The Region in Brief
Armenia
At its October 30 session, the Government of Armenia discussed and approved a draft amendment to the Law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen. Under the proposed changes, the duration of mandatory military service will be reduced from 24 months to 18 months. According to Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan, the new law is scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2026, and will not apply to those already serving in mandatory military service as of that date.
Artsakh
During the ongoing session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, members of Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract Party (CCP) voted against a proposal affirming the right of return for forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) under international security guarantees.
The proposal, co-authored by Armenian opposition MPs Anna Grigoryan, Elinar Vardanyan, Hayk Mamijanyan and Artur Khachatryan, along with two Socialist members of the European Parliament, was introduced as an amendment to the presented report. It called on Azerbaijan to ensure the safe, collective and voluntary return of the displaced population to their homeland.
According to MP Artur Khachatryan from the “Hayastan” Alliance, some European delegates reported that Civil Contract MPs had urged their counterparts not to support the amendment. The proposal ultimately failed to pass, reflecting ongoing divisions within the Armenian delegation on approaches to the Artsakh issue and the broader question of displaced persons’ rights.
Azerbaijan
Construction and infrastructure work on the section from the so-called “Zangezur” Corridor to the Azerbaijan-Armenia border has reached its final stage, Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev announced on X. “Work on the section from the Zangezur Corridor to the Azerbaijan-Armenia border has entered its completion phase. Azerbaijan is working intensively on-site to establish regional transport and logistics connections,” Hajiyev stated.
Georgia
Armenian MPs’ vote in favor of an anti-Georgia resolution at the PACE Yerevan session has drawn criticism from Georgian officials. Georgian Parliament Deputy Speaker Nino Tsilosani described the resolution as substantively empty and argued that supporting it signals distrust in Georgia’s own government.
Political analyst Hrant Mikaelyan told ABC Media that the European Union is using such resolutions to exert external political pressure on Georgia after previous efforts to influence elections failed. Mikaelyan also noted a perceived double standard, highlighting that the EU has not criticized similar authoritarian tendencies in Armenia.
“Hayastan” Alliance MP Garnik Danielyan warned that the vote could damage bilateral relations, noting the resolution’s references to democratic backsliding in Georgia. He added that while the text included some provisions favorable to Armenia, the decision to vote in favor contradicts national interests.
Mikaelyan concluded that the resolution is unlikely to significantly alter Armenia-Georgia relations but reflects the diverging political courses chosen by the two countries: Georgia pursuing greater sovereignty, Armenia aligning more closely with Turkey and the West.
Iran
Iran has appointed Khalil Shirgholami as its new ambassador to Armenia, replacing outgoing envoy Mehdi Sobhani.
This marks Shirgholami’s first ambassadorial appointment, though he has previously held several senior diplomatic positions within Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before his new posting, Shirgholami served as Consul General of Iran in Guangzhou, China, Advisor to the Deputy Foreign Minister, First Secretary at Iran’s Embassy in Paris and Third Secretary at Iran’s Embassy in Berlin. Most recently, he held the position of Deputy Director at the Center for Political and International Studies under Iran’s foreign ministry. The newly appointed ambassador hails from North Khorasan province.
Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova has criticized recent comments by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who reportedly attributed certain historical problems to the KGB.
In a post on her Telegram channel, Zakharova wrote: “The KGB was created in 1954. The genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire began in 1915 — almost 40 years before the establishment of the KGB.” Her comment comes amid ongoing tensions in Armenian-Russian relations, following a series of critical statements exchanged between Yerevan and Moscow.
Turkey
Talks on the possible opening of the Turkey-Armenia border have not yet begun, although the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan continues, a Turkish diplomatic source told RIA Novosti.
“At this stage, the focus remains on the normalization of relations rather than on the concrete opening of the border,” the source said. “The issue will depend on the overall progress of the process, and no specific timeline has been set.”
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and the border has remained closed since 1993 at Ankara’s initiative.
The first meeting between the special representatives — Ruben Rubinyan, Deputy Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament and Serdar Kılıç, former Turkish Ambassador to the United States — took place in Moscow in January 2022.
