CIVILNET

📍Iran has proposed expanding natural gas exports to Armenia as the two countries explore deeper energy ties and new transportation links. 📍Human rights lawyer says there are credible reports that some Armenians held in Azerbaijani prisons have suffered serious injuries, including fractures, raising concerns that some may have resulted from violence.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

- A U.S. company linked to businessman Konstantin Sokolov acquired Armenia’s Teghut mine from Russia’s VTB bank. Sokolov is also involved in U.S.-backed efforts to develop a new transit route across the South Caucasus.- Armenia’s government advanced efforts to seize AraratCement, one of the country’s largest cement companies. It’s owned by prominent businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, who has been detained on money laundering charges, which he denies.- Hundreds of people from Armenia’s fish farming industry held a protest in Yerevan, calling for government support amid Russian restrictions on trade with Armenia.#CivilNet #thisweekinbusiness #businessweekarmenia

📍 The Armenian government takes control of Ararat Cement as authorities pursue asset forfeiture proceedings against businessman Gagik Tsarukyan.📍 Armenian lawyers criticize a proposal to ban HelpCourt.am, a website that allows lawyers to rate judges. 📍 The big ideas defining Armenia's political future- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUL5tGEY1k #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #DailyArmenia

📍New reporting indicates Azerbaijan successfully pressured Israel to withdraw its Armenian Genocide recognition bill after direct intervention with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 📍UN experts question Armenia’s use of terrorism charges against Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and some of his supporters, while the government defends the case as a legitimate investigation into planned violence. 📍Former President Serzh Sargsyan faces charges over the 2005 sale of Gyumri’s Black Fortress while serving as defense minister. 📍Business Week Armenia- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IBs0OXZ7Uc#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

Insights host Eric Hacopian joins the CivilNet podcast to explain some of the concepts he uses on his show to describe Armenia’s current political situation. These include the country’s drift into “Finlandization”, as well as his rough equivalents for two competing political mindsets in Armenia's electorate: “Weimar Armenians,” a reference to interwar Germany’s reliance on concessions and submission for security, and “Likud Armenians,” representing the Israeli ruling party’s focus on strength and deterrence that can become overly confrontational. The episode also confronts Yerevan’s strategic dilemma: pursuing peace with an adversary that continues to advance territorial claims, namely Ilham Aliyev’s “Western Azerbaijan” demands on Armenia, which Hacopian describes as a declaration of war that undermines any prospect of a lasting peace. 0:00- Introduction 0:37- What is Finlandization? 2:12- Finlandization in the Armenian context 6:38- What is the Weimar vs. Likud Armenia divide? 11:40- The flaws of both those visions 17:25- Objections to the Arm-Az "Bridge of Peace" civil society program24:16- Aliyev's "Western Azerbaijan" demands on Armenian land #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

📍 An Armenian court has placed Gagik Tsarukyan’s AraratCement under state management as prosecutors pursue a long-running illicit asset forfeiture case against the jailed opposition leader. 📍 Armenia sees an opportunity to purchase more U.S. defense technology as it strives to diversify its defense partners. 📍 EU Ambassador Maragos on von der Leyen’s Armenia visit and the future of relations- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e1V5j45UuE#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has commented for the first time on Israel's ongoing effort to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, saying that he would not get involved in the matter. 📍 Armenia and Azerbaijan are creating a mechanism allowing the two countries to exchange information on missing persons and the burial sites of those killed in war. A similar instrument helped advance peacebuilding between the countries of the former Yugoslavia that went to war with each other in the 1990s.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Israel’s cabinet has unanimously approved a resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide, prompting sharp backlash from Turkey and criticism from Azerbaijan as the measure now heads to the Knesset for final approval. 📍 Armenia’s Constitutional Court is set to rule this week on an opposition bid to annul the June 7 election over alleged fraud. 📍 This Week in Business- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoJeuU9rPu0#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Armenia’s economy has remained stable following the parliamentary election earlier this month, as well as Russia’s extensive bans on Armenian goods, the country’s Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan says.📍 A new internet transit agreement between Armenia's Telecom Armenia and Azerbaijan's AzerTelecom has sparked debate on social media due to fear about its potential security implications. 📍 Armenian law enforcement authorities have arrested opposition figure Avetik Chalabyan today and sought his pre-trial detention on charges linked to an alleged scheme to influence the June 7 parliamentary election.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War exposed deep structural weaknesses in Armenia’s military and political decision-making. Political scientist Dr. Vicken Cheterian, lecturer in political science at the University of Geneva and director of the Diasporan Perspectives think tank at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, joined the podcast to discuss these failures and why Armenia was not prepared for the conflict. Cheterian is the editor of the new book “The 44-Day War”, a comprehensive analysis of the conflict, and co-author of “44 Defeat”, which reconstructs how Armenia’s military defeat occurred. 0:00- Two new books on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War3:44- Wide causes for Armenia's failure in 2020 5:40- Reasons for the army's military failure 9:15- Was it a mistake to rely so heavily on Russia for defense?10:35- Why did Armenia end up at war in 2020? 12:57- Armenia's misreading of the regional security balance 14:00- Failure of Armenia's post-2018 diplomacy 16:27- Rejection of the Lavrov Plan 17:54- Balancing the military & diplomatic factors for the failure19:12- Lessons for Armenia from the changing world order #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ