Armenia’s Independence Day, marked on September 21, was barely noticeable in Goris, Syunik. Since it was a non-working day, the morning felt even more monotonous than usual. Meanwhile, in the capital, Yerevan, it was celebrated with a great pomp.

At nine o'clock, church bells rang out; priest Aaron concluded the morning service, extinguished the candles, and wished the congregation peace: "Go in peace." In the town square, taxi drivers waited for passengers with the doors of their old Opels and Volkswagens left open. Nearby lay the market, where only two vendors were selling dried beans, honey, thyme, rose hips, and various other rural products, workers from Uzbekistan are adding a second floor to a beauty salon. It was only in the late afternoon that the municipality attached a few tricolor Armenian flags to the electric poles at the town's crossroads; a small concert featuring patriotic songs took place, a long formation of soldiers approached, and curious onlookers began snapping photos with their smartphones. “Welcome to Goris. Europe is here!”, the billboard says in the town center.  With the EU, Austrian Development Agency, International Partnerships Austria logos billboard tells about the success stories, which they are implementing in Syunik in the fields of water supply, solar energy, agriculture, and others. “35. Independence, Enduring Statehood” reads another one next to the highway leading out of the town.

This is the very highway that leads to Nagorno-Karabakh; however, the Karabakh Armenians last took this route in late September of 2023, and today it is almost deserted. Almost no cars are passing by. A road, partly earthen and partly gravel, branches off the highway toward the village of Khantsakh, Goris Community, across which a silver Russian sedan is heading toward the village. The driver responds to the Independence Day greeting from one of his passengers indifferently: "What holiday?" "It’s Independence Day today," his wife, sitting in the front seat, replies. The mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh are clearly visible ahead. Gazing at them, the woman says, "Behind that mountain lies the village of Hüsülü, Armenians call it Tsitsernavank. In Soviet times, we used to visit there, and the Azerbaijanis would welcome us with bread and salt," she recalls. "I can drop you there, if you wish," her husband jokes. "You’d better look for your license plates," his wife respond. The day before, they had lost the car's rear license plate while driving along a rough road, and were returning to Khnatsakh, scanning both sides of the road to find it.

“People are somewhat numb; they don’t know whether it’s peace or uncertainty” 

“It is true, there is no shooting, but people are somewhat numb; they don’t know whether it’s peace or uncertainty. The sounds of gunfire still ring in their ears; they fear for their children,” says an elderly man from the village of Khoznavar, neighboring Khnatsakh. “In any case, it is step forward since there is no shooting anymore,” he adds.

In the afternoon, Khnatsakh was silent, only the sound of a chainsaw echoes through the village. The mayor wasn't around, but the owner of the only little grocery, who was welding the iron door of his garden, was there and by coincidence his name is Mayor. “I am also Mayor, how can I help you?”, he says. Mayor responds to the Independence Day greeting ironically: "Thanks. But are we independent?" His neighbors had gathered around him, discussing the upcoming Goris mayoral election scheduled for October 25. "Arushanyan (the incumbent mayor Arush Arushanyan) is going to win. No one else stands a chance," says Mayor, whose eyes are red from welding.

In Khnadzakh, a two-story building of school is nearing completion. While there is already an operating school in the village, a more modern one is being built, featuring solar panels and a sports hall, which children from the neighboring village of Khoznavar will also attend. The school is being built under the Armenian government's "300 Schools, 500 Kindergartens" program and is designed to accommodate 200 students and 40 kindergarten children. The state investment in this project amounts to over 1 billion 745 million drams ($4,802,640).

Karo (65), a local resident, says that in the 1970s there were around 500 students in the village school, whereas now there are barely 50. “Today, the entire village population barely reaches 500. There are only two students in one of my grandchildren's classes, and five in the other's," he says. Cranes, trucks, and a concrete mixer stand in the courtyard of the newly built school; construction dust is rising. "It’s good that the government is building a school, but there are no children, if young people don’t stay in the village, who is supposed to attend it? This is a retirement home, not a village," Karo’s fellow villager partakes in the conversation. "They also promised to pave the road leading to the village by January. So, here is a mirror-smooth asphalt for you, but who needs that when youth don’t want to stay here?" he asks. "It would have been good if the Karabakh Armenians had settled here, but that requires a special state program. Unfortunately, when they arrived, the village didn't even have a regular water supply; we were at least accustomed to living in such conditions, but it was difficult for them, so they didn't stay. A few families settled in the neighboring Khoznavar, but there isn't a single family from Karabakh in our village; they all went to Yerevan. That’s how it is Armenia has turned into a city-state; everyone wants to live in Yerevan, while the villages are emptying out. I remember, when I was a student during the Soviet era, I paid 13 rubles a year for dormitory rent, whereas today I pay 250,000 AMD ($670) rent for my children, who are students in Yerevan. It is very difficult," says Karo’s fellow villager. "In the Goris community, the Red Cross is providing beehives to villagers, but it is a mistake to rely solely on the Red Cross; a dedicated agricultural development program needs to be implemented by the state, to motivate young people to stay in the village," he adds.

Karo gets angry the moment the topic of security comes up. "Take my hand and come with me, let me show you from my yard just how many combat positions and trenches are visible. Agreed, they aren't shootings anymore, but we worry and are on guard for our children's sake, not our own. Just the other day, a neighbor's cow stepped on a mine and ended up on the other side (the Azerbaijani). He couldn't even use its meat.” he says.

“Combat positions need to be pulled back, armed soldiers withdrawn, and border guards stationed there instead,” adds a fellow villager of Karo. “Look, they say Khnatsakh is a border village. But the entire Syunik province is a border zone, all the way to Meghri. By and large, all of Armenia is a border zone. In Tavush, for instance, they built a wall. Perhaps that’s good, perhaps it’s safe, but Armenia shares a very long border with Azerbaijan; how could we possibly build a wall along the entire length? Our village alone shares 18-kilometer border with Azerbaijan, separated by barbed wire. EU observers periodically come, tour the village, and leave. That is our reality today” he says.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to continue the border delimitation process from north to south, starting at the point where the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia meet. However, after delimiting a 12-kilometer stretch in the Tavush-Gazakh sector, no new areas have been delimited for over two years. The Armenian-Azerbaijani border spans approximately 1,000 kilometers.

"To date, we have successfully delimited more than 12 kilometers of the border and we are consistently working toward further progress, thereby contributing to regional stability," Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated on March 21, 2025. Since then, there has been no progress regarding the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Village and Geopolitics

Armenian media report that gas supplies to the country will be completely cut off starting from November 1. While scheduled maintenance work has already been announced, and consumers in Armenia are currently receiving gas from storage facilities, a major "accident" or force majeure event is set to occur on November 1, making it impossible to restore the gas supply.

Villagers say that the water supply issue has been resolved and they have running water in their homes around the clock, yet natural gas remains inaccessible. Although the gas pipeline reached the village long ago, many households lack the necessary branch connections to their homes. They say that they would need to apply to the local gas distribution company, pay fees, obtain permits, and so on. Many cannot afford such costs, so they heat their homes with wood-burning stoves during the winter. "People are even cutting down fruit trees so their children won't freeze in the winter," says Karo. "Soon the Russians will shut off the gas supply, too; they’ve already cut it off once for alleged “prophylactic works",” adds his neighbor. “They’re going to cut off the gas; they say they’re going to withdraw the 102nd base from Gyumri. And then what? What will become of Armenia’s situation? Armenia has “effectively” become an arena for the clash of great-power interests. They say a TRIPP project is going to be implemented in Syunik; the Americans want to enter the region, and the Europeans don’t want to be left out of it either. America is at war with Iran, are they going to fight in Armenia now?” says a Khanatsakh villager. “You know, I’m not saying Russia is good, but it will never leave the South Caucasus. It would squash Armenia if it came to that, but it won’t leave; it’s just that Putin is currently preoccupied with Ukraine and lacks the time and resources for the Caucasus. They want to withdraw the base so they can move it to the Ukrainian front.”

“You see, now they are discussing the fate of Tigranashen as well. If that, too, is handed over to Azerbaijan, we, here in Syunik, will find ourselves under blockade, just like Karabakh in 2023. If there is talk of peace, it must be equivalent,” another local resident says, expressing concern.

Advance and regress?

Tensions in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations have been observed following the diplomatic corps' visit to Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of looting monasteries, while the Armenian side issues denials, as if the fragile peace had, in a sense, been called into question, yet, in the not-too-distant past, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev were walking in Armenia’s Dilijan, Armenian and Azerbaijani NGO representatives exchanged visits within the framework of the "Bridge of Peace" initiative.

“The Azerbaijani side has decided to postpone the discussions between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts, scheduled to take place in Yerevan these days under the "Peace Bridge" initiative until tensions subside," Boris Navasardyan, Honorary President of the Yerevan Press Club, told Azatutyun. 

"I think the Azerbaijani side is not enthusiastic about the prospect of long-term peace. There are no clear guarantees, and undesirable developments are possible," writer and journalist Karen Mirzoyan from Goris told Caucasus Watch.
“It must be said that the introduction of the TRIPP project sparked noticeable enthusiasm within Armenian society, largely because people have absolutely no desire to hear about a new war. However, over time, it has become apparent that this enthusiasm may lack a solid foundation; this is evidenced by the fact that the Azerbaijani side, to put it mildly, does not share this enthusiasm for the prospect of long-term peace, as demonstrated by the recent actions of various officials from that country,’ Mirzoyan said.

One week after Independence Day, on September 27 marked the 6th anniversary of the 2020 44-day war, an occasion that ended in scandal in Armenia after the Public TV aired a concert by pop star Tata Simonyan. Social media was flooded with comments asking, "How can you party when thousands of young boys were killed on this day?" Tata himself apologized in a Facebook post, stating that "It was simply unacceptable to broadcast that concert," and added that the copyright belonged to Armenia’s Public TV, and it was broadcast without consulting him. Later Public TV apologized as well. "Broadcasting an entertainment concert on Public Television on September 27 was a mistake, and we accept full responsibility for it," it stated.

Nevertheless, the good news from Syunik is that a significant influx of tourists has been observed this year. The "Indian summer" is still ongoing, and double-decker tourist buses are parked outside hotels in Goris and Kapan. New hotels and residential buildings are being constructed, and inter-community roads are being renovated. The EU wants to keep this province in focus by implementing other projects. "Warm greetings from the gateway of Syunik, where, at an altitude of 2,350 meters above sea level, the weather is sunny and the temperature is 18 degrees", Claudia Busch, the German Ambassador to Armenia, visited the province alongside other EU ambassadors to learn about projects that are opening up new prospects for people living in border areas. Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen also announced the approval of a €200 million connectivity package for Armenia. “We are bringing Armenia closer to the EU, while working on a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus. We are building roads and bridges with our €200 million connectivity package,” she has stated recently on the X platform. It remains to be seen if the foreign tourists together with foreign initiatives can bring some life to the border region. 

Contributed by Marut Vanyan