Yerevan at the crossroads of ‘peace’, Pashinyan at the crossroads of power

The current authorities of Armenia are addressing two issues by nationalizing the Electric Networks of Armenia, expert on Caucasus issues Artur Ataev told Izvestia.

“First, they are redirecting financial flows in their favor. Second, they are strengthening their political positions by neutralizing the influence of Samvel Karapetyan, whom they considered their opponent. I do not think that all this will cause serious protests at the moment. We see that the opposition movement simply lacks people and street mass gatherings,” the expert noted.

Svobodnaya Pressa writes that recent events in Armenia—the attempted coup, the arrest of one of the country’s wealthiest individuals, Samvel Karapetyan, and the conflict between secular and religious authorities—have generated significant interest in Turkey. Turkish political analyst Kavid Veliyev wrote that developments inside Armenia are unfolding unfavorably for Pashinyan.

“Pashinyan has scheduled new elections for June 2026, which are meant to restore trust,” the expert noted. Currently, amid clashes with the Opposition and the Church, the prime minister is seeking support from authorities in various countries. “Pashinyan is developing military relations with countries like France and India, political relations with Iran and Europe, and has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the United States,” Veliyev noted.

The search for new allies has led Pashinyan to Turkey, something that was unimaginable a few years ago. This is explained by the sharp increase in the geopolitical activity of the “Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem” in the region. “In a healthy democracy, no one—be it the Church, the army, or civil society—is invulnerable to criticism. The current crisis is a test of Armenia’s democratic maturity. If the Church and the state continue their conflictual behavior, the greatest harm will be inflicted on Armenian democracy itself,” the publication Agos writes.