- At least 151 protesters were detained today in Yerevan for taking part in acts of civil disobedience, according to police figures. Demonstrators continue to call on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign over last month’s border deal with Azerbaijan.
- Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to disagree on key provisions of a normalization deal, after talks over the weekend between the two countries’ top diplomats in Kazakhstan.
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Understanding the European Union Monitoring Mission in Armenia
Head of the European Union Mission to Armenia, Markus Ritter, leads a growing team of over a hundred border monitors and staff. They patrol Armenia’s more than 600-mile-long border with Azerbaijan as an impartial broker, observing the status on the ground. Though the unarmed mission hopes to build confidence between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the latter has reacted to it with hostility, and along with Russia has vilified its presence with baseless accusations. Despite it all, Ritter and his team continue their mission with an eye to a more peaceful future for the region.
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7 injured in massive blast at gas station outside Yerevan
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian At least seven people were injured, two seriously, in a blast late Thursday evening at a gas station outside of Yerevan. As of Friday morning, emergency workers had put out the fire, Armenia’s Interior Ministry confirmed. A liquified gas tank exploded just after 11 p.m. in the town of Abovyan along the highway to Lake Sevan, sending clouds of smoke and lighting up the night sky over Yerevan. As of Friday morning, the gas supply to Abovyan is not available for safety reasons, according to Gazprom Armenia. “Two of the victims hospitalized as a result of […]
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Estonia’s radical defense transformation explained
In this discussion, defense expert Nele Loorents shares her expertise on the transformation of Estonia’s defense sector following independence from the Soviet Union. Drawing from her previous role in the Estonian defense ministry, Loorents analyzes the challenges the country faced and the radical yet successful reforms it undertook. She also examines how Estonia’s focus on digital technologies and innovation has strengthened its overall security posture, providing lessons for Armenia’s ongoing modernization efforts.
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Armenia’s reliance on Russian remittances drops as Ukraine war reorders
By Mark Dovich Armenia’s reliance on remittances from Russia, traditionally the top destination for the country’s labor migrants, is dropping sharply, as the war in Ukraine continues to upend traditional economic ties across the region. Personal remittances to Armenia last year amounted to roughly $1.7 billion, according to Central Bank data, representing about 7% of the country’s gross domestic product. That is a far cry from the mid-to-late 2000s and early 2010s, when the ratio of remittances to GDP regularly approached 20%. The vast majority of those transfers came from Russia. “For our compatriots, the attractiveness of working in Russia […]
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Inside Finland’s holistic approach to defending sovereignty
In this exclusive discussion, CivilNet sits down with Finnish Ambassador to the South Caucasus Kirsti Narinen to get insights into Finland’s comprehensive “Total Defense” strategy which fortifies the nation through close cooperation between the government, private sector and the public. Ambassador Narinen explains how this holistic model has allowed Finland to effectively respond to emergencies and modern security threats. She discusses key lessons that Armenia could adopt to strengthen its national resilience and crisis management capabilities.
