https://sputnikglobe.com/20250629/western-backed-crackdown-in-armenia-risks-causing-major-unrest---expert-1122363878.html
Western-Backed Crackdown in Armenia Risks Causing Major Unrest - Expert
Western-Backed Crackdown in Armenia Risks Causing Major Unrest - Expert
Sputnik International
Armenia is facing a deepening internal crisis driven by government failures and growing foreign interference, Palestinian international relations expert Nidal Rabah tells Sputnik.
2025-06-29T16:41+0000
2025-06-29T16:41+0000
2025-06-29T16:41+0000
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He stresses that the arrests of clergy and opposition figures are politically, not religiously, motivated. According to him, the true causes lie in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s incompetence, rising corruption, worsening economic conditions, and controversial peace deals with Azerbaijan following the 2023 Karabakh War. Rabah argues that the Armenian Apostolic Church, which supports the opposition, is being deliberately targeted by the authorities due to its political influence. He also warns that Western-backed groups are exerting increasing pressure within Armenia and destabilizing the situation. A critical point of tension, he notes, is the detention of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. If the archbishop’s health deteriorates, it could trigger a major internal explosion. The government's strategy, Rabah says, is to dismantle the alliance between the Church and the opposition — at the risk of provoking mass unrest and eroding what remains of public trust. At the heart of the escalation, he concludes, is Western support for Pashinyan, which not only fuels repression but threatens Armenia’s national security.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250628/armenian-apostolic-church-calls-for-immediate-release-of-archbishop-ajapahyan-1122357653.html
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western-backed crackdown, deepening internal crisis, international relations, growing foreign interference
western-backed crackdown, deepening internal crisis, international relations, growing foreign interference
Western-Backed Crackdown in Armenia Risks Causing Major Unrest - Expert
Armenia is facing a deepening internal crisis driven by government failures and growing foreign interference, Palestinian international relations expert Nidal Rabah tells Sputnik.
He stresses that the arrests of clergy and opposition figures are politically, not religiously, motivated. According to him, the true causes lie in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s incompetence, rising corruption, worsening economic conditions, and controversial peace deals with Azerbaijan following the 2023 Karabakh War.
Rabah argues that the Armenian Apostolic Church, which supports the opposition, is being deliberately targeted by the authorities due to its political influence. He also warns that Western-backed groups are exerting increasing pressure within Armenia and destabilizing the situation.
A critical
point of tension, he notes, is the detention of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. If the archbishop’s health deteriorates, it could trigger a major internal explosion. The government's strategy, Rabah says, is to dismantle the alliance between the Church and the opposition — at the risk of provoking mass unrest and eroding what remains of public trust.
At the heart of the escalation, he concludes, is Western support for Pashinyan, which not only fuels repression but threatens Armenia’s national security.
