Your Namak for Sunday, December 4
Azerbaijanis temporarily block road connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Hungary agree to restore diplomatic relations, and Pashinyan meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Azerbaijanis Temporarily Block Road Connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
On December 3, Azerbaijanis in civilian clothes closed the main thoroughfare connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, temporarily blockading the region’s Armenian residents. The Stepanakert-Goris road reopened following approximately three hours of negotiations mediated by the Russian peacekeeping forces. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) described the incident as a “terrorist act.” “This terrorist act once again proves that Azerbaijan’s primary goal has remained unchanged –– to deport the Armenians of Artsakh, to carry out ethnic cleansing and genocide there,” the statement said.
Armenia and Hungary Agree to Restore Diplomatic Relations
On December 1, the Armenian and Hungarian foreign ministers issued a joint statement restoring full diplomatic relations, following a meeting on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Łódź, Poland. The parties agreed to appoint non-resident ambassadors to begin the process of deepening collaboration in trade, education and tourism. Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary in 2012 for its decision to extradite an Azerbaijani military officer convicted of axe-murdering an Armenian army lieutenant in 2004 at a NATO training in Budapest. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev immediately pardoned the officer upon his return, and his act was widely celebrated in Azerbaijani society.
Pashinyan Meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
On December 1, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with U.S. Minsk Group Co-Chair Philip Reeker in Yerevan. According to a statement by Pashinyan’s office, the parties discussed the possibility of creating a direct line of communication between Nagorno-Karabakh authorities in Stepanakert and Baku. Comprised of the United States, France and Russia, the OSCE Minsk Group is the body charged with negotiating a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Shant Reganyan: Meet an Armenian-American entrepreneur spicing up the candy market
“My knack was having an eye for what other people would like.”
While browsing the aisles of a trendy Los Angeles grocery store, Shant Reganyan studies his competitors with careful attention. He inspects the packaging and ingredient lists of dozens of snacks, from kelp chips and paleo granola bars to pomegranate licorice.
The 24-year-old is the co-founder of Chili Chews, a food brand that combines sweet, sour and spicy ingredients to take your taste buds on a rollercoaster. The final product is the gummy candy equivalent of tropical fruits doused in tangy lime juice and Tajín chili powder.
“We don’t have an R&D team, so our R&D team is basically me trying 100 types of candy a day,” Shant says.
Born and raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Granada Hills, Shant attended Holy Martyrs Armenian Elementary and Ferrahian High School, where he met his childhood best friend and co-founder Vicken Kejejian. Shant says his interests diverged from what was typical for students at his school. From a young age, he was an avid follower of music, art and fashion, and authored a Tumblr blog about rap.
“My knack was having an eye for what other people would like,” Shant says. “I was always able to spot an artist or a company or a song that was going to be really popular in two to three months.”
Shant’s Armenian heritage played a central role in his upbringing, and he has always drawn inspiration from his roots and the perspective that comes with being an underrepresented group.
“The lens you have as a minority means you understand the struggles that other cultures and communities endure and face daily,” Shant says. “It’s a linking point of being a well-rounded individual.”
Shant’s journey to becoming a food entrepreneur was not a linear one. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2020 with a degree in sociology. Locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Vicken began experimenting with different flavor combinations and perfecting their recipes for the chili candy they had been making for years. They decided to share their snack, long beloved by family and friends, with a broader audience.
They officially launched Chili Chews in January 2021, but the company gained real momentum a few months later. In June of that year, the founders recruited Shant’s sister and brother-in-law to assist with product design and marketing. Following the rebrand, sales skyrocketed nearly overnight, and the upward trend has not slowed down since.
Chili Chews is now available at Urban Outfitters stores nationwide, along with Ralphs, Zumiez and 7-11. Shant and Vicken participated in the Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, where they met cookbook author Chrissy Tiegen, and collaborated with her on a special edition flavor of pineapple mango chews.
“We wanted to be a category-defining product,” Shant says. “We wanted Chili Chews to be synonymous with what chili candy is, kind of like how Kleenex and a tissue are.”
Like many scrappy entrepreneurs, Shant started Chili Chews as a side project. During the busiest days for the company, he had another process preoccupying his time: applying to law school. In February, he was accepted to USC Gould School of Law, his dream school, on a full-tuition merit scholarship.
Although Shant had long aspired to become a lawyer, he decided to put this goal on hold and pursue his passion project full-time.
“I wanted to be a lawyer or at least I thought I did,” Shant says. “If Chili Chews didn’t happen, I would’ve happily gone to law school.”
Shant knew that his decision to forgo law school for life as a food founder defied the currents of what might be considered a prestigious career, especially in the Armenian community. But after much reflection, he realized that only through leaning into his creative roots could he achieve true happiness and professional success.
“I wish I never stopped blogging, I wish I was still more in touch with the music community and doing research on what’s new and trending but instead I was focusing on a traditional career path that sucked away those creative juices for more practical skills,” Shant says. “In hindsight, you see it. But in the moment, you think you’re making the right decision.”
With Chili Chews, Shant hopes to spice up what it looks like to be an Armenian entrepreneur.
To read: The TUMO Phenomenon: Exporting Innovative Education to the World, an EVN Report article about Armenia’s standout youth education program, the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies. TUMO’s leaders write about exporting their model of excellence to countries around the world.
To watch: Les jeunes de la diaspora de retour en Arménie, an Arte documentary about French-Armenian youth who decided to visit Armenia, discover the country and volunteer after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.
To admire: A Troubled Home, a stunning new photography book by photojournalist Anush Babajanyan, who documents the lives of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh with tenderness and depth.
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.