pashinyan and other members of the new government have repeatedly framed the country’s economic problems, and the solutions required, in moral and psychological terms.
Georgian security services are looking into Georgian writings that appeared in the Christchurch shooting; Armenian groups condemned his citation of their history.
On the 11th anniversary of the worst political violence in Armenia’s independent history, many expressed hope that the new government would bring justice to the perpetrators.
As Armenia and the other CSTO member states appear increasingly at loggerheads about who should lead the group, Russia has resigned itself to letting no one have the position.
Huawei, a Chinese tech giant increasingly sanctioned in the West, is in talks with the Armenian government to install its controversial “Smart City” technology.
