Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Yerevan followed a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan earlier this month (Al Jazeera)
An aide to Iran’s top leader criticized the prospect of exclusive U.S. development rights in a new trade corridor as part of that deal, but Armenia’s prime minister said that Yerevan would control the route (Bloomberg)
Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal Published
The countries pledged to relinquish all claims to each other’s territory and cease using force against one another; the agreement also bans the deployment of troops from third countries on their shared border (Bloomberg)
It has been initialed but not yet officially signed (Reuters)
Armenia, Azerbaijan Sign Peace Deal at White House
The peace agreement includes U.S. economic development rights in a planned transit corridor; EU leaders hailed the deal and called for the countries to move toward normalization (Guardian)
Iran, which has a border near the planned corridor route, criticized foreign involvement in the area (Al Jazeera)
Trump to Welcome Armenian, Azerbaijani Leaders to Sign Peace Deal
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will travel to Washington on August 8 to sign a peace deal; the agreement includes a joint declaration of peace, an agreement to grant the United States exclusive special development rights for a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan exclave, and a joint request to dissolve the OCSE Minsk Group (CBS;OC-Media)
The transit corridor will be renamed ‘Trump’s Roadmap for International Peace and Prosperity’(TRIPP) (Reuters; X)
Trump Considers Bringing Azerbaijan Into Abraham Accords
The Trump administration reportedly explored bringing Azerbaijan into the Abraham Accords to strengthen its ties with Israel; however, a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is considered a prerequisite for joining (Reuters)
Pashinyan Says United States Offered to Oversee Transport Corridor
At a press conference, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the United States has proposed assuming control of a thirty-two-kilometer transport corridor that would link Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave; Azerbaijan has made it clear that it does not want Armenia to control the corridor, fearing that access could be easily revoked (Reuters)
Aliyev, Pashinyan Meet for First Formal Bilateral Meeting
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Abu Dhabi for their first formal bilateral meeting since signing a draft peace agreement in March; the talks were reportedly “highly constructive” and “result-oriented,” with both sides agreeing to continue discussions (Reuters)
Armenia Arrests Second Prominent Cleric
Two days after Archbishop Galstanyan’s arrest on terrorism charges, Armenian security officials arrested Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan on charges of plotting against the government; when he was arrested, crowds of people confronted the security officials at the Armenian Apostolic Church headquarters (AP)
The arrest is reportedly linked to growing tensions between the church and Armenia regarding land concessions granted to Azerbaijan (AP)
Armenian Archbishop Arrested on Terrorism Charges
Apostolic Church Archbishop and leader of the Sacred Struggle opposition movement, Bagrat Galstanyan, was arrested by Armenian security services on terrorism charges and for allegedly plotting to overthrow Pashinyan’s government; Archbishop Galstanyan previously actively protested Prime Minister Pashinyan’s policy to normalize ties with Azerbaijan (AP)
Turkey, Armenia Meet in Efforts to Normalize Relations
One day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks in Turkey, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a “historic” dialogue about the “normalization process, regional developments, and the importance of sustained dialogue”; Turkey previously supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh War (Al Jazeera)
Billionaire Detained as Rift Between Church and State Grows
One of Armenia’s richest men and a supporter of the Armenian Church, Samvel Karapetyan, was arrested for reportedly making public calls to seize power from Prime Minister Pashinyan illegally; Karapetyan allegedly said that “if the politicians do not succeed, we will intervene in our own way in this campaign against the church,” likely referring to Pashinyan’s call for the head of the Armenian Church’s resignation (AP)
Separately, over 700 people from 17 nationalities reportedly fled to Armenia and Azerbaijan amid ongoing Israeli aerial bombardments against Iran; an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that over 1,200 citizens from 51 countries requested permission to cross into Azerbaijan from Iran (Reuters)
Nightly Gunfire Raises Tensions Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
In Khnatsakh, near the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, automatic gunfire by Azerbaijani troops has increased the risk of breaching a ceasefire and wider conflict occurring between the two countries; Azerbaijan has denied any cross-border gunfire (Reuters)
Armenia Calls for Investigation Into Alleged Cease-fire Violations at Border With Azerbaijan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed Azerbaijani forces opened fire at the Armenian border settlement of Khnatsakh and demanded Azerbaijan look into the suspected violations; since both parties agreed to the terms of a peace deal on March 13, over twenty-six cease-fire violations have been reported, raising fears of renewed military conflict so long as the deal remains unsigned (Reuters)
Armenia and Iran Conclude Joint Military Exercises on Shared Border
Armenia’s land border with Azerbaijan and Turkey has been closed for decades; Yerevan has drawn closer to Western partners in recent years but has also preserved ties with Tehran (Reuters)
While Armenia and Azerbaijan said they agreed to a peace treaty last month, there have been multiple gunfire incidents on their border in the interim weeks (OC Media)
Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians Intend to Sue Armenian Government If Lawsuits Against Azerbaijan Are Dropped
The group stated that President Nikol Pashinyan’s intention to drop four international lawsuits against Azerbaijan as part of a peace plan would violate the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians; the group claims that current peace talks would allow Azerbaijan to escape punishment, as international courts plan to review accusations of human rights violations committed by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh (OC Media)
Armenia and Azerbaijan Say They Are Ready to Sign Peace Deal to End Almost Forty-Year Conflict
They have neared such a deal before but hit hang-ups over issues such as Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia change its constitution (Guardian)
Azerbaijan’s foreign minister said that the countries have agreed to resolve outstanding disputes without specifying how; they are now scheduling a date and venue for the signing ceremony (EFE)
Azerbaijan Orders Red Cross and Other International Organizations to Leave
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only organization with access to Armenian prisoners standing on trial in Azerbaijan (Reuters)
Baku also proposed the closure of four United Nations (UN) offices in Azerbaijan, including the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) (APA)
Armenia to Draft New Constitution Before 2026 Elections
The Constitutional Reform Council in Yerevan stated that a referendum on the new constitution will be held after the 2026 parliamentary elections, though the council’s leadership did not answer whether the draft will reflect Azerbaijan’s demands to remove the text on the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (Azatutyun)
Pashinyan Reaffirms Commitment to Constitutional Changes
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the new constitution should reflect the vision of “Real Armenia” in its internationally recognized borders; domestic critics view Pashinyan’s plans as giving in to Azerbaijan’s demands, which call for Armenia to remove text in the preamble that supports the unification of Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh (OC Media)
Detained State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Declares Hunger Strike Amidst Trial
Ruben Vardanyan—a Russian-Armenian oligarch and former state minister of the de facto Republic of Artsakh—protested the judicial proceedings of his trial in Azerbaijan, including apparent access restrictions to documents outlining charges of planning a “terrorist operation;” Azerbaijani military forces operating in Nagorno-Karabakh initially detained Vardanyan for attempting to cross the border into Armenia (OC Media)
Azerbaijan Receives Turkish Support for Reconstruction in Karabakh and East Zangezur
The three Turkic states signed the Ankara Declaration, which reaffirms the importance of economic and trade connectivity and aims to bolster cooperation through trilateral investment efforts in the Karabakh and Zangezur regions (Daryo)
ICJ Greenlights Anti-Discrimination Cases Brought by Armenia, Azerbaijan
Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of forcing ethnic Armenians to leave the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of laying landmines and booby traps; the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled both competing cases can proceed but limited the scope of Azerbaijan’s case (Reuters)
European Parliamentarians Condemn Azerbaijani Human Rights Violations Ahead of COP29
Several MEPs raised concerns over Azerbaijan’s imprisonment of Armenian political prisoners; Azerbaijan’s Foreign Policy Chief Hikmet Hajiyev accused the European Parliament of corruption and equated calling for the release of “Armenian war criminals” to that of “Nazi war criminals” (Politico)
Armenian President Hopes to Sign Peace Deal With Azerbaijan in Next Four Weeks
The two countries have been in talks for a year over a potential deal after an Azeri military campaign that retook the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh (Reuters)
Former Top Nagorno-Karabakh Official Ruben Vardanyan Files Suit Claiming Torture and Denial of Quick Trial in Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani government did not comment (Reuters)