Your Namak for Friday, April 15
Pashinyan delivers major speech, Nagorno-Karabakh parliament criticizes Armenian authorities and Armenian and Russian foreign ministers meet in Moscow.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Pashinyan Addresses Nagorno-Karabakh Situation in Parliament Speech
In a wide-ranging speech before the National Assembly on April 13, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed his handling of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, and what Armenia’s defeat means a year and a half later, amid growing concerns that the Armenian government would cede control of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Pashinyan accepted responsibility in misleading Armenian citizens about the status of peace negotiations before the war, but denied allegations that he is preparing to give Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. The opposition refused to attend his speech.
Pashinyan stated that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of “rights” and not “territorial claims.” The Prime Minister also referred several times to how the international community views Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and said international partners fail to act not because they do not want to, but because they “cannot help.” He noted that although Armenia and Azerbaijan are working on the peace process, an Azerbaijani offensive was still possible.
Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament Responds to Pashinyan’s Speech
In response to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speech on April 13, the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issued an announcement denouncing any settlement that would cede control of the region to Azerbaijan. “The statehood of Artsakh, the right to live freely and independently in the historical homeland are absolute values from which even the threat of war cannot keep us,” the statement said. The parliament of the de facto republic openly criticized the Armenian government, saying, “We demand that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia renounce their current catastrophic position and be guided exclusively by these values. No government has the right to lower the bar of internationally recognized self-determination to a status unacceptable to Artsakh, under the pretext of ‘peace.’”
Armenian Opposition MPs Prevented from Visiting Nagorno-Karabakh
On April 12, the Russian peacekeeping forces barred a group of Armenian opposition MPs from entering Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the peacekeepers’ actions contradict the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement ending the war, which “envisages the unimpeded connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia through the Lachin corridor.” In a question-and-answer session before the National Assembly, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that the Russian side prevented the visit “to avoid provocations.”
Armenian and Russian Foreign Ministers Meet in Moscow
On April 8, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The top diplomats discussed strengthening military and economic cooperation between their two countries, including through significantly increasing Russian investments in the Armenian economy.
Lavrov criticized the United States and France for attempts to exclude Russia from the OSCE Minsk Group, the body charged with negotiating a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “The OSCE Minsk Group –– I don’t know what it’s fate will be because our French and American so-called ‘partners,’ in a Russo-phobic frenzy, with the goal of canceling everything that has anything to do with Russia, have also canceled the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Lavrov said.
To mark our 25th Namak, we would like to reintroduce ourselves to our audience and thank you for reading with us. In our six months of existence, we have grown from a few dozen subscribers to several hundreds across the world. As we enter the next chapter of our development, we would like to share our mission and vision, to give you a glimpse of where we are and where we are going.
Who We Are
Astrig Agopian is a French-Armenian freelance journalist based in Paris. She covers current affairs and explores the intersection between geopolitics, territory, marginality and memory. She freelances as a reporter, photojournalist and camerawoman. Her work has been published in various media outlets: France Télévisions, Agence France-Presse, Radio Télévision Suisse, L’Orient-Le Jour, Hetq, The Guardian and others. Born and raised in Marseille, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in journalism and international affairs from Sciences Po Paris. When she is not running around with her camera, she enjoys watching Italian films, kickboxing or cooking a feast for her friends. She is a jingyalov hats connoisseur.
Maral Tavitian is an American-Armenian journalist and law student based in Los Angeles. A native Angeleno, she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and is completing her law degree at USC Gould School of Law. As a member of the USC Immigration Clinic, she provided pro bono legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees, and now works with domestic violence survivors. She previously worked as a reporter at CivilNet in Yerevan, wrote about the relationship between food and culture for LA Weekly and contributed to a cookbook at Food & Wine. She loves exploring hole-in-the-wall restaurants and is still on a quest to find the best baklava in her hometown.
Our Story
Astrig and Maral met in Yerevan during summer 2021 and immediately connected over their shared personal backgrounds and professional approaches to journalism. After many discussions about the Armenian media landscape, the founders’ relationship to their identities and the gap between Armenians in the diaspora, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the idea for Namak was born. Since then, they have developed a close partnership and friendship, reporting and working together from opposite corners of the world. As Armenians born and raised in two diaspora hubs who have also spent time living in Armenia, the founders are bound by their deep love for the Armenian nation and commitment to highlighting the stories of Armenians everywhere. They look forward to reuniting this year and finally taking a proper photo together.
Our Mission
Namak is a platform to help you understand all things Armenian.
We launched Namak in October 2021 in response to a problem we faced as Armenian news consumers: we wanted a publication that delivered exactly what we needed to know, at a slower and healthier pace than on social media. But our goal extended beyond just reporting the news: we also set out to inspire our audience by featuring ordinary Armenians doing extraordinary things. As young Armenian women, we believe that our voices matter in the media landscape, and we created Namak as an inclusive space to highlight the diversity and richness of the global Armenian experience, including the stories of underrepresented members of our community. Our mission is to support an informed and connected global Armenian population, using Namak as a tool to bring Armenians together.
Our Vision
Namak is more than a newsletter –– we are building a global community around Armenian stories that informs, connects and inspires our readers. Our signature weekly newsletter offers a summary of the main headlines in Armenian news, a profile of a cool Armenian and cultural recommendations. Through our editorial practices, we aim to encourage media education and a culture of fact-checking, because we believe that media literacy is crucial not only for people to thoughtfully consume and analyze information, but to use that information to partake in societal discourse. We are developing new projects to expand our reporting portfolio, and look forward to sharing them with you very soon.
Our News Values and Principles
Correction policy: Journalists are humans and can make mistakes. When we are wrong, we issue a correction and disclose it to our readers.
Language: We use the term “Nagorno-Karabakh” to refer to the unrecognized region in the South Caucasus populated and de facto governed by ethnic Armenians. We include the Armenian term “Artsakh” when a source uses this language in an interview or it is part of an official title.
Conflicts of interest: We apply editorial independence when selecting our profile subjects –– excellent work and unique personal stories drive our decisions on who to write about. We do not feature close family members of the founders.
Independence: We have no political affiliation and are committed to truth and accuracy above all else. We do not run for political office or perform public relations work for politicians. We do not receive any funding from political organizations or special interest groups.
Commitment to our audience: We welcome conversation with our readers and appreciate it when you share concerns, feedback or ideas with us. Please reach out: namaknews@protonmail.com.
To read: A Brief History of Elsa Schiaparelli’s Iconic Bow Sweater, a Vogue article about the “magic needles” behind the Italian designer’s signature bow sweater. Those needles (and vision) belonged to an Armenian refugee named Aroosiag Mikaëlian, who achieved the style using the “Armenian” stitch.
To watch: Hayk Karoyi x Hin Khoti, an enchanting audio-visual tour through the ruins of Hin Khot, where musician and composer Hayk Karoyi recorded this project that blends traditional Armenian instruments with contemporary sounds.
To listen: Rough Translation: Letter of Unhappiness, an NPR podcast about how Russian-Armenian journalist Naira Davlashyan broke through the wall of Russian propaganda to find common ground with her parents — with help from an anti-war message disguised as a chain letter.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.