Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated on Thursday that the ongoing development of a new constitution and the issue of the Declaration of Independence reference are domestic matters.

Asked about the possible removal of the reference to the Declaration of Independence from the draft constitution currently under development, Pashinyan said:

“The issue of the Declaration of Independence and the issue of our Constitution is our internal matter, because it is necessary for us, not for others—to position ourselves correctly in the world. The Declaration of Independence is not a declaration of independence; it is a declaration of conflict, and as a result, a declaration of dependence.” According to him, in such an environment, it is possible to live only by expecting external assistance, and expecting external assistance will place one in a continuously increasing dependence on those from whom that assistance is expected.

“Therefore, the Declaration of Independence is a declaration of conflict and dependence. The Constitution and this discussion are necessary for us; it is a matter of our internal agenda. We have not discussed it with any external power, we are not discussing it, and we will not discuss it. We are discussing it with our people,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan earlier said that the Council for Constitutional Reforms has finalized the draft constitution, which the government proposes to replace the current one via referendum. According to Galyan, the draft still needs to be discussed at the ruling Civil Contract party’s board meeting, as well as by its parliamentary faction.

Prime Minister Pashinyan had earlier announced that, in his opinion, the new constitution must not include a reference to the Declaration of Independence, unlike the current one.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that Armenia will attend the funeral of Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, who passed away at the age of 93 on Tuesday, “at the highest level.”

Pashinyan had earlier sent a letter of condolence to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

Speaking at a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Pashinyan said he plans to call Kobakhidze.

“The Republic of Armenia will participate in the funeral at the highest level,” Pashinyan said, without specifying further.

“I am planning to call the Prime Minister of Georgia to personally offer my condolences,” he added.

According to Georgian media reports, Ilia II will be laid to rest on Sunday, March 22.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan denied rumors on Thursday that the draft proposed constitution would remove mention of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“We are working on the draft Constitution. I went through the draft Constitution again today, and it very clearly mentions the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church,” Pashinyan said at a press briefing, responding to a question about concerns that the mention of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s exclusive role might be removed from the text of the Constitution.

Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan earlier said that the Council for Constitutional Reforms has finalized the draft constitution, which the government proposes to replace the current one via referendum. According to Galyan, the draft still needs to be discussed at the ruling Civil Contract party’s board meeting, as well as by its parliamentary faction.

Armenia is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to neighboring Iran if the need arises, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday.

He was asked at a press briefing whether Iran had requested humanitarian aid and whether there is such an initiative from the Armenian government.

Pashinyan said that Iran doesn’t need to ask. “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not need to appeal to us regarding humanitarian aid, because if we see any humanitarian need that we can support, we will take that step ourselves,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke by phone on Thursday with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Kobakhidze.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout that Pashinyan, on behalf of the people of Armenia and personally, once again expressed his sincere condolences to the Government of Georgia, the Georgian Orthodox Church, and the brotherly people of Georgia on the occasion of the passing of Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

Prime Minister Kobakhidze expressed his gratitude for the kind words and support.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that Nagorno-Karabakh has always been part of Azerbaijan, and that the Republic of Armenia also recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, but this was concealed from the people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Two days ago, the Chairman of the Urban Development Committee visited and presented a report. In 2000—I don’t remember exactly which year, maybe 2005–06, or perhaps 2010 or 2015—a process took place in Armenia to approve a resettlement program, and the attached documents include official papers of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. In those documents, the eastern borders of the Republic of Armenia are delineated as recorded in the initialed peace agreement [August 8, 2025], and to the east of that, it is written in large letters: ‘Azerbaijan.’ This is an official document of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

This is an obvious fact. What is our problem? Essentially, the reality was concealed from the people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Why was this reality hidden? Why was the reality of the 1996 Lisbon Summit concealed? Now the documents have been fully published. Why is there no outcry about these documents? Because everything has been published, and the whole truth has been presented to the people. But that truth still has room to develop—that this whole story was about preventing Armenia from being an independent state.

And this process was led by Levon Ter-Petrosyan, then Robert Kocharyan, then Serzh Sargsyan, and now they have brought in their affiliated Russian-Belarusian oligarchs, realizing that they have [run out of leverage],” Pashinyan said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned on Thursday that the country could face an imminent war if some opposition forces, whom he described as being controlled from abroad, win the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Pashinyan said, without mentioning specific parties, that certain groups seek to “revise” the recently established peace.

At a press briefing, the Prime Minister said he expects his Civil Contract party to garner enough votes to form a parliamentary majority, which would allow the processes underpinning regional peace to become fully irreversible.

“We expect to achieve a constitutional majority as a result of these elections because that is what will guarantee that, particularly in the context of regional peace, we make the processes fully irreversible,” the Prime Minister said.

Without naming anyone, Pashinyan accused certain opposition forces of preparing a new war with Azerbaijan. He stated that some of these forces do not even understand what statements they are making, as at least some of their statements are written elsewhere, and they are merely reading them.

“These parties and circles first say that they are not against peace, and secondly, they say that if they come to power, they will start revising peace. Very directly, without any embellishment, I want to say that this is war—for Armenia, it would mean not only the loss of territory but also the loss of sovereignty.

Some of them, apparently, do not even understand what they are saying, because it is obvious to me that the texts they recite—at least some of them—are written elsewhere, and they are merely reading them. Moreover, forces and politicians who do not understand what they are saying should, of course, not be able to aspire for any official status in Armenia.

All these forces take positions of revising peace, which, given this fact, inevitably means war, likely soon after the elections, and at the latest by autumn. I am analyzing the texts and what they say, aren’t I? All these forces, if necessary, I can even name clearly. I assume that some of them do not even understand what they are saying, but they are preparing a new September war—with serious consequences,” the Prime Minister concluded.

In response to a follow-up question about why these forces want to trigger a new war, Pashinyan said:

“The goal is very simple: their aim is to keep Armenia in a peripheral state, as it was during their time in power. They see that Armenia has become independent and have a problem with that because they are determined not to allow Armenia to be independent. Yesterday or the day before, I saw some pictures saying ‘Strong Peace,’ or headlines saying, ‘Forgive us, Artsakh, we will do… whatever.’ What is all this about? It is about subjecting peace to revision, and any attempt to revise peace is war—immediately. Or they say, ‘Ararat is ours,’ ‘Dadivank is ours.’ That is war!”

Responding to a question about what these forces would gain from a war, Pashinyan emphasized that they would gain the status of leaders of an outpost, not a country, because history has shown this to be financially profitable for them.

“They will also preserve the billions they have in certain countries because they were told: if you don’t solve the problem, what is formally registered in your name will no longer exist. These main forces—the three who operate from that position—have billions in Russia and Belarus. Now they have been told: if you want to keep that wealth, work hard, sweat, run, stretch yourself, do 30 push-ups. They won’t be able to; I don’t see anyone there who could do 30 reps or ride a bicycle 100 kilometers,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received a delegation led by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, the PM’s Office said in a readout.

Pashinyan welcomed Kos’s visit, noting it provided a good opportunity to discuss the broad agenda of Armenia-EU cooperation.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to continuing democratic reforms, strengthening the rule of law, and developing institutional capacity. 

Kos thanked Pashinyan for the reception and said the EU highly appreciates Armenia’s reform efforts and political will. She added that the EU will continue to support Armenia, particularly in advancing reforms, as well as supporting civil society and the media.

The sides discussed progress in Armenia-EU cooperation, opportunities to expand economic and investment programmes, and issues related to visa liberalisation.

They also touched upon regional developments and steps towards establishing peace. Kos expressed the EU’s full support for the Armenian government’s peace efforts.

Both sides stressed the importance of continued high-level dialogue and sustained joint efforts to deepen cooperation.

A ceremony was held on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Muscat.

The event was held under the auspices of Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, and in the presence of Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister, The Times of Oman reported. 

The opening of the Armenian Embassy comes within the framework of the growing relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

It reflects the two countries shared keenness to advance the horizons of cooperation and partnership across various fields, in a manner that serves mutual interests and supports opportunities for investment, trade, and cultural exchange.

During the ceremony, Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia delivered a speech in which he expressed his pride over the opening of his country’s embassy in the Sultanate of Oman, The Times of Oman reported.

He emphasised that this step reflects the strength of bilateral relations and the shared desire to develop them, enhancing areas of cooperation to serve mutual interests.

In turn, Vahan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the joint relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Armenia are dynamic and growing, noting that Oman was among the first Arab countries to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia.

He confirmed that bilateral relations between the two countries have witnessed continuous growth over the past two years, culminating in the decision to open an embassy for Armenia in Oman. Additionally, the foreign ministries of both countries hold continuous political consultations.

Kostanyan highlighted the importance of the economic pillar in joint cooperation for the upcoming period, emphasising several key sectors such as transport, advanced technology, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services and mutual investments.

The Deputy Minister expressed his aspiration to receive delegations from the Sultanate of Oman in Armenia to exchange visions and ideas.

He also stressed the importance of organising joint events, holding bilateral meetings between private sector companies from both nations, and providing facilities that will further contribute to strengthening economic ties.

The embassy’s opening was attended by several foreign ambassadors, members of the diplomatic and consular corps, state officials, private sector representatives, and members of the Armenian expatriate community residing in Oman, according to The Times of Oman.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia also issued a statement regarding the event. It noted that the flag of the Republic of Armenia was raised in front of the embassy, the national anthems of both countries were played, and following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, the opening of the embassy was officially announced.

The Armenian Foreign Minister introduced the Armenian Embassy to the Omani Foreign Minister, and a brief discussion took place with the participation of delegations from both countries.

The Government of Armenia had decided to open an embassy in Oman on April 10, 2025. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Sultanate of Oman were established on July 7, 1992.

45 new Chinese-made trolleybuses will soon be delivered to Yerevan to replace the obsolete fleet, Mayor Tigran Avinyan announced on Thursday.

“The new trolleybuses will completely replace the old, worn-out trolleybus fleet, and all the old trolleybuses will be decommissioned,” the mayor said on social media.