RE:PUBLIC PRESS

Four Armenian POWs Returned by Azerbaijan; Two Syrian Mercenaries Transferred to Syria
Driving the news
:
Azerbaijan has transferred four Armenian prisoners to Armenia via the Hakari (Khakari) Bridge, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced. All four are now on Armenian territory and undergoing initial medical checks.
At the same time, Armenia’s Ministry of Justice said it handed over two Syrian nationals to Syrian authorities via Turkey. The men had been serving life sentences in Armenia for crimes related to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
What they’re saying:
Pashinyan confirmed that Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan and Viken Euljekjian showed no health issues in primary evaluation, and Vagif Khachatryan’s condition is preliminarily assessed as satisfactory.
The big picture
:
Three of the returned Armenians were detained in the aftermath of the 44-day 2020 war; the fourth, Vagif Khachatryan, was abducted in 2023. They had been convicted by Azerbaijani sham courts on charges including “espionage and other offenses”.
Armenia’s justice ministry said it transferred two Syrian mercenaries, Yousef Alaabet al-Hajji and Muhhrab Muhammad al-Shkhari, back to Syrian jurisdiction after they had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021 on terrorism-related charges.
Dozens more Armenian prisoners remain in Azerbaijani custody.
@REPUBLICPRESS

Catholicos Aram I to Pashinyan: “Antelias does not need directives from Yerevan
”
Driving the news
Since Armenia’s independence, the position of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has been “clear and consistent in the face of internal and external crises,” said Catholicos Aram I. He added: “Therefore Antelias does not need dictates or instructions from Yerevan. Antelias decides for itself what it must say and do, guided always by the common and highest interests, values and ideals of our people and homeland.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dismissed Aram I’s statements as “scenes not included in the film,” referring to them as leftover fragments of a narrative about Armenia’s destruction. “When Armenia is not dying, they cannot engage with her,” Pashinyan said.
What they’re saying
— Aram I insisted the Catholicosate acts independently, without needing “dictates or instructions from Yerevan.”
— Pashinyan mocked the Catholicosate’s remarks as irrelevant extras: “They resemble interesting moments from filming or scenes not included in the film about Armenia’s destruction.”
@REPUBLICPRESS

Pashinyan invites Erdogan and Aliyev to Yerevan for 2026 EPC summit
Driving the news
Armenia has extended verbal invitations to Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to attend the 8th summit of the European Political Community (EPC), slated for May 2026 in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters: “We have conveyed the invitations. The documents have not been sent yet, but we have verbally invited participation at the highest level.” He added that it is too early to say whether the two leaders will attend — “all of this is very fresh.”
What they’re saying
Mirzoyan stressed that Armenia is engaged in “intensive dialogue” with Turkey and pointed to Aug. 8’s Washington-brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization agreement as a turning point. On the possibility of visits by Aliyev to Yerevan or Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Baku, Mirzoyan said: “I am not saying we are ready to see Aliyev in Yerevan or Pashinyan in Baku today, but one day this will happen.”
@REPUBLICPRESS

Azerbaijani MP Claims Armenian Territory “Belongs to Us”
Driving the news
Hikmet Babaoglu, a member of parliament from Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party, declared in a recent interview that the territory of the Republic of Armenia “belongs to us.”
He linked his remarks to personal experience, stating he was born and raised in what is Armenia’s Shirak Province and claimed strong memories tied to the land.
He also said that although Azerbaijan can build economic and trade relations with the people living now on what he described as “our historical lands,” “we must never forget the crimes committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people.”
What they’re saying
In the interview, Babaoglu said:
“Armenia is my homeland. This place where I was born, grew up, studied and which was my home. The fact that the state is called Armenia doesn’t change reality: this geographical territory belongs to us.”
He added that he wants “to physically touch those memories again, to see the great material and cultural heritage left to us by our ancestors.”
He emphasized: “We can build any economic or trade relations with the people who today live on our historical lands … but we must never forget the crimes committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people.”
@REPUBLICPRESS

Ruben Vardanyan Rejects His Private Counsel
Driving the news
Ruben Vardanyan announced in Azeri sham trial on October 21 2025 that he is dismissing his private lawyer, Avraam Berman, citing dissatisfaction with the trial’s proceedings and claiming that he could not mount an adequate defence.
A court in Baku accepted Vardanyan’s petition to waive his private attorney and assigned a state-appointed defence counsel.
What they’re saying
Vardanyan stated that he “cannot participate in this farce” and labelled the presence of a contract lawyer as creating merely “the illusion of defence.”
According to his statement via family channels, the lawyer’s dismissal stems from “the absence of conditions necessary for professional defence” and “violations of legal norms.”
The Azerbaijani prosecution acknowledged his right to waive representation but noted he must either engage another lawyer or accept the appointment of a state-assigned one.
@REPUBLICPRESS

Armenia Reduces Mandatory Military Service to 18 Months as Defence Budget Cuts Loom
Driving the news
Armenia will shorten the duration of compulsory military service from two years to 18 months starting January 1, 2026.
At the same time, the government plans to cut defence spending by about 15 % in 2026 — allocating roughly 563 billion drams (≈US$1.46 billion) to the Ministry of Defence of Armenia, down from 664–661 billion drams in 2025.
What they’re saying
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the earlier start date (winter draft 2026) reflects the government’s assessment that “the law will take effect earlier” and underscores that reforms are underway.
Deputy Defence Minister Arman Sargsyan reassured that despite budget cuts, “all the positive reforms that have begun will not be suspended.”
Military analyst Leonid Nersisyan warned: “At this stage we cannot afford to cut the budget. The army is in a phase of transformation … Growth should remain strong for at least a few more years.”
@REPUBLICPRESS

Catholicos Convenes with Artsakh Leaders Over Displacement, Prisoners, Heritage Shielding
Driving the news:
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II met with state figures and political representatives of Artsakh at the Mother See in Echmiadzin.
Topics included challenges facing displaced Artsakhiots, defending their rights, freeing hostages and prisoners, locating the missing, and preserving Artsakh’s spiritual and cultural heritage. The Mother See announced the meeting.
What they’re saying:
According to the Mother See, participants reaffirmed “the importance of consistent joint actions in international forums to advocate for the rights of the people of Artsakh, ensure the release of hostages and prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, determine the fate of the missing, and preserve Artsakh’s spiritual and cultural heritage.”
@REPUBLICPRESS

Turkic States Endorse “Zangezur Corridor” in Gabala Declaration
At the 12th summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Gabala, Azerbaijan, leaders adopted the Gabala Declaration, which explicitly references development of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor.”
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the declaration “confirms strengthened solidarity in the Turkic world, increased mutual trust, and commitment to sovereignty, independence, and statehood.”
Bayramov also highlighted the corridor as part of the Middle Corridor transport route, saying it will boost trade, intraregional economic cooperation, and connectivity among Turkic-speaking nations.
@REPUBLICPRESS

Expert Opinion: Alleged conflict of interest at UN working group in Ruben Vardanyan case
Driving the news
• On Feb. 17, 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) published Opinion No. 46/2024, concluding that Azerbaijan’s detention of Ruben Vardanyan was
not arbitrary
.
• In an Oct. 2025 expert opinion, First ICC Prosecutor
Luis Moreno Ocampo
argues the WGAD process was compromised by a conflict of interest involving
Dr. Ganna Yudkivska
, the group’s
Chair-Rapporteur
.
Why it matters
:
• Ocampo contends Yudkivska should have recused herself from cases involving
Azerbaijan
because she is a
partner
at
Equity Law Firm
in Kyiv, which has represented
SOCAR
, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, in Ukraine. He argues this creates a direct or perceived financial link to a party before the WGAD.
• The WGAD’s methods require members to
refrain from participating
where a conflict of interest “may” exist. Credible concerns about impartiality could undermine confidence in WGAD opinions.
What they’re saying
•
Luis Moreno Ocampo
calls for the WGAD to
invalidate
Opinion No. 46/2024 and re-hear the petition
de novo
, citing undisclosed conflicts tied to Yudkivska’s law-firm partnership and SOCAR work. (Attribution: Ocampo’s published expert opinion.)
•
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
(Mar. 3, 2025) said:
“All those arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan, including ethnic Armenians, must be released immediately, and fair trial rights must be respected fully.”
• The
WGAD
opinion in question found Vardanyan’s detention
was not arbitrary
.
The big picture
• Dr.
Ganna Yudkivska
is identified publicly as
Chair-Rapporteur
of the WGAD in 2025; Equity’s website lists her as a
partner
and references her UN role.
• Equity’s site highlights a
“significant victory for the SOCAR gas station chain,”
supporting Ocampo’s claim that the firm represents SOCAR in Ukraine.
• Separately, the broader context around Armenian detainees has drawn international scrutiny: the
ICJ
issued provisional measures in Nov. 2023 related to post-offensive conditions; the
ICRC
confirmed in Sept. 2025 it was closing its delegation in Azerbaijan after years of access to Armenian detainees.
@REPUBLICPRESS