Armenia

Protests erupt during the visit of Moscow’s Foreign Minister, whom many Armenians blame for failing to support them against Azerbaijan. Russia offers reassurances on the importance of "allied relations" between the two nations, also aimed at countering Armenia’s rapprochement with Europe. Yerevan, however, has no plans to withdraw from the CSTO.

The Eurasian military alliance has presented new guidelines for law enforcement operations to be applied in all member states to prevent ‘terrorist infiltration’. Last year 420 illegal organisations were identified, but there were also many summary actions against Tajiks after the attack on Krokus City Hall. Dushanbe is insisting that its citizens fully legalise their residence status in Russia by the end of April.

The mountain of Noah's Ark, a biblical symbol of ancient Armenia, remains an unresolved issue in the ongoing attempts to revive relations between Ankara and Yerevan. Turkey claims that Kurdish armies are organised on its slopes and does not want to grant any rights to others. And Pašinyan would like to remove the Armenian flags so as not to pursue ‘dreams of the past’.

For the first time since the ‘velvet revolution’ of 2018, the Armenian premier showed his face shaved of his beard. A gesture to wink at the need to ‘bring the country back to zero’, an expression he increasingly used to call for ‘looking at the real Armenia and not the land of dreams’.

The place of worship, dating from the 4th century AD, was found in Artaxata. The discovery is the result of joint work of archaeologists from the University of Münster and the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. For experts, it is also a "significant" find because the kingdom was the first in history "to adopt Christianity as its official religion”.

Nagorno-Karabakh NGOs in the streets against the closure of the Minsk Group, the only institution with an international mandate for the conflict with Azebaijan. A year after the military campaign in Baku, Armenian exiles are still living in precarious conditions in Yerevan or in camps and areas near the border, hoping to return to their native homeland.

The visit to Armenia by Stéphane Séjourné, outgoing French government minister and candidate for European commissioner, was viewed with suspicion in Moscow, which seeks to keep its historical ties strong. While in Yerevan, the ‘minor partners’ of Pašinyan's coalition are collecting signatures for a referendum on the country's entry into the EU.

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One of the most important festivals in Armenian Christianity recalls in its name the ancient custom of washing oneself with rosewater. This is why - in the hottest time of the year - everyone is allowed the playful gesture of bathing each other that children eagerly await. A gesture of purification, feeling part of a single family, a sentiment yearned for in this time of great conflict in the country.

According to Russian political scientist Dmitry Trenin, with a change in leadership Armenia would no longer find allies in the West; the US would step aside, and Azerbaijan and Turkey would be free to deal with an insurgent Armenian government on their own. The important thing for Moscow is that "another unfriendly front is not formed".

This morning, the pontiff received the members of ROACO in Rome for their plenary assembly. The pontiff spoke about the various areas torn by violence in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He also referred to the demographic decline of Christians and expressed concern for the pastoral care for diasporic communities. War is a “senseless and inconclusive venture,” he bemoaned. “There is urgent need for a ceasefire,” he said, since in war, “no one emerges a winner.”