JAMnews. Top stories in local media
Monday, February 16, Armenia. The Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case against Garegin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians
● Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, in an interview with the TV channel Dozhd, ruled out the possibility of detaining or deporting people persecuted in Russia for political reasons. “Zero people have been deported from Armenia. If a person does not violate our laws, no criminal case is opened. There were cases when people were detained, but after clarification they were released,” he said.
● In the same interview, asked whether the Russian military base in Gyumri serves Armenia’s interests, Simonyan said: “We do not consider it appropriate to discuss this now. We asked Russian border guards to leave the airport and several locations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. But look at the map and Armenia’s challenges. I’m not saying the base is a 100% guarantee, but in our region, making sharp moves now would be wrong.”
● The ruling Civil Contract party finished a three-day vote to form its candidate list for the June 7 parliamentary elections. About 1,100 delegates selected 50 names from a pool of 280. Final ranking will be set at an early-April congress. As of late Feb. 15, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was leading.
Read also
● The Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case against Garegin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, on charges of obstructing the enforcement of a court decision related to Arman Saroyan. The Catholicos has been banned from leaving the country. The context is as follows. Arman Saroyan is one of ten bishops who supported Nikol Pashinyan in his initiative to “start a process of renewing the Church.” In December, Garegin II removed Saroyan from his post as head of the Masisatsotn Diocese. The bishop filed a lawsuit. On January 16, the court prohibited the Church from interfering with him in carrying out his duties until a final ruling. However, on January 27, the Catholicos defrocked the bishop.
The Catholicos’s lawyer stated that the “ban on Garegin II leaving Armenia is an attempt to disrupt a gathering of bishops that is to take place in Austria,” calling it a “historically shameful act by the authorities.”
In early January, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and ten bishops signed a joint statement announcing the start of a church reform process and the creation of a coordinating council. The ultimate goal is to remove Garegin II from the throne and elect a new Catholicos of All Armenians. The main accusations against Garegin II are political interference (he has a pro-Russian reputation) and violation of celibacy (he was found to have a wife and children). Read more here
● The opposition sharply condemned the opening of a criminal case against the Catholicos of All Armenians. The New Force party, led by former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan, called the situation “illegal and immoral.” “All this has nothing to do with faith, and even less with the rule of law, but serves the interests of Nikol Pashinyan and his team and is driven solely by the need to strengthen their power,” the statement said. Most of Armenia’s opposition is widely regarded as having a pro-Russian reputation.
● Pashinyan said that after the elections “former presidents will be finally removed from politics.” Allies of ex-president Robert Kocharyan fired back, saying after June 7 Armenia “will not have a leader the whole nation is ashamed of.”
● Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili commented on a statement by the Embassy of Estonia in Georgia saying that Ambassador Marge Mardisalu‑Kahar is ending her tenure in Tbilisi and moving to a new post in Armenia. “Foreign ministries can transfer ambassadors from one position to another at their own discretion. I don’t see anything unusual in this unless the Estonian side itself attaches special significance to it,” Bochorishvili said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Embassies of various Western countries, including Estonia, have sharply criticized the Georgian authorities over democratic backsliding. Representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party, in turn, have regularly made harsh and at times insulting statements about European ambassadors.
● “If Russia is able to invest in ensuring that cargo passes through Armenia, and we receive political and economic benefits as well as security guarantees from this, then there will be no problem. But we will never sacrifice our interests for the sake of another country, even if it is a strategic partner,” Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told journalists. He was commenting on repeated statements from Moscow about its desire to participate in implementing the regional transit route known as the “Trump Route” (TRIPP). The road would run from Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory. An agreement on this project was reached at a summit of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Washington last August, with the participation of Donald Trump.
● Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, responded to a statement by Ilham Aliyev about the impossibility of granting amnesty to former military-political leaders of the former unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, who were recently sentenced in Baku to long prison terms, several of them to life imprisonment. “We continue working on their release and are pursuing this in all possible formats,” Grigoryan said.
● The U.S. Embassy in Armenia issued a warning: “Visa screening does not stop after a visa is granted. We continuously monitor visa holders to ensure they comply with U.S. laws and immigration rules. Violations may lead to visa revocation and deportation,” the statement said.
● The Armenian Weightlifting Championships have concluded. On the final day, winners were determined in the 94 kg, 110 kg, and +110 kg categories. Varazdat Lalayan won the +110 kg category with a total of 440 kg, while Garik Karapetyan took first place in the 110 kg category with 380 kg.
Monday, February 16, Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev: “A peace agreement with Armenia will be signed the day after Armenia’s constitution is amended”
● During an official visit to Serbia by Ilham Aliyev, a joint press conference was held with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Key messages:
The presidents of Azerbaijan and Serbia will pay reciprocal visits in 2026.
Vučić said Serbian companies will take part in an investment forum in Azerbaijan in September.
Azerbaijan confirmed participation in EXPO 2027 in Belgrade.
Compared to 2012, trade turnover in services between the two countries has increased 16-fold.
Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan is ready to make major investments in Serbia’s economy.
Serbia’s gas company and Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas company SOCAR signed a cooperation agreement. One project involves building a 500-megawatt gas power plant near Belgrade, planned to open by 2029.
A decision was made to increase exports of Azerbaijani gas to Serbia, where it will be converted into electricity.
Tourism between the two countries is growing, and a direct Belgrade–Baku flight operated by Air Serbia will launch on May 3.
● During the visit, the first meeting of the bilateral Strategic Partnership Council was held in Belgrade with the participation of both presidents.
● As part of the Munich Security Conference, President Ilham Aliyev took part in a panel discussion titled “Open Corridor Policy: Deepening Trans-Caspian Cooperation.” Also participating were European Commission enlargement commissioner Marta Kos and former Chinese state counselor Wang Huiyao. Key statements included:
Ilham Aliyev:
Azerbaijan is actively involved in developing the Middle Corridor and investing in physical infrastructure, including seaports, railways, highways, and cargo aviation.
Last year, a record number of TU shipments — over 100,000 — passed through Azerbaijan. In a few years, this figure could rise to 200,000–300,000, with a target of 500,000 TU.
Azerbaijan is working closely with Central Asian partners to lay an underwater fiber-optic cable across the Caspian Sea, expected to become operational this year.
After achieving peace with Armenia, new opportunities have opened. A corridor running from Azerbaijan through Armenia to Europe has strong cargo potential. Azerbaijan is currently investing in railway construction on its territory.
The very fact that a peace agreement was initialed at the White House in the presence of the United States, and that a joint declaration was signed by Armenia’s prime minister and Aliyev, with Donald Trump as witness, is enough to say peace has already been achieved.
Since last August there have been no problems on the border with Armenia.
All restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia through Azerbaijan have been lifted.
Azerbaijan has also begun supplying petroleum products to Armenia, effectively launching mutual trade.
A formal peace agreement will be signed the day after Armenia amends its constitution to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
“I hope we will sign a peace agreement with Armenia this year.”
Speaking about the region, he said it is impossible to forget Central Asian neighbors across the Caspian, as cargo transport from China to Europe depends on them. The geography is: China, Central Asia, the Caspian, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Europe. Azerbaijan is already actively cooperating with Central Asian countries.
Marta Kos:
“The peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan opens new opportunities, and what once seemed impossible now inspires confidence. We thank President Aliyev for supporting EU plans.”
The EU has specific projects on its agenda for Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. The TRIPP project is considered a priority, but others are also being reviewed, including a new rail outlet from Nakhchivan toward Turkey.
● Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the Munich conference. They discussed further energy cooperation.
● Ilham Aliyev said Russia is striking not only Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but also Azerbaijan’s embassy: “Our embassy in Ukraine was hit three times. After the first strike, we thought it might be accidental. Then we provided Russia with the coordinates of our diplomatic facilities — the consular section, cultural center, and embassy. Despite this, two more strikes followed. This is a targeted attack on Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions,” he said, calling Russia’s actions “an unfriendly step.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “completely perplexed,” stating that when planning strikes, the locations of diplomatic missions are carefully taken into account.
● Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Monday, February 16, Georgia. A protest took place at Ilia State University against a new education system reform
● A protest took place at Ilia State University against a new education system reform. Students, faculty, and the university administration are demanding the process be suspended. Rector Nino Doborjginidze says the reform has cut the number of university programs by 92%.
● At the Imam Ali Mosque in Marneuli, in Georgia’s Kvemo Kartli region, Imam Haji Hajiyev delivered a sermon calling the U.S. the “largest terrorist” in the region and expressing solidarity with Ali Khamenei and leaders of Hamas. Posters depicting Khamenei were displayed inside the mosque during the sermon. Read more here
● Georgia’s foreign minister from Georgian Dream met with Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Secretary General of the OSCE, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “The main focus was on the situation in Georgia’s regions occupied by Russia. The minister stressed the importance of the Geneva International Discussions format and the OSCE’s involvement in the conflict resolution process,” the press release said.
The statement did not mention the OSCE’s announced launch of a probe into alleged human rights violations in Georgia under the so-called “Moscow Mechanism.”
● Today, the Parliament of Georgia controlled by Georgian Dream will consider a package of legislative acts and amendments to seven laws concerning grants, political activity, and activism. The documents introduce new restrictions and bans related to political activities and grants.
● The Interior Ministry reported the arrest in Tbilisi of a Georgian citizen, S.Ch. (born 1994), on charges of indecent acts involving minors. He allegedly sent explicit messages via social media to two girls under 14 and solicited related materials.
● A National Georgian Wine Day has been established and will be celebrated annually on May 8. The goal is to promote the history and traditions of Georgian winemaking.
