ARMENIA

At a hearing in Baku, prosecutors requested life imprisonment for five former high-ranking Nagorno-Karabakh officials, including former President Arayik Harutyunyan. The other detainees face prison terms of up to 20 years.

Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan's statement that Turkish-Armenian-Azerbaijani enmity was shaped by the USSR and KGB has been criticized by some circles while appreciated by others. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, an expert on Turkey-Soviet relations, author of the book "Soviet Approach to Turkey's Transformation" and faculty member at the American University of Armenia, said, "Armenians who survived the Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and the massacres inflicted by Kemalist forces did not need the guidance of the KGB, which was established in 1954, to understand what happened to their families, villages, towns, and churches."

After the parliamentary election on April 2, the new Armenian parliament is formed. Four deputies from minority groups, Syriac, Kurdish, Yazidi, Russian, are elected to the parliament.

Armenia, like Turkey, is waiting for the ballot boxes. The parliamentary election will be held on April 2. This is the first election after the constitutional amendment that would transfer the authority of the president to the parliament and the prime minister was passed and the most important question is whether the current government will maintain its power.

Trying to build a bridge between Armenia and Turkey with his photography, Umut Vedat tells about his works appealing to the peoples of both countries and projects in Tbilisi.

The documentary titled “Bees without Borders”, which was shot in the villages along Turkish-Armenian border, tells the story of beekeeping activities on the both sides of the border. The difficulties that these people on different sides of the border experience are almost the same and they all dream about opening of the border. Coşkun Aral, Müge Aral and Batuhan Tunçer tells about the document.

In Gegharkunik province of Armenia, a mausoleum and artifacts dating back to Urartu (Kingdom of Van) era have been found.

According to Armenian Ministry of Diaspora, 18.000 Syrian Armenians have been given Armenian citizenship in 2016.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan spoke about Armenian-Turkish relations. Sargsyan stated that the preconditions propounded by Turkey halted the relations.

3000 kilometers along the Caucasus mountains, three countries and a long way passing through them... Transcaucasian Trail Association (TCTA), a Washington-based initiative, embarked to build one of the longest hiking routes in the world. The association is working with local partners for this hiking route, which is planned to pass through Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. They want to improve ecotourism, create an exciting route for the hikers and provide a different perspective to Caucasus countries which seem like they will never come to terms because of the border conflicts. We talked to Vahagn Vardumyan, a member of Armenia team, about the project.