In this week’s edition of CivilNet’s business digest, we take a look at the devastating impact of Azerbaijan’s blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh’s economy, Armenia’s growing trade with Turkey, and the Armenian government’s plans to set up the country’s first dry port in Gyumri.
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‘You are not alone’: Ex-ICC prosecutor Moreno Ocampo makes landmark
By Mark Dovich Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has urged Azerbaijan to release Armenians in its custody ahead of this year’s global climate summit, which the country will host later this year. “It is crucial that at this conference, the issue of the Armenian hostages in Baku prisons cannot be ignored,” Moreno Ocampo told reporters Friday at a press conference in Yerevan, part of a landmark trip to Armenia. Moreno Ocampo’s agenda included meetings with Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and with the region’s exiled leadership, as well as visits to frontline villages. […]
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‘Sky’s the limit’ on Armenia’s wine renaissance
Stepan Baghdassarian, founder and CEO of WinesofArmenia.com, sits down with CivilNet’s Mark Dovich to talk about the challenges and opportunities he has as one of the biggest importers of Armenian wines to the United States. Stepan discusses the current state of Armenian winemaking and what the future holds for the burgeoning industry. “Armenia is going through a wine renaissance,” Stepan says. “We were the leaders of winemaking, going back at least 6,200 years, possibly more. And we’re back. Sky’s the limit.”
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Who is to blame for losing the war?
In this week’s episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian discusses, Armenia’s development path, focusing on Yerevan’s frequent power outages. Eric also breaks down the release from prison of former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan last month, and what to expect from parliament’s ongoing review of the 2020 Artsakh war.
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‘EU membership referendum’ – an unofficial start of Armenia’s 2026
A group of politicians and political activists in Armenia have launched an initiative to hold a referendum on joining the European Union. It’s natural for a country or its citizens to aspire to join the EU, given that membership symbolizes a commitment to European values—human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, tolerance, justice, and peace. Beyond values, EU membership offers significant economic and institutional benefits. For countries seeking membership, it promises improved public administration through heightened transparency, accountability, and efficiency. In short, EU accession leads to a higher standard of living. It’s widely acknowledged that societies […]
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‘Armenia’s Pivot to the West’ by Richard Giragosian
Richard Giragosian, director of Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center think tank, speaks about “Armenia’s Pivot to the West” at a symposium organized by the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. The lecture took place on July 5 in Yerevan. This year’s Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia took place in Yerevan, Tbilisi, and Istanbul from July 1 to July 20.
