Armenian politician warns of Turkish-Azerbaijani 'soft power' influence

Armenian opposition leader Edmon Marukyan on Friday warned that Turkish and Azerbaijani “soft power” is actively influencing public discourse within Armenia, aiming to reshape perceptions of history and national memory.

Speaking to reporters at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex where he visited to mark the Armenian Genocide anniversary, Marukyan, head of the Bright Armenia Party, said the strategy has shifted away from direct military confrontation toward more subtle methods of influence.

“Today, the effort is not through warfare, but through soft power, seeking to alter how people think about their past and to revise collective memory,” he said.

Marukyan sharply rejected narratives that call into question the established historical understanding of the Armenian Genocide, describing such arguments as attempts at revisionism.

"There are claims that we still need to understand how the genocide occurred,” he said. “However, the international community—at the scientific, legal and political levels—has already thoroughly examined and recognized it as genocide."