The head of the influential Armenian Apostolic Church has appeared in court for a trial on criminal charges in the latest confrontation with the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has claimed victory in a general election seen as a test of Russia’s influence.

Armenians are voting in a parliamentary election as the government seeks to loosen ties with Moscow and increase cooperation with the West.

Armenia's parliamentary elections Sunday will focus on its geopolitical future as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan seeks closer ties with the EU and the U.S. That is despite Armenia's longstanding relations with Russia that are favored by most of the country's opposition parties.

French President Emmanuel Macron has stolen some of the spotlight from other world leaders in Armenia’s capital this week when he crooned classic ballads including “La Bohème” at a glitzy state dinner.

Armenia is hosting the first European Union summit in Yerevan.

Vice President JD Vance is in Armenia, a country that no sitting U.S. vice president or president has visited before.

Commercial fishing that recently resumed in a vast protected area of the Pacific Ocean must halt once again after a judge in Hawaii sided with environmentalists challenging a Trump administration rollback of federal ocean protections.

Residents and politicians in Armenia and Azerbaijan are responding with cautious hope after their leaders signed a U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at ending decades of hostilities.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a peace agreement at the White House, aiming to end decades of conflict.

Armenia and Azerbaijan's leaders are set to meet with Donald Trump on Friday to sign a peace deal.

A brawl erupted in Armenia’s National Assembly involving an opposition lawmaker who later was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and faces prosecution for calling for the ouster of President Nikol Pashinyan.

Security forces faced off with crowds at the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the government sought to arrest a cleric in the latest move against outspoken critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

One of Armenia’s top religious leaders was arrested on terrorism charges and accused of plotting to overthrow the government, the second arrest in a week of a prominent political opponent.

The leader of Armenia has declared his intention to pull out of a Russia-dominated security alliance of several ex-Soviet nations as tensions rise between the two allies.

Thousands of protesters angered by the government’s decision to hand over control of some border villages to Azerbaijan have demonstrated in the center of the Armenian capital for a second day to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

A Russia-dominated security grouping has held a summit in Belarus with the absence of one of its members, Armenia, which has been irked by what it sees as a lack of support over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has commended the growing cooperation within a Moscow-dominated alliance of several ex-Soviet nations despite Western sanctions against his country.

Armenia finds itself facing multiple challenges after being suddenly thrust into one of the worst political crises in its decades of independence following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia's Defense Ministry says that ethnic Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh are surrendering their arms to Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region after local Armenian forces there agreed to lay down their weapons following the latest outbreak of fighting in the decades-long separatist conflict.

Armenia’s prime minister has accused a Moscow-dominated security alliance of leaving his country in the cold in the face of a threat of renewed hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s prime minister says his country has refused to host military drills planned by a Russia-dominated security pact.

A U.S. congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has arrived in Armenia.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans to make a weekend visit to Armenia, where a cease-fire was holding for a second day after an outburst of fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan.

A cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan is holding following two days of fighting that killed 176 soldiers on both sides.

A senior Armenian official says Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiated a cease-fire to end a flare-up of fighting that has killed 155 soldiers on both sides.

Fighting on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops and fed fears of broader hostilities breaking out between the longtime adversaries.

Police in Armenia's capital have detained 180 anti-government demonstrators that were blocking streets to protest against the country’s prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on April 6 to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the decades-long conflict over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks, which he called “constructive.”.

Armenia’s prime minister says the country has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a hotline between their defense chiefs after last week’s deadly clashes on their border.

Tens of thousands have rallied in Azerbaijan’s capital to mark the one year anniversary of the country’s victory in the six-week battle over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia's national elections commission has denied a claim by major opposition groups that the parliamentary election results that gave an overwhelming victory to the acting prime minister's party are invalid.

Voting results show that the party of Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won snap parliamentary elections which he called to ease anger over a peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan.

Partial results in Armenia's snap parliamentary elections show a strong lead for the party of acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who called the election in a bid to ease anger over peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan.

Armenians head to polls Sunday for an early parliamentary election stemming from a political crisis that has engulfed the country in the aftermath of the last year’s fighting with Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s prime minister says he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan in the wake of an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia's leader is praising President Joe Biden's recognition of the deaths of 1_5 million Armenians under Ottoman Turkish rule as genocide, calling it “a powerful step.”.

The United States is formally recognizing that the systematic killing and deportation of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century was “genocide.”.

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the main square in Yerevan, Armenia. Armenia's embattled prime minister has confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow early parliamentary elections. In a move to defuse the political crisis, Pashinyan two weeks ago announced early elections would be held on June 20. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP, File)YEREVAN – Armenia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow for an early parliamentary election. "I will resign in April — not to leave power, but to hold early parliamentary elections.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivers his speech in the Parliament building in Yerevan, Armenia, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Armenias prime minister has scored a point in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the countrys top military officer. (Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia’s prime minister on Thursday set an early parliamentary election for June as he sought to defuse the country’s political crisis. The opposition pushing for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation has demanded that he step down before the vote. In a Facebook statement that followed his talks with the leader of an opposition faction in parliament, Pashinyan said the parliamentary vote will be held on June 20.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Hundreds of opposition supporters maintained the blockade of the Armenian parliament for a second straight day Wednesday demanding the resignation of the country’s embattled prime minister. The country's president, Armen Sarkissian, on Wednesday called for Pashinyan, opposition leaders and the heads of parliamentary factions to meet Saturday at the presidential residence to seek a resolution to the crisis. It was not immediately clear whether the prime minister or his opponents would attend.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. On Tuesday, the opposition sought to build pressure on Pashinyan by urging its supporters to blockade the parliament. Thousands of opposition demonstrators surrounded the parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November that ended six weeks of intense fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister scored a political point Tuesday in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the country's top military officer. Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the Nov. 10 peace deal.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Political tensions in Armenia heightened Monday, with supporters of the embattled prime minister and the opposition each holding massive rallies at separate sites in the capital. Opposition protests seeking Pashinyan's ouster abated during the winter but intensified last week amid a rift between him and the country's military leaders. The Russian military said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan’s claim because Armenia hadn’t used an Iskander missile in the conflict.

Opposition demonstrators march to the government buildings during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – About 15,000 protesters calling for the resignation of Armenia’s prime minister marched through the capital Saturday as pressure on the leader intensified after the country's president rejected his order to dismiss the chief of the military general staff. Protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arose in November after he signed a cease-fire ending a six-week war with Azerbaijan over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. He ordered the dismissal of the chief of the general staff, but the order was subject to approval by Armenia's largely ceremonial president. AdAt the protest rally, opposition politician Naira Zograbyan, who once was a journalist at a newspaper owned by Pashinyan, denounced the prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan waves to supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Armenia's prime minister has spoken of an attempted military coup after facing the military's General Staff demand for him to step down. AdIn response, the General Staff called for Pashinyan's resignation, but he doubled down and ordered that the chief of the General Staff be dismissed. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan's claim because the Armenian military hadn’t fired an Iskander missile during the conflict. It added that the Armenian prime minister had apparently been misled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, attends a talks with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, second left, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, left, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Putin hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks after six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal in November. The talks came two months after a Russia-brokered truce ended weeks of fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that left more than 6,000 people dead. Under the peace deal, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh for at least five years. Putin noted Monday that senior officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia will set up a working group to discuss specific moves related to the restoration of transport routes in the region.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister said Friday he was ready to discuss the possibility of holding an early parliamentary election, but rejected opposition demands to step down over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Opposition supporters have rallied for weeks, urging Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down over the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Pashinyan added that he was ready to hold consultations with the nation's political parties to discuss calling an early parliamentary election next year. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, and triggered outrage and mass protests in Armenia.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Police in the Armenian capital detained dozens of people on Thursday during protests against the country's prime minister, who is being pressured to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The Russian-brokered peace agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Opposition supporters in Armenia on Tuesday ramped up the pressure on the prime minister to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, setting up a protest tent camp on the capital's main square. Tens of thousands of demonstrators swarmed government buildings in Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, go away!” Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The peace deal was hailed in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan comforts a woman during a march of remembrance of the heroes killed in a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

(AP Photo/Hrant Khachatryan)YEREVAN – Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building in Armenia's capital Wednesday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. About 15,000 protesters marched through downtown Yerevan to the parliament building, chanting “Nikol go away!”The opposition has been pushing for Pashinyan's resignation since the Russia-brokered peace deal took effect on Nov. 10. The Armenian Apostolic Church and all three of the country’s former presidents have joined the demand for Pashinyan to step down. Undeterred, the prime minister told lawmakers in parliament Wednesday that the nation needs consolidation in the current difficult period. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

(Aram Kirakosyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Crowds of protesters took to the streets of Armenia's capital Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. On Saturday, opposition parties warned Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he doesn't resign by noon on Tuesday. Protesters on Tuesday temporarily blocked traffic on different streets of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and at one point blocked trains at one of the city's subway stations. The agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control to Azerbaijan of several regions it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched across the Armenian capital Saturday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia's opposition parties warned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by noon on Tuesday. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region.

An Armenian serviceman fires a cannon towards Azerbaijan positions in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. The U.N. Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan Tuesday evening to immediately halt the fighting and urgently resume talks without preconditions. But first, Azerbaijan must “immediately end (its) aggression towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia," Pashinyan said. Armenia also alleged that Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, was involved. Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan.