NIKOL PASHINIAN

Armenia’s prime minister has accused a Moscow-dominated security alliance of leaving his country in the cold in the face of a threat of renewed hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s prime minister says his country has refused to host military drills planned by a Russia-dominated security pact.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to help broker a settlement to a conflict between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

The leaders of Turkey and Armenia have held their first face-to-face meeting since the two countries agreed to improve relations.

A U.S. congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has arrived in Armenia.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans to make a weekend visit to Armenia, where a cease-fire was holding for a second day after an outburst of fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan.

A cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan is holding following two days of fighting that killed 176 soldiers on both sides.

A flare-up in fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed 155 troops on both sides since early Tuesday.

Fighting on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops and fed fears of broader hostilities breaking out between the longtime adversaries.

Police in Armenia's capital have detained 125 anti-government demonstrators that were blocking streets to protest against the country’s prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on April 6 to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the decades-long conflict over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks.

Armenia’s prime minister says the country has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a hotline between their defense chiefs after last week’s deadly clashes on their border.

Tens of thousands have rallied in Azerbaijan’s capital to mark the one year anniversary of the country’s victory in the six-week battle over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister has accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing” and continuing to lay landmines in Nagorno-Karabakh even after a ceasefire ended a six-week war in the disputed region late last year.

Armenia is accusing neighboring Azerbaijan of systematically promoting ethnic hatred against Armenia citizens as the two nations that fought a six-week war last year face off at a U.N. court.

Armenia's national elections commission has denied a claim by major opposition groups that the parliamentary election results that gave an overwhelming victory to the acting prime minister's party are invalid.

Voting results show that the party of Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won snap parliamentary elections which he called to ease anger over a peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan.

Partial results in Armenia's snap parliamentary elections show a strong lead for the party of acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who called the election in a bid to ease anger over peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan.

Armenians head to polls Sunday for an early parliamentary election stemming from a political crisis that has engulfed the country in the aftermath of the last year’s fighting with Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s prime minister says he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan in the wake of an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the main square in Yerevan, Armenia. Armenia's embattled prime minister has confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow early parliamentary elections. In a move to defuse the political crisis, Pashinyan two weeks ago announced early elections would be held on June 20. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP, File)YEREVAN – Armenia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow for an early parliamentary election. "I will resign in April — not to leave power, but to hold early parliamentary elections.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Hundreds of opposition supporters maintained the blockade of the Armenian parliament for a second straight day Wednesday demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister, who has maneuvered to appease the top military brass. Hundreds of demonstrators maintained the blockade on Wednesday amid a heavy police presence. Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since Nov. 10 when a Russia-brokered peace deal ended 44 days of intense fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh that killed more than 6,000 people.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. On Tuesday, the opposition sought to build pressure on Pashinyan by urging its supporters to blockade the parliament. Thousands of opposition demonstrators surrounded the parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November that ended six weeks of intense fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister scored a political point Tuesday in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the country's top military officer. Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the Nov. 10 peace deal.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Political tensions in Armenia heightened Monday, with supporters of the embattled prime minister and the opposition each holding massive rallies at separate sites in the capital. Opposition protests seeking Pashinyan's ouster abated during the winter but intensified last week amid a rift between him and the country's military leaders. The Russian military said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan’s claim because Armenia hadn’t used an Iskander missile in the conflict.

Opposition demonstrators march to the government buildings during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – About 15,000 protesters calling for the resignation of Armenia’s prime minister marched through the capital Saturday as pressure on the leader intensified after the country's president rejected his order to dismiss the chief of the military general staff. Protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arose in November after he signed a cease-fire ending a six-week war with Azerbaijan over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. He ordered the dismissal of the chief of the general staff, but the order was subject to approval by Armenia's largely ceremonial president. AdAt the protest rally, opposition politician Naira Zograbyan, who once was a journalist at a newspaper owned by Pashinyan, denounced the prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan waves to supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Armenia's prime minister has spoken of an attempted military coup after facing the military's General Staff demand for him to step down. AdIn response, the General Staff called for Pashinyan's resignation, but he doubled down and ordered that the chief of the General Staff be dismissed. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan's claim because the Armenian military hadn’t fired an Iskander missile during the conflict. It added that the Armenian prime minister had apparently been misled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, attends a talks with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, second left, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, left, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Putin hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks after six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal in November. The talks came two months after a Russia-brokered truce ended weeks of fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that left more than 6,000 people dead. Under the peace deal, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh for at least five years. Putin noted Monday that senior officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia will set up a working group to discuss specific moves related to the restoration of transport routes in the region.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister said Friday he was ready to discuss the possibility of holding an early parliamentary election, but rejected opposition demands to step down over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Opposition supporters have rallied for weeks, urging Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down over the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Pashinyan added that he was ready to hold consultations with the nation's political parties to discuss calling an early parliamentary election next year. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, and triggered outrage and mass protests in Armenia.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Police in the Armenian capital detained dozens of people on Thursday during protests against the country's prime minister, who is being pressured to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The Russian-brokered peace agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Opposition supporters in Armenia on Tuesday ramped up the pressure on the prime minister to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, setting up a protest tent camp on the capital's main square. Tens of thousands of demonstrators swarmed government buildings in Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, go away!” Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The peace deal was hailed in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan comforts a woman during a march of remembrance of the heroes killed in a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he meets Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential Elysee Palace announced on Thursday. DONALD TRUMPPresident Donald Trump announced in October that he and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus. BORIS JOHNSONThe British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Azerbaijani troops march past during a parade in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. A military parade has been held in the Azerbaijani capital in celebration of a peace deal with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. (AP Photo)MOSCOW – More than 3,000 troops took part in a military parade in Azerbaijan on Thursday to celebrate reclaiming control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands in a conflict with Armenia. The parade attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who strongly backed Azerbaijan, also involved dozens of military vehicles, and a flyby of combat aircraft. Pashinyan has refused to step down, describing the peace agreement as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from taking over the entire Nagorno-Karabakh.

(AP Photo/Hrant Khachatryan)YEREVAN – Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building in Armenia's capital Wednesday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. About 15,000 protesters marched through downtown Yerevan to the parliament building, chanting “Nikol go away!”The opposition has been pushing for Pashinyan's resignation since the Russia-brokered peace deal took effect on Nov. 10. The Armenian Apostolic Church and all three of the country’s former presidents have joined the demand for Pashinyan to step down. Undeterred, the prime minister told lawmakers in parliament Wednesday that the nation needs consolidation in the current difficult period. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

(Aram Kirakosyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Crowds of protesters took to the streets of Armenia's capital Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. On Saturday, opposition parties warned Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he doesn't resign by noon on Tuesday. Protesters on Tuesday temporarily blocked traffic on different streets of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and at one point blocked trains at one of the city's subway stations. The agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control to Azerbaijan of several regions it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched across the Armenian capital Saturday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia's opposition parties warned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by noon on Tuesday. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region.

The hostilities ended Nov. 10 with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim the territories that Armenian forces had controlled for more than a quarter-century. Azerbaijan had not released information on its military casualties until Thursday when the Defense Ministry said 2,783 troops were killed and more than 100 are still missing. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. On Thursday, 17 Armenian opposition parties named veteran politician Vazgen Manukyan as their candidate for prime minister.

A Russia-brokered cease-fire to halt six weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh stipulated that Armenia turn over control of some areas it holds outside the separatist territorys borders to Azerbaijan. Thousands of people have regularly protested in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's ouster. Health Minister Arsen Torosian said a new tally showed that 2,425 Armenian forces died in the recent conflict, about 1,000 more than previously reported. In a Facebook statement presenting his "road map" for “ensuring democratic stability in Armenia,” Pashinian once again said that he considers himself “responsible for the situation." Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Ethnic Armenians refugees greet each other as they return to Stepanakert, the capital of the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that the peacekeepers accompanied about 1,200 people returning to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia since Saturday. The Moscow-brokered truce called for territorial concessions in favor of Azerbaijan and left many Armenians bitter, but allowed those who fled from the violence to return to their homes. Turkey’s parliament, meanwhile, granted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government permission to deploy peacekeepers to Azerbaijan to monitor the cease-fire. It halted the fighting after several failed attempts to establish a lasting cease-fire, but prompted mass protests in the Armenian capital Yerevan and calls for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's ouster.

Armenians who are going to leave separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh dig up the remains of their ancestors to bring them from the territory, which is to be handed over to Azerbaijanis. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)YEREVAN – Armenia's foreign minister resigned Monday amid political turmoil that has engulfed the country following a cease-fire deal for the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that calls for ceding territory to longtime adversary Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that the peacekeepers accompanied about 1,200 people returning to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia since Saturday.

Protesters with Armenian flags walk along a street during a protest against an agreement to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)YEREVAN – Thousands massed Thursday in Armenia's capital to protest the terms of a cease-fire agreement that gave territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in the long-running conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The rally marked the third straight day of demonstrations triggered by the truce to halt more than six weeks of deadly fighting between the two ex-Soviet nations. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The Moscow-brokered agreement calls for Armenia to turn over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh's borders to Azerbaijan.

Protesters wave an Armenian national flag during a protest against an agreement to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in Yerevan, Armenia, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)YEREVAN – Thousands of people protested in Armenia's capital on Wednesday, demanding the prime minister's resignation after he signed an agreement with Azerbaijan to halt weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that calls for Armenian territorial concessions. The agreement calls for the road, the so-called Lachin Corridor, to remain open and be protected by Russian peacekeepers. On Wednesday, he said he signed the agreement to avoid “a full collapse” of the region and deaths of thousands of troops. Armenian opposition politicians on Wednesday called the agreement “treacherous" and demanded that Pashinian step down.

Scores of Russian peacekeepers were heading to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday morning, hours after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to halt the fighting over the separatist region in a pact signed with Moscow which envisions the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)MOSCOW – Dozens of Russian peacekeepers destined for Nagorno-Karabakh began deploying Tuesday, hours after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to halt fighting over the separatist region and amid signs the cease-fire would hold where others hadn’t. The truce came after significant advances by Azerbaijani forces that the Armenian-backed leader of Nagorno-Karabakh said made it impossible for his side to carry on. The agreement calls for the road, the so-called Lachin Corridor, to remain open and be protected by Russian peacekeepers. A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed under a five-year mandate.

In this photo taken from the Associated Press Television video, people stuck in a traffic jam as they leave the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Armenia and Azerbaijan announced an agreement early Tuesday to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan under a pact signed with Russia that calls for deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a 1994 truce ended a separatist war in which an estimated 30,000 people died. Armenians will also turn over the Lachin region, which holds the main road leading from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement also calls for transport links to be established through Armenia linking Azerbaijan and its western exclave of Nakhcivan, which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey.

Women take refuge in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered sixth week on Sunday, with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered a sixth week Sunday with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. The ministry also said Armenian forces shelled settlements in the regions of Terter and Aghjabedi of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.

The fighting represents the biggest escalation in decades in a long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the separatist territory. As Azerbaijani troops pushed farther into Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to quickly discuss possible security aid to Armenia. With Azerbaijani troops moving deeper into Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s prime minister made his first public plea for Russia's assistance since the latest fighting started. During more than a month of fighting, Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly accused each other of taking the fighting beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of using white phosphorus munitions in fighting over forests close to residential areas.

Smoke rises after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The U.N. chief urged the parties to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh to deliver aid and “to make concrete steps towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Dujarric said. On Friday, Pompeo hosted the Armenian and Azerbaijan foreign ministers for separate talks, but the fighting raged on unabated. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh to end the fighting.

Ethnic Armenian soldiers fire an artillery piece at a fighting position on the front line, during a military conflict against Azerbaijan's armed forces in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (Sipan Gyulumyan, Armenian Defense Ministry Press office/ PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh continued Thursday with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading blame for new attacks, hostilities that raised the threat of Turkey and Russia being drawn into the conflict. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accused Armenia of firing several ballistic missiles from its territory at the Azerbaijani cities of Gabala, Siyazan and Kurdamir, which are located far from the area of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The current fighting that started on Sept. 27 already has killed hundreds, marking the biggest escalation in the conflict since the war’s end. The Armenian prime minister accused Turkey of encouraging Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and blocking any attempt at a cease-fire.

As a fourth-generation diaspora Armenian, Mihran Papazian never imagined himself returning to the homeland permanently. A hundred years after his ancestors left Armenia during the Armenian genocide, Papazian was coming home. The Los Angeles area, with perhaps the largest diaspora Armenian community in the world anywhere from 150,000 to 1 million, with a large concentration in Glendale is a key contributor to this. He credits his motivation to four pillars: his parents, his school, the Armenian diaspora organization Homenetmen, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Now firmly entrenched in Yerevan, Papazian has no plans to leave anytime soon.