On November 7, 2025,

@MorenoOcampo1, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, issued a Call to Action for Armenians worldwide. He stresses that while U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to be considered for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, his potential nomination cannot be genuinely recognized unless Aliyev acts. Ocampo is unequivocal: “If Aliyev truly wants to support Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize, he must: 1.Release all Armenian hostages held in Baku; 2.Sign a peace agreement with Armenia and withdraw his troops; 3.Accept international protection for the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Nobel nomination period closes January 31, 2026, giving Armenians a clear timeframe to act decisively. Ocampo calls on us to turn awareness into action — to make our voices heard, expose obstruction, and demand justice. Here is how every Armenian can engage: 1.Share the campaign widely on social media and with Armenian communities worldwide using #NobelPeacePrize#FreeArmenianHostages#RespectNagornoKarabakhRights 2.Tag U.S. leadership, including

@realDonaldTrump

@SecRubio, to ensure visibility and accountability. 3.Engage Armenian voices eligible to nominate candidates — more than 45 individuals worldwide can influence the Nobel process.

By Harut Sassounian

Image by Gagrulenet

Just when we had lost all hope that the United States government would ever say or do anything to support Artsakh, we were pleasantly surprised to see a letter by a high-ranking State Department official who stated all the right things in defense of Artsakh.

The letter, dated Sept. 25, 2025, was written by Paul D. Guaglianone, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of Legislative Affairs, U.S. State Department. Naturally, we should not confuse words with action, but this is a great start. We need to follow up with our friends in Congress to ensure that the United States government carries out its pledges on Artsakh.

In its letter, the State Department made three important commitments:

1) “The Trump Administration is committed to encouraging both governments [Armenia and Azerbaijan] to provide for the return of ethnic Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of a sustainable peace.

2) “We are closely monitoring the trials of detained ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan, and officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baku attend legal proceedings whenever possible.

3) “Finally, we continue to call on the Azerbaijani government to protect Armenian heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

These three sentences cover the core Armenian demands for Artsakh. The U.S. government has never made such pledges before. We hope they will be implemented, and not remain mere words on a piece of paper.

We must realize that the State Dept.’s letter did not materialize out of thin air. It is the result of persistent lobbying by the Armenian-American community. Over the past several months, Armenian-American advocates and supporters sent more than 100,000 emails and phone calls through the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) national, regional, and local platforms, urging Members of Congress to co-sign the letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Eighty-seven Members of Congress co-signed the letter which was sent to Rubio on July 23, 2025, asking the U.S. government to support the return of forcibly-displaced Armenians to Artsakh, secure the release of illegally-held Armenian prisoners in Baku, and protect Armenian religious and cultural sites in Artsakh.

The congressional letter reminded the Secretary of State of the provisional order of the International Court of Justice in December 2023 compelling Azerbaijan to allow the return of Armenians to Artsakh.

How could it be that the U.S. government cares more about the rights of Artsakh Armenians than Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia? After boldly proclaiming in 2019 that “Artsakh is Armenia, period,” Pashinyan did the exact opposite by acknowledging that Artsakh belongs to Azerbaijan. To make matters worse, Pashinyan told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last week: “I consider the topic of the return of [Artsakh] refugees in this context to be dangerous for the peace process.” Instead, he urged Artsakh Armenians to “settle down in the Republic of Armenia.” He then added: “Armenia and Azerbaijan must leave each other alone, focus on economic cooperation, and gradually build a dialogue.”

Pashinyan has not only abandoned Artsakh Armenians’ right of return, but has also ignored the plight of Armenians imprisoned in Baku, fearing that should they be released and return to Yerevan, they could challenge his rule.

The latest indication of Pashinyan’s inaction to secure the release of the Armenian prisoners is his awkward interaction with Pres. Donald Trump at the White House on August 8. When Trump asked him if he would “want those Christians released,” Pashinyan shamefully asked Trump not to include a reference to the Artsakh prisoners in the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by himself, Pres. Aliyev, and Pres. Trump. Amazingly, Trump then volunteered to help secure the prisoners’ release by telling Pashinyan: “I’ll call Aliyev. He’ll do it as a favor to me.” Trump then added: “if anything goes wrong, just call me directly. I’ll fix it.”

Two months later, Pashinyan has shown no interest in reminding Trump about his promise to call Aliyev. When an Armenian reporter recently asked him if he has Trump’s “whatsApp number,” Pashinyan gave an evasive answer by saying, “I cannot disclose the list of my whatsApp numbers.”

The only sour note in the State Dept.’s otherwise welcome letter of Sept. 25 is its usage of the term “corridor,” a word favored by Azerbaijan, to describe the planned road linking Azerbaijan’s mainland with its exclave of Nakhichevan through Armenia. Trump also wrongly used the term “corridor” twice during the White House meeting. In addition, since August 8, Trump has mistakenly said several times that he has solved the conflict between Albania (instead of Armenia) and Azerbaijan, and has also confused Azerbaijan with Cambodia.

Regrettably, neither the letter signed by 87 Members of Congress nor the reply from the State Dept. mentioned the important fact that Azeri troops have been occupying a portion of the territory of the Republic of Armenia since 2021 with no intention of leaving anytime soon. Pashinyan, despite his constitutional responsibility to protect Armenia’s borders, has ignored the foreign occupation of the Republic’s territory, and when asked what he intends to do to liberate it, his answer has been, “nothing.”

How can a peace treaty be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan while the enemy is occupying Armenia’s territory?

Democracy is not just about elections. Elections can be bought, manipulated, and corrupted. What truly matters is the constitution and the judiciary.

If judges are corrupt, if they simply obey the dictator’s orders, then there is no democracy—no matter how many elections are held. Azerbaijan has elections too—Aliyev “wins” 90% of the vote. How? Because it’s a corrupt system. The same with Erdogan in Turkey.

And now in Armenia, we face the same disease. The Armenian dictator openly says, “I am the government.” That means everyone must obey him, no questions asked. The judiciary is corrupt, judges bend to his will, and prisons are filling up with political prisoners—religious leaders, businessmen, ordinary citizens.

The courts are so overloaded they can’t even keep up. That is how far Armenia’s judiciary has fallen into corruption.

Press release:

LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement officials in California and Florida today arrested 13 alleged members and associates of Armenian organized crime syndicates who are charged in five federal complaints with a series of crimes – including attempted murder, kidnapping, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of thefts of online retailer shipments, and illegal firearm possession – to expand and maintain their control in the San Fernando Valley.

Among the defendants charged are Ara Artuni, 41, of Porter Ranch, who is charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and a rival, Robert Amiryan, 46, of Hollywood, who is charged with kidnapping.

The defendants arrested today in California are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Vahan Harutyunyan, 49, of Hollywood, Florida, made his initial appearance earlier today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was ordered detained. Two of the remaining defendants, Levon Arakelyan, 45, of Las Vegas, and Ivan Bojorquez, 33, of Gardena, are presently detained in state custody on unrelated matters.

Law enforcement is still seeking one defendant and seized approximately $100,000 in cash, three armored vehicles, and 14 firearms during today’s operation.

According to affidavits filed with the criminal complaints, Armenian Organized Crime, a Russian mafia-affiliated transnational criminal organization, has made Los Angeles County a center of U.S. operations. Since 2022, two local leaders within the organization, also known as avtoritet, which in Russian means “authority,” allegedly have engaged in a power struggle for control in their territory, resulting in multiple murder attempts and a kidnapping.

Artuni, an avtoritet, is charged with ordering the attempted murder of Amiryan during the summer of 2023. In retaliation, Amiryan, also an avtoritet, allegedly conspired with members of his own criminal organization to kidnap and torture one of Artuni’s associates in June 2023.

In addition to attempted murder, Artuni and his criminal enterprise has, since at least 2021, allegedly committed additional crimes, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and “cargo theft” targeting online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. Artuni Enterprise members and associates enrolled with Amazon as carriers, contracted for trucking routes, and then, while transporting the goods, diverged from the route and stole all or part of the shipment. To date, the Artuni Enterprise has allegedly stolen goods from Amazon worth more than $83 million, according to estimates provided by Amazon. 

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/13-members-and-associates-rival-armenian-syndicates-arrested-federal-complaints

Source: factor.am

Armenian National Congress Vice-Chairman Levon Zurabyan filed a criminal complaint regarding Prime Minister Pashinyan’s statement. Let us recall that the day before yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, responding to the observation that the Government had accepted that the Stockholm Arbitration Award was subject to mandatory execution, stated: “I am the Government, if there is anyone who contradicts my position, let them write an application right now and go.”

In this regard, Levon Zurabyan cited Article 42 of the RA Constitution on the right to freely express one’s opinion. “CONSTITUTION OF ARMENIA: “Article 42. Freedom of expression Everyone has the right to freely express his or her opinion. This right includes the freedom to hold one’s own opinion, as well as the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas through any media, without interference by state and local self-government bodies and regardless of state borders.” LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT (Adopted on March 23, 2018). “Article 11. Government decisions 1. Decisions on legislative initiative and sub-legislative normative legal acts of the Government are adopted by a majority vote of the total number of members of the Government, by oral vote. Other decisions of the Government are adopted by a majority vote of the members of the Government participating in the session, by oral vote. Members of the Government participating in the session are obliged to participate in the vote. Members of the Government vote for or against. In case of a tie, the Prime Minister’s vote is decisive.” NIKOL PASHINIAN. “No one in the Government can have a position that contradicts my position. I am the Government. If there are people who have a position that contradicts my position, let them write an application and leave the buildings. If not, I will remove them myself.” REPORT ON A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. This statement by Nikol Pashinyan contains the features of an act provided for by Article 441 of the Criminal Code. Due to the fact of the commission of an apparent crime, I demand that the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia accept this note as a report on the commission of an alleged crime and initiate criminal proceedings on the fact. CRIMINAL CODE OF THE RA. “Article 441 Abuse of power or official authority or influence resulting from them by an official or abuse of authority 1. The use by an official of his power or official authority or influence resulting from them to the detriment of state or official interests, or failure to perform or improper performance of his official duty, or the commission of an act that does not arise from his authority or is beyond the scope of his authority, which has caused significant damage to the rights, freedoms or legitimate interests of a person or organization or the legitimate interests of society or the state, is punishable by a fine in the amount of twenty to forty times the minimum wage, or by deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of three to seven years, or by restriction of liberty for a term of one to three years, or by short-term imprisonment for a term of one to two months, or by imprisonment for a term of one to four years. 2. The act provided for in Part 1 of this Article, which: 1) was committed by using violence or by threatening to use violence…,” Zurabyan wrote.

You can read the full article at this address: https://factor.am/925324.html?

By Harut Sassounian

As expected, Pres. Donald Trump turned the White House Summit for “peace” in the Caucasus into a farcical show, constantly engaging in self-flattery, taking credit for things he had not done, blaming Pres. Biden, and frequently straying from the subject of the meeting.

Trump had only one purpose for organizing this White House event: to secure the Nobel Peace Prize for allegedly brokering peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, claiming it was something no one else could achieve in 35 years.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shamelessly glorified himself: “Many leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’” He also took credit for settling several other conflicts in which he had zero involvement. He conveniently failed to mention his arrogant campaign promise to resolve the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours of taking office.” He has now been President for seven months, yet the war persists.

Cunningly, both Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Pres. Ilham Aliyev, aware of Trump’s egotistical tendencies, eagerly engaged in groveling behavior. They even offered to sign a joint letter urging the Nobel Committee to award Trump the Peace Prize — a gesture that delighted him.

The serious issue of addressing the disputed transit road from mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia quickly degenerated into farce with the announcement that it would be called “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) — yet another example of Trump’s vanity.

The “Peace Treaty” Pashinyan has been touting for months was not signed as announced, but merely initialed during last week’s White House Summit, rendering it a non-binding document. Aliyev has no interest in signing the treaty, knowing that doing so would eliminate his leverage to demand further concessions from Pashinyan, who has thus far capitulated to all his demands. Aliyev will delay signing the treaty until Pashinyan fulfills yet another Azeri demand to amend Armenia’s Constitution, a process that will take 10 more months.

Armenians remain unaware of the “Peace Treaty’s” terms. It is reportedly set for release on August 11. We will then discover what kind of concessions Pashinyan has made to Azerbaijan. He is also violating the pledge he made in 2018 to a large crowd in Yerevan’s Republic Square that he would not sign any agreement without first securing their approval.

Pashinyan has deceived the Armenian public by claiming he is delivering peace to Armenia — hoping that such a promise will help him retain his seat after next year’s parliamentary elections. For Aliyev, this so-called “Peace Treaty” is merely a piece of paper he can violate at will after signing. Should Azerbaijan attack Armenia, neither Eastern nor Western powers will intervene. The Armenian public should not vainly expect the U.S. government to send troops to defend Armenia’s borders. The memorandum signed last Friday makes clear that this is strictly a commercial, not military, arrangement.

There are numerous problems with Pashinyan’s contradictory positions. Months ago, when an Armenian journalist asked if he would consider granting management of the transit road to an international organization, he categorically rejected the idea. Yet, he just handed the transit road road foeign entity.

Here is another broken promise. A few months ago, when Aliyev demanded that Armenia agree to disband OSCE’s Minsk Group of mediators, Pashinyan said he would do so upon signing the “Peace Treaty.” Yet, last Friday Pashinyan signed the White House Memorandum calling for the dissolution of the Minsk Group — even though Aliyev had not signed the treaty.

More ominously, the initialed “Peace Treaty” contains no provision for the release of Armenian hostages held in Baku, withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia’s territory occupied since 2021, or the right of return for 120,000 displaced Artsakh Armenians, despite the International Criminal Court’s ruling for their repatriation. This is a reward for Aliyev’s criminal behavior. Until Azerbaijan reverses course on these issues, Pashinyan should have refused to initial or sign the treaty. I hope he is not relying on promises from Trump, who refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide on April 24 — even though Congress and Pres. Biden had recognized it.

In 2020, Armenia agreed to provide Azerbaijan with a transit road through its territory in exchange for the Lachin Corridor linking Artsakh to Armenia. Since then, Azerbaijan has occupied Artsakh and the Lachin Corridor, eliminating Armenia’s obligation to uphold the ceasefire agreement. This transit link is the “Turan Road,” the Century-old dream of the Turkic world, connecting Turkey and Azerbaijan to the Turkic republics of Central Asia. Regrettably, these issues appear to matter little to Pashinyan, who is more focused on retaining his seat than protecting Armenia’s interests.

One of the major gains for Azerbaijan during last Friday’s White House ceremony was the suspension of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, passed by Congress in 1992, which prohibited direct U.S. government assistance to Azerbaijan. Now Azerbaijan is able to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of advanced U.S. weapons that could be used against Armenia. How does that promote peace?

No details were provided to the public about U.S. management of the transit road. Why was it granted for 99 years with an option to extend another 99 years — effectively handing it to the U.S. government indefinitely, at the expense of Armenia’s sovereignty? It is also unclear what benefit Armenia stands to gain from the billions of dollars’ worth of goods transiting its territory.

For years, Pashinyan objected to Aliyev’s demand for a “corridor” instead of a road through Armenia. A corridor implies that the transit road would be considered Azeri territory. Yet, when Pres. Trump spoke at the White House Summit, he referred to the road as a “corridor.” Furthermore, the agreement signed by the three leaders includes the problematic term “unimpeded” transit. What exactly does “unimpeded entail? Does it mean Armenia has no right to inspect the passports and luggage of those crossing into its territory from Azerbaijan?

Here is the bottom line of the White House Summit: Trump may get his Nobel Peace Prize; Aliyev, Erdogan, and the Turkic World will secure their transit through Armenia; meanwhile Armenia will outsource its sovereign territory and alienate Iran, its only regional ally.