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OC Media
a day ago
- OC Media
Armenian LPG lorries claim Georgians demanding $1,500 bribe to be allowed through border
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) prices have surged to 50% as Armenian lorries carrying LPG continue to be obstructed from entering into Georgia from Russia. While Georgia denies that the lorries were being obstructed, lorry drivers claim that they are being pressed to pay bribes of up to $1,500 in order to be allowed entry. Throughout the week, prices of LPG at Armenian pumps reached ֏180 ($0.47) per litre, a dramatic increase from the previous rate of ֏120 ($0.31) per litre. Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan commented on reports of bribes at the Georgian border on Tuesday, saying he would forward any comments he had received on the matter to Armenia's Anti-Corruption Committee. 'This is important, because if there is indeed bribery, this must also be revealed and informed to Georgian colleagues', Papoyan wrote. Papoyan had been updating his followers on Facebook on the situation on the Georgian border since it first began. One Facebook user commented on Papoyan's status asking him to comment on how lorry drivers were being asked to pay bribes of $1,200. RFE/RL has cited an anonymous source as saying that the Georgian side is allegedly charging $1,500 per lorry 'to permit entry into Armenia', otherwise the drivers are forced to wait in long queues in the summer heat. The news outlet wrote that LPG importers would pass the bribes to an 'intermediary' in Armenia who would 'get in touch and allow the lorries to move'. Advertisement RFE/RL's source has also claimed that vehicles from other countries do not encounter the same difficulties entering Georgia. Importers previously said they were unaware of what was causing the problem, and that they had only previously faced similar issues on the border due to weather conditions or other 'objective' factors. The Armenian authorities have not provided any statement clarifying why the lorries were being barred entry to Georgia. In a post on Friday, Papoyan announced that on Thursday, 77 lorries carrying LPG entered Armenia, with 331 lorries crossing the border in the past week. 'I think it's time for the Competition Protection Commission to deal with the issue of price changes in the liquefied gas market', Papoyan concluded. 'A complete lie' Following the coverage of the obstruction of LPG supply for over a week and subsequent price increase in Armenia, Georgian authorities dismissed reports of Armenian lorries being stuck on the border with Russia as 'another misinformative statement made by some media and representatives of opposition parties in Georgia' In its post on Wednesday, the Georgian Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance also denied 'blocking' Armenian cargo, including gas products. 'This is a complete lie, serves to mislead society, discredit institutions, and politicise the issue', the statement read. Instead, they suggested that 'under the increased volume of cargo traffic, all customs procedures for vehicles involved in international shipments are carried out in special/active mode, in order to smoothly conduct them'. Footage shared online of the border showed the long queues of lorries believed to be carrying LPG at the Upper Lars checkpoint. Some showed drivers were seen hosing down tankers with water jets in order to cool them down as temperatures spike, with drivers warning that the temperatures could cause leakage or explosions. Addressing the videos, the Georgian authorities claimed that they did not reflect 'the real situation' at the Upper Lars checkpoint, 'where for a short period of time there was a minor delay with the lorries, which was completely eliminated'. Georgia's obstruction of Armenia's gas supply emerged shortly after the two countries entered a dispute which saw Georgia bar lorries carrying Armenian brandy from crossing into Russia through its borders. Since late April, Armenian cargo had been subjected to inspections in Georgia, effectively halting the transit of Armenian brandy. As of early July, reports suggested that issues surrounding the brandy lorries had yet to be resolved, despite meetings between the two sides.
OC Media
a day ago
- OC Media
Yerevan appoints ruling party member as temporary manager of Karapetyan's Electric Networks of Armenia
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member On Friday, the Chair of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), Mesrop Mesropyan, appointed Romanos Petrosyan as the temporary manager of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), in an apparent overture to the state's takeover of the company. Petrosyan is a prominent member of the ruling Civil Contract party's board. His appointment as temporary manager of the ENA based on a bill recently passed by parliament that would effectively allow the state to take over the company. The decision will enter into force a day after the company is informed. A day before his appointment, Petrosyan was discharged from his position as head of the State Supervisory Service, in which he was appointed in December 2021. Previously, Petrosyan held other state positions, serving as Environment Minister and Kotayk governor. Media reports suggested that he was a candidate for the position prior to his appointment. 'We must take over management' In early July, the Armenian Parliament adopted a bill allowing the state to take over the ENA, the country's electricity company, from Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is currently detained on charges of making calls to usurp power from the government. Advertisement While the bill does not necessarily directly allow the state to nationalise ENA, its provisions would allow the state to 'intervene' and oversee its administration should the company fail to meet its obligations. Specifically, the amendments would allow the authorities to launch proceedings against the ENA should it fail to properly fulfil its obligations. The violations that catapulted Petrosyan into temporarily managing the ENA were submitted to the PSRC by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, RFE/RL reported on Thursday. 'At this stage, we — the state — must take over the management of the ENA, and we will take over the management of the ENA', the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday during his press conference. He also did not rule out that its management could be outsourced, but did not clarify as to who could take over the company's management. 'Our task, in any case, is to find the most efficient manager possible and also to establish very clear and effective public and governmental oversight over that management', Pashinyan said. The ENA is managed by Karapetyan's Tashir Group. Karapetyan was arrested on 18 June during a raid on his home in Yerevan after he had made statements in defence of the Armenian Apostolic Church amidst ongoing tensions between it and the government. Following the arrest, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan vowed to 'swiftly' nationalise ENA. Pashinyan claimed the move was not related to statements Karapetyan had made in support of the church, but instead cited public discontent with the company's services and frequent power outages in Armenia, which Pashinyan alleged were intentionally used 'to generate internal public discontent in Armenia'. In mid-July, the Armenian authorities raided the ENA and the home of Karapetyan's nephew, Narek Karapetyan, who chairs the company, in an escalation of tensions between the government and Karapetyan.
OC Media
2 days ago
- OC Media
FSB accuses two North Ossetian teenagers of planning a terror attack
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Two 15-year-olds from North Ossetia were detained and given terrorism charges after the authorities accused them of planning a terrorist attack on law enforcement officers. Russia's Investigative Committee announced their arrest and charges on their official Telegram channel on Friday. They claimed that the two teenagers were detained after officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs found components for an improvised explosive device in their possession. Investigators say the suspects had been studying materials for carrying out terrorist attacks between June 2024 and May 2025, using 'specialised literature' distributed via a closed messenger channel. In May 2025, the boys reportedly bought materials for making explosives in the North Ossetian town of Mozdok and stored them in their homes. According to officials, their plans were disrupted by security forces before the attack could be carried out. The names of the accused have not been disclosed. The FSB claimed that instructions for making explosives were found on the teenagers' phones, along with messages exchanged with 'militants located abroad', allegedly members of an unnamed international terrorist organisation banned in Russia. The authorities also seized components for homemade explosives during the searches. The teenagers have been charged with preparing a terrorist act as a group and undergoing training for terrorist purposes. These charges carry penalties of up to life imprisonment. In its public statement, the FSB's Public Relations Centre said that Ukrainian intelligence services are allegedly actively operating in the online space — including messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp — to 'recruit young people and underage Russian citizens into illegal activity'. The FSB urged Russian citizens to remain vigilant and 'avoid' communicating with unknown contacts on these platforms whenever possible. However, the statement did not claim that Ukrainian services were involved in the preparation of the alleged attack. Advertisement At the time of publication, no comments from the teenagers' lawyers or relatives were publicly available. It is also unknown whether the accused have admitted guilt. In early July, Russian state agency RIA Novosti reported that more than 150 teenagers aged 14 to 17 had been included in the country's official list of terrorists and extremists, citing data from the Rosfinmonitoring database. The list currently includes 155 minors, including one 14-year-old, 23 aged 15, 46 aged 16, and 85 aged 17. The full registry of designated terrorists and extremists in Russia contains nearly 18,000 names.
