Hagop comments (3): It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future.

This is the third time I post a comment Hagop made in the Armenian Weekly, I post in my blog. His first comment was on June 4, 2025, to “Profane and unbecoming”, Church leaders condemn Pashinyan’s attack on Clergy” article. The second comment I posted was on July 2, 2025 to “Victory has no alternative’: Armenian authorities raid church, arrest cleric amid escalating tensions” article. This comment pertained to “Trump’s “peace route” raises alarm over Armenian sovereignty” article on August 14, 2025 by Hoory Minoyan as well. Vaհe H Apelian 

“Let’s be clear: this deal was not about bending the knee — it was about making sure Armenia still has knees to stand on. For more than three decades, Armenia has been locked in a cycle of wars, blockades, and isolation that have cost lives, forced more than 1.3 million Armenians to flee the homeland, bled the economy dry, and left Armenia more vulnerable each year. Standing still was not an option. Signing this agreement was the only way to break that deadlock and open a path to actual stability.

People screaming “sellout” seem to forget Armenia lost the 2020 war and that the battlefield reality since then has been brutal. You don’t negotiate from a fantasy; you negotiate from the ground you’re standing on. And the ground was shifting against Armenia. Armenia had a choice: either secure a deal that locks in peace, brings in major U.S. investment, and opens Armenia to trade routes — or keep feeding its young people into another unwinnable war while the world moves on without us.

The so-called “Zangezur corridor” hysteria? Here’s the truth — it’s not a foreign-controlled strip carved out of Armenia. It’s infrastructure under Armenian sovereignty, regulated by Armenian law, and built with funding that will boost our economy. We’re not giving away territory; we’re monetising geography. Azerbaijan can’t just roll trucks in without our say-so, and anyone suggesting otherwise is deliberately fearmongering for political gain.

As for the constitution change — let’s stop pretending this is some unique betrayal. Every serious country in the modern world recognises internationally defined borders. Bringing the Armenian constitution into line with reality removes a constant excuse for Azerbaijan to escalate and puts Armenia on firmer legal ground internationally. That’s called statecraft, not surrender.

Yes, the deal doesn’t solve every single issue today — no peace agreement ever does. Prisoners of war, displaced persons, cultural heritage — these are ongoing negotiations, and they have a far better chance of resolution when Armenia is not under fire and when it has open channels to talk.

The loudest critics here aren’t offering an alternative beyond “fight more, lose more.” That’s not strategy — that’s emotional grandstanding dressed up as patriotism. Armenia chose a different path: one that keeps Armenia alive, opens its borders, strengthens its economy, and brings in allies we can actually rely on. It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative: national ruin and loss of statehood wrapped in the flag.

The peace framework is not about giving up Armenia. It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future. It is about protecting Armenian sovereignty and territorial integrity, it is about placing Armenia on a sustainable path and chartering a trajectory to becoming a viable state."

The debate I will never forget

Vaհe H Apelian

The Ottoman Bank, those who took part in the occupation, Papken Siuni, Armen Garo

The debate I will never forget is the debate we had in my youth about the occupation of the Ottoman Bank led by Papken Siuni. According to Wikipedia “on Wednesday, 26 August 1896, 13:00 o'clock, 26 Armenians from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, armed with pistols and grenades and led by Papken Siuni, attacked and occupied the Ottoman Bank of Constantinople.” However, Tatul Hakobyan, in ANI Armenian Research Center, posted about this historical event on August 14, 2025 headlining it “ARF’seizure of the Ottoman Bank: August 14, 1896” («ՀՅԴ-ի կողմից Օսմանյան բանկի գրավումը. 14 օգոստոս, 1896». When I brought the date to his attention, he said it is because of the old Armenian calendar that differs from the standard calendar by 13 days.

My father enrolled me in the Papken Siuni Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association), early in my youth. We held our meetings on Wednesday and Saturdy afternoons in the Beirut's ARF  Community Center that remained central in our lives until the unset of the Lebanese Civial War in 1975, when Ara  Yerevanian community came about in 1972. 

Every year we debated, maybe more than once, whether Papken Siuni led occupation of the Ottoman Bank was justified or it was a reckless act. None of us wanted to be in the team that debated against the occupation. A representative from the ARF Zavarian Student Association oversaw the Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association). He took the matters into his hand and assigned a few  of us to the team that would argue against the occupation. 

Over sixty years have come and gone by from my youthful days as a member of Papken Siuni Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association). I have vivid recollection of not only the debate but also of the room we had our meetings and held the debates. That corner room became the Central Committee's office in late 1960s or early 1970s. And for the very first time we were stunned to know that the CC had an executive secretary, who was once the principal of Sourp Nshan School, Hagop Iskenderian. 

I also remember the debate for the uneasiness to be in the team debating as the rest of the members remained seated in the room and watched us take turn to present our case. In 1972, Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association) came to an end and the Lebanese youth Association came about as part of YOARF (Youth Organization of ARF). 

The occupation of the Ottoman Bank took place some 130 years ago. . This blog is not about rendering a judgement. It is about the encouraging the young to think for themselves and be critical, as we were invited in our youthful days to do so. Honestly, I wonder if members of YOARF nowadays are encouraged to question history and are urged to debate historical events without being concerned for backlash or the ridicule they may face. Of course in my days there was not the social media we have nowadays. But I can attest that the social circle we had, was as all-encompassing and as wide as social media is nowadays. It was the world we knew.

The Bank of Ottoman occupation's leader Papken, who was killed during the mayhem, beame an idol. It would not surprise me that Catholicos Coadjutor Papken Gulesserian was named in honor of Papken Siuni, much like Catholicos Aram I is most likely named in honor of Aram Manougian. My childhood friend Papken (Apelian) Bedirian is surely named after Papken Siuni.

Over the years, here and there, I have come across about the Ottoman Bank, its occupation. Here are some tidbits about the bank

*

The Ottoman Bank was a European conglomerate. It was Ottoman by name only. Greeks and Armenians used it as a metaphor, being Ottoman by name only but otherwise disfranchised. 

*

The Ottoman Bank put an end to the glorious era of the Armenian Amiras, the Rothschilds of the Ottoman Empire who for almost two centuries became trusted financiers of the Sultan and functionaries of the Ottoman Empire.

*

Protestant missionaries wrote about the occupation of the Ottoman Bank. I quote the following: “Who originated this plot I do not know, but it is certain that the Turkish government knew all about it many days before, even to the exact time when the bank was to be entered; and the Minister of Police had made elaborate arrangements, not to arrest these men or prevent the attack on the bank, but to facilitate it and make it the occasion of a massacre of the Armenian population of the city. This was to be the crown of all the massacres of the year, one worthy of the capitol and the seat of the Sultan, a final defiance to the Christian world. Not many minutes after the attack on the bank the bands of Turks, who had been organized by the Minister of Police in Stamboul and Galata, commenced the work of killing every Armenian they could find, protected by large bodies of troops, who in some cases took part in the slaughter.” (Fifty Years in Constantinople and Recollections of Robert College. Front Cover. George Washburn. Houghton Mifflin, 1909 – Turkey – 316 pages)

*

“The Ottoman government again unleashed the mob. Softas and thugs started attacking Armenians in Haskoy, Tophane and Galata. The army and the police stood by, or assisted. Most people shut themselves up in their houses or behind the heavy iron doors.

An official of the Ottoman Bank, Louis Rambert, wrote in his diary: 'All Armenian houses are attacked and their little shops, people enter and pillage everything. It happens almost without a sound [since the killers used clubs, not guns]. Every Armenian found in the street is killed' - even on the Grande Rue de Pera. Carts took the corpses away. With his own eyes he saw the murder of rowers of a kayik, watched with visible pleasure by a large crowd on Galata bridge.” — Philip Mansel

 

 

Raffi and Momofuku Ando

Vaհe H Apelian

Raffi is the soul of the nineteen century Armenian renaissance.  Momofuku Ando was instrumental in coming with an a unexpensive durable food that may be stored for long for the post WWII Japanese, whose country was devastated by the war. The two reflect on hunger and poverty. Momofuku Ando is credited to have said that “peace will come to this world when the people have enough to eat.”

Recently I read an article in Darperag 21 with the following title in translation “Poverty: Armenia’s National Calamity” (“Աղքատութիւնը՝ Հայաստանի Ազգային Աղէտը”). The author Arayik Mkrtumyan (Արայիկ Մկրտումեան), cited the following from Raffi addressed to Grigor Artsruni: “I completely confirm your opinion about me (as you have been gossiping to many that I have now become a materialist). Poverty has taught me this. From the most bitter experiences of my life, I have become convinced that nothing can be built on an empty stomach, and the day, if I have a ruble in my pocket for lunch, my written work on that day comes out more beautifully. After suffering such heavy blows, have you not also become convinced that money is a good thing?”

A query I made in the Internet about poverty in Armenia, read the following: “Poverty in Armenia is a significant issue, with a national poverty rate of 23.7%.... Rural populations, particularly those in border areas, mountainous regions, and earthquake zones, are especially vulnerable.”

I cited below a few passages from Arayik Mkrtumyan’s article. Those interested may read the article. It is in Armenian. I have attached the link below.

*

“Tens of thousands of people in Armenia still remain poor. Official figures usually fluctuate between 23-25 percent, but that has never shown the real picture…... Poverty is the monster that continues to devour the lives of the inhabitants of the republic and daily, makes the present miserable and keeps the future in uncertainty. The future is no longer a period of desired changes and anticipation, but an inevitable expectation of new shocks and stress. Poverty is the terrible axe that cuts people's hope from faith in the future.”

*

“The overwhelming majority of the population of the republic is drowning in bank loans. Even the most ordinary loans do not finish paying off for years. Thousands of people are almost always on the "credit default blacklist", tens of thousands are chained by debts.”

*

“Poverty has not allowed the Armenian to live. It constantly keeps him tense and pessimistic. Poverty in Armenia has so bent a person that he does not think about anything else except the desire to live for a month and his only concern is to pay off the debts and expenses for that month and be satisfied if he does not go into debt that month.”

*

“Armenia, the homeland and the state of Armenia suffer in the grip of poverty. Many may interpret it differently, justify it differently, and disagree, but the fact remains unchanged. Poverty is destroying Armenia. Social tension is rising; enthusiasm and hatred are intensifying. People are dissatisfied and stressed. Many children are left without education and without prospects for progress. Poverty kills the person and the future of the homeland. A frightened society, never satisfied with its social situation, cannot think about victory. How can you think about victory when your daily life is a defeat? When the Security Service of Armenia (SSNA) reports the news of another betrayal for only 200-300 dollars, does that not remind you of anything?”

*

“There are times when poverty is a social issue, and times when it is a matter of national security. In the case of Armenia, poverty has invisibly but firmly chained our minds and souls.”

**

Nowadays the peace deal Armenia signed is the talk of Diaspora social media. Concerns are raised. Analysis is made. Social wheels are discovered anew. What would Iran think? How would Russia react? Surely these are valid concerns and surely too, the Armenian government officials were aware and remain aware of these issues as the Armenian pundits on the social media are. Although I doubt that the Armenian government officials who set the political course likely entertained the ramification of the Panama Canal America built and operated for long to the peace deal they signed.

The Armenian pundits, alluding especially to those who reside in the West,  rarely study how the citizens of  Armenia perceive the peace deal. As the Armenian saying goes, "the satiated does not understand the hungry”,  "Կուշտը սովածին չի հասկանա"` «կուշտը քաղցածին չի հասկնար։» 

Links

1.“Raffi, The Prophet From Payajuk By Murad A. Meneshian» - https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2023/06/raffi-prophet-from-payajuk-by-murad.html

2.“Աղքատութիւնը՝ Հայաստանի Ազգային Աղէտը” - https://darperag21.net/%d5%a1%d5%b2%d6%84%d5%a1%d5%bf%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%a9%d5%ab%d6%82%d5%b6%d5%a8%d5%9d-%d5%b0%d5%a1%d5%b5%d5%a1%d5%bd%d5%bf%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5%ab-%d5%a1%d5%a6%d5%a3%d5%a1%d5%b5%d5%ab%d5%b6-%d5%a1%d5%b2%d5%a7/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMK2Z1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHphvjcdpFkJ21CHtXug5gCYvoB4XPGKxfRmcsLcsvIAzX9OEf_hTcRz35L0V_aem_QasMB4wMd5IKPak73lGSwQ

Ուսուցիչը կը շարունակէ ապրիլ

Վահէ Յ Աբէլեան

 

Երէկ, ֆէյսպուքի messenger-իս մէջ ստացայ վերը տեղադրած նկարները։ Ղրկողին անունը Hrayr Essayan - Հրայր Եսայեան է։ Առաջին ակնարկով չկրցայ պատկերացնել թէ ո՞վ կրնար ըլլալ ան, եւ ինչ էր իր կապը Սօնա անունով տիկնոջ մը հետ որուն նուիրած էր մայրս այդ Սուրբ Գիրքը՝ եւ ձօնած այդ յուշագրութիւնը։

Հրայր Եսայեանին ֆէյսպուքի էջը պրպտելով դժուար չեղաւ ինծի համար պատկերացնել Հրայրը։  Աւելի քան յիսուն տարիներու վրայ երկարող պատմութիւն մը կայ հոն՝ Անթիլիասի մէջ, Սիմիթեաններուն կառուցած «Գեղարդ» շէնքին մէջ, Սոմունճեան ընտանիքին հետ։ Պատմութիւնը ընթացած է ընդհանրապէս իմ բացակայութեանս ընթացքին, բայց մտապատկերիս վրայ միշտ թառմ մնացած են  անոր պատահարները եւ հոլովոյթները։

Սօնան, Ապրոյին քոյրն էր, տէր եւ տիկին Սոմունճեաններուն զաւակները։ Անոնք չկան այլեւս՝ Ապրոն քանի մը տարի առաջ մահացաւ։ Սօնան որ իր կրտսերն էր, վաղաժամ մահացաւ շուրջ երկու տասնամեակներ առաջ։ Հրայրը Սօնային զաւակներէն մէկն է։

Շէնքին մէջ, կեանքի ընթացիկ առօրեային մէջ, արդէն հետեւցուցած էի  որ Սօնան սիրելի էր մօրս համար, բայց չէի գիտեր, թերեւս ալ մոռցած եմ որ մօրս աշակերտուհին ալ եղած էր։ Սուրբ Գիրքին նկարէն դատելով, գրադարանի մը մէջ պահ դրուած գիրքի մը տպաւորութիւնը չի ձգէր։ Ակնյայտ է որ գործածուած է։ Մօրս յուշագրութիւնը, մօրս առօրեայ գեղեցիկ ձեռագրով, հետեւեալն է՝ «Շատ սիրելի Սօնա՝ Ընտանիք կազմելը ամենանուիրական շնորհքն է որ Աստուած պարգեւած է մեզի։ Զայն դարձնենք Աստուածային առաքելութեան շտեմարան մը, որպէս ուղղեցոյց կեանքի. քեզի կը կտակեմ Սաղմ. 119:105-ը։ Վաղեմի դաստիարակուհիդ ու միշտ նոյն հարազատ Աբելեան Զուարթ ---25.11.1982Պէյրութ. Անթիլիաս»։

Հետարքրութեան համար փնտռեցի նշուած Սաղմոսը որ կ՚ըսէ՝ «Քու խօսքդ իմ ոտքերուս ճրագ է, Ու իմ շաւիղներուս՝ լոյս։»

Կրնամ վկայել որ ուսումը եւ հայեցի դաստիարակութիւնը  նոյնացուցուցին մօրս աշակերտները որպէս իր հարազատ զաւակները։ Կը գրէ՝ «անանուն բոլոր խռովքներն ու ցաւոտ ժամերս խնդութեան վերածողը եղած է միայն ու միայն աշակերտը, եւ մի՛շտ աշակերտը, եւ մի՛շտ աշակերտը։ Գրեթէ անկարելի կ՚ըլլայ թուել դէպք մը, որով աշակերտը ինծի համար տառապանք ստեղծած ըլլար։ Այս ժամանակաշրջանին, մենք կրցանք դառնալ աշակերտ-ուսուցիչ բարեկամներ, ու ջանացինք տեսնել աշակերտին մէջ եւ մտքի տղան, եւ կեանքի տղան, եւ իտէալին աղջիկը, եւ տան մը բարի հարսը կամ տանտիկինը։»

Անակնկալ չեղաւ ինծի համար որ մայրս Սօնային ամուսնութեան առթիւ Սուրբ Գիրքը նուիրած ըլլար։ Մօրս համար իր աշակերտ ու աշակերտուհիներուն կատարելիութիւնը եղաւ անոնց ընտանիք կազմելը։ Միեւնոյնը կը վկայի իրեն պաշտօնակից Տիկ. Քասունին։ Մօրս Ս. Սահակ – Ս. Մեսրոպ Շքադրութեան առթիւ՝ ձեռամբ Գարեգին Ա. Կաթողիկոս Ամենայն Հայոցին, այսպէս գրած էր՝ « Զուարթ Աբէլեան կը պատուըի ամէն անգամ երբ նախքին աշակերտ մը կը վազէ մօտը. «Զիս ճանցա՞ք, ինծի սիրցուցիք Հայերէնը. Զաւակներս  հայերէն գիրք կը կարդան, հայ աղջկայ հետ ամուսնացայ, երջանիկ բոյն կազմած եմ, ձեր թելադրութիւններուն վրայ, զիս ներշնցած էք հայու ոգիով....»։

Օրինակ մը եւս՝ իր երբեմնի վաղամեռ աշակետուհիին՝ Սօնա Սոմունճեան եսայեանին դաստիարակութեամբ մեծցած, եւ իր վաղամեռ մօրը իտիալներուն հաղորդ մնացած  փափկանկատ զաւակը՝ Հրայրը։

Այո, ուսուցիչները կը շարունակեն ապրիլ իրենց մահուընէ ետք։

Blessing grapes

Vaհe H Apelian

This past Sunday, on August 10, 2025, the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Worcester, MA held its annual picnic. The picnic started at 12 pm. Around 2 pm, the blessing of the grapes was done. The religious ceremony is a moving ceremony. After which attendants picked blessed grapes to savior. Armenians henceforth could pick grapes from the vines from their orchards and savior them.

The ceremony once more reminded me of my time, during the summers, in our ancestral village in Keurkune, Kessab. Our maternal grandmother would not let us pick grapes until the church had blessed the grapes, around mid-August at the Աստուածածնայ Տօն- Astvatzazna Feast. 

I had long asked why grapes are blessed. I posed the question again to the all-knowing AI driven internet. It directed me to the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which said the following: “we can say that the Blessing of the Grapes is a symbolic celebration of the fruitfulness of the earth. Grapes are one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Noah planted a vineyard immediately after disembarking from the Ark (Genesis, Chapter 9) in Nakhichevan, Armenia. And, of course, the wine of the Divine Liturgy comes from grapes.” You may read the who text in the link posted below.

But I have my own interpretation and it downed on me thanks to that farmer in Columbus, OH. A section of Columbus, OH, in common parlance, is known as the Italian neighborhood. The neighborhood naturally has changed over the years, but a resident had held on their piece of property as a small orchard where I used to stop on Friday afternoons, during the summers, on my way home to Cincinnati, OH for the weekend. Once I got into a conversation with him. He pointed out to me clusters of pin size grapes that were growing on the vines, and he said something to the affect that it is a miracle, for the grapes come onto being all by themselves.

Most fruit bearing trees flower first, which are pollinated to bear fruits. The grape vines appear not to flower and the grapes appear to come into being all by themselves. Most cultivated grape varieties are self-fruitful, that is to they are self-pollinating. But, the fact of the matter is that grape vines flower too, but the flowers are  invisible to the naked eye. Hence to that farmer in that Italian section of Columbus OH,  a miracle was unfolding right in front of his eyes. Grapes were coming onto the vines all by themselves, much Jesus Christ. Mary, the mother of Jesus, the church claims, was conceived without the “original sin”. In fact, the blessing of the grapes is done during the Feast of Assumption, which which the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates on the Sunday closed to August 15, celebrating the Virgin Mary who was taken, in body and in soul, into heaven at the end of her earthly life. 

The Armenians call the feast Աստուածածնայ Տօն- Astvatzazna Feast, feastng for the one who gave birth to Jesus Christ and was being taken to heaven, in body and in soul. For the Kessab Armenians, it is its major feas and is celebrated with davul and zurna, circle dance and savoring of freshly prepared harissa in large kettles, from animal meat, mostly sheep, maybe goat too at one time, freshy sacrificed for the feast and is observed by all the denominations,  Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical.  

Link: BLESSING OF THE GRAPES: https://armenianprelacy.org/2024/08/15/blessing-of-the-grapes/#:~:text=Certainly%2C%20we%20can%20say%20that,9)%20in%20Nakhichevan%2C%20Armenia.

August 8, 2025: Quo vadis, vae victis?

Where art thou going, woe the vanquished?

Vaհe H Apelian

On August 8, 2025, Armenia cut short its losses as a vanquished state by signing the American brokered peace deal in Washington DC. The territorial integrity of Armenia and the sovereignty, and the jurisdiction of the State of Armenia, are spelled out in the peace deal that bears the signatures of Ilham Aliyev,  the President of Azerbaijan,  Nikol Pashinyan the Prime Minister of Armenia, and Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America. This peace deal makes the possibility of releasing the Armenian hostages in Baku more plausible than without it and that will mean the world for their families. PM Pashinyan has brought the issue of the Armenian Christian prisoners to the attention of president Trump during the Armenian delegation's meeting with president Trump in the While House.

But let me be clear, no triparty agreement assures Armenia's real estate or as as a state. The disastrous "44-day" Second Artsakh War did not end with November 9, 2020 trilateral agreement signed between President Aliyev and PM Pashinyan. The agreement was  brokered by the Russian President Putin. The fact of the matter is that the Armenian capitulation did not even end with the ensuing depopulation of Artsakh of its native, ancient  Armenian inhabitants in September 2023. As a matter of fact, the on going brewing war entered a very dangerous phase that would have been existentially fatal to Armenia, and that would have been the taking over of Syunik region by the same alliance of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Israel that brought about the capitulation of Armenia and resulted in the ensuing depopulation of the native Armenians from historic Artsakh, the home of the legendary Karabakh Meliks. 

The August 8, 2025 peace deal signed by President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Trump removed that danger for now and for the foreseable future. I quote the third passage of the peace deal and highlight the words PM Pashinyan brought to reporters’ attention in his post deal meeting. The passage reads as follows: “We reaffirmed the importance of the opening of communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation for the promotion of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and in its neighborhood on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the States. These efforts are to include unimpeded connectivity between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia with reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the Republic of Armenia.”

Naturally it was expected to the Armenian signatories of the peace deal that Iran and the Russian Federation will be against the signed peace deal. I imagine that the Armenian government has given due consideration of the expected opposition from them. It will be to the Armenian diplomacy to assure Iran and the Russian Federation that the transportation passage will not in any way infringe on their security and interests. On the contrary it will most likely be helpful for their economic interests as well. Armenia has ruled out war and has determined to live in peace with its neighbors

But what is surprising is the backlash from segments of the Diaspora, especially from Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), against the American brokered peace deal. ANCA seemed intent on stirring the emotions of the public against the government of Armenia by citing the issues ANCA claims should have been part of the peace deal, to have “real” peace and not a peace deal at gun point.

Of course, it is up to the citizens of Armenia to work out this American brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan to Armenia's advantage, or change its course, expectedly constitutionally, such as by voting  in the upcoming June 2026 election for a government that will scrap this peace deal and live with the outcome and sort its consequences.

 

 

Quo vadis, vae victis?: Where art thou going, woe the vanquished?

Vaհe H Apelian

On August 8, 2025, Armenia cut short its losses as a vanquished state by signing the American brokered peace deal in Washington DC. The territorial integrity of Armenia and the sovereignty, and the jurisdiction of the State of Armenia, are spelled out in the peace deal that bears the signatures of Ilham Aliyev,  the President of Azerbaijan,  Nikol Pashinyan the Prime Minister of Armenia, and Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America. This peace deal makes the possibility of releasing the Armenian hostages in Baku more plausible than without it and that will mean the world for their families. PM Pashinyan has brought the issue of the Armenian Christian prisoners to the attention of president Trump during the Armenian delegation's meeting with president Trump in the While House.

But let me be clear, no triparty agreement assures Armenia's real estate or as as a state. The disastrous "44-day" Second Artsakh War did not end with November 9, 2020 trilateral agreement signed between President Aliyev and PM Pashinyan. The agreement was  brokered by the Russian President Putin. The fact of the matter is that the Armenian capitulation did not even end with the ensuing depopulation of Artsakh of its native, ancient  Armenian inhabitants in September 2023. As a matter of fact, the on going brewing war entered a very dangerous phase that would have been existentially fatal to Armenia, and that would have been the taking over of Syunik region by the same alliance of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Israel that brought about the capitulation of Armenia and resulted in the ensuing depopulation of the native Armenians from historic Artsakh, the home of the legendary Karabakh Meliks. 

The August 8, 2025 peace deal signed by President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Trump removed that danger for now and for the foreseable future. I quote the third passage of the peace deal and highlight the words PM Pashinyan brought to reporters’ attention in his post deal meeting. The passage reads as follows: “We reaffirmed the importance of the opening of communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation for the promotion of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and in its neighborhood on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the States. These efforts are to include unimpeded connectivity between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia with reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the Republic of Armenia.”

Naturally it was expected to the Armenian signatories of the peace deal that Iran and the Russian Federation will be against the signed peace deal. I imagine that the Armenian government has given due consideration of the expected opposition from them. It will be to the Armenian diplomacy to assure Iran and the Russian Federation that the transportation passage will not in any way infringe on their security and interests. On the contrary it will most likely be helpful for their economic interests as well. Armenia has ruled out war and has determined to live in peace with its neighbors

But what is surprising is the backlash from segments of the Diaspora, especially from Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), against the American brokered peace deal. ANCA seemed intent on stirring the emotions of the public against the government of Armenia by citing the issues ANCA claims should have been part of the peace deal, to have “real” peace and not a peace deal at gun point.

Of course, it is up to the citizens of Armenia to work out this American brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan to Armenia's advantage, or change its course, expectedly constitutionally, such as by voting  in the upcoming June 2026 election for a government that will scrap this peace deal and live with the outcome and sort its consequences.