An Armenia parliament brawl on Thursday, Oct. 29, left at least one opposition lawmaker with a bloody nose. A debate turned into a fistfight on live television, a deputy speaker from the ruling party threw a chair toward opposition members, and an ambulance came to the building.
The fight came one day after the same chamber ratified a framework deal with the United States on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP. That transit corridor sits at the center of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process President Donald Trump brokered in August 2025. The next step in that process needs opposition votes, and Thursday showed how far apart the two sides are.
How a debate on the Audit Chamber became a fistfight
Lawmakers were debating an appointment to the Audit Chamber, Armenia’s state auditor, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Taron Chakhoyan, a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, used his speech to accuse the opposition of corruption.
JAMnews reports that Chakhoyan named former President Robert Kocharyan. He then turned to relatives of Narek Karapetyan, who leads the opposition Strong Armenia faction. They included Karapetyan’s uncle, the billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who faces money-laundering charges.
Chakhoyan also raised a remark by Karapetyan’s cousin, Sargis Karapetyan, from earlier this year. OC Media reports that Sargis said there would be “no unsatisfied woman” in Armenia if his side won. He also talked about a hypothetical “Ministry of Sex.” Critics called the comments sexist, and Chakhoyan said the family still had not apologized.
Narek Karapetyan shouted back from his seat, and Chakhoyan answered with an insult, JAMnews reports. Lawmakers from both sides then rushed the podium and started trading punches and kicks.
Chairs, bottles and a bloody nose
OC Media reports that Chakhoyan poured a glass of water on an opposition lawmaker and that MPs threw bottles. Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan, a Civil Contract member, threw a chair toward opposition MPs.
Speaker Ruben Rubinyan let the fight play out on the live feed. “I want everyone to see all of this,” he said, as translated by JAMnews. The Armenian Report says he waited more than 10 minutes before he called a recess and summoned security.
The recess did not end it. Citing RFE/RL, OC Media reports that scuffles carried on in the corridors, where security staff formed a barrier between the two sides. The session resumed after about an hour.
According to the Deccan Chronicle, opposition MP Andranik Gevorgyan had a bleeding nose and fellow opposition MP Ruben Mkhitaryan left with torn clothes. Parliament has not released an official count of injuries.
Who started it depends on who you ask
When the session resumed, Rubinyan blamed Narek Karapetyan. He also said opposition MP Garnik Davtyan struck Chakhoyan first, OC Media reports. Some reports said aides to Strong Armenia lawmakers had attacked Civil Contract MPs. Rubinyan said he would check, and that parliament would expel anyone responsible. He said nothing about Aleksanyan’s chair.
Chakhoyan apologized to viewers for what he called the opposition’s “hooliganism.” He suggested the opposition had planned it in advance. Strong Armenia MP Marianna Gahramanyan accused the speaker of egging Chakhoyan on. “Ruben Rubinyan bears full responsibility for what happened,” she said, according to JAMnews.
Narek Karapetyan shrugged it off. He called it “a normal Armenian-style man-to-man fight,” according to OC Media.
Pashinyan took a harder line. At his weekly briefing he condemned violence but backed his party’s lawmakers. “If anyone thinks they can raise a hand against a member of the National Assembly… we will break that arm,” he said, in JAMnews’ translation. Asked whether that included a chair, he answered, “If necessary, with a chair.”
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, Anahit Manasyan, said violence by officials makes violence look like a normal way to settle disputes. “This incident must be subject to a proper investigation conducted in accordance with established legal procedures,” she said, according to JAMnews.
A tense chamber since the June election
This was not the new parliament’s first clash. The Armenian Report calls it the second in less than a month, after a scuffle on Oct. 6. That earlier fight followed a Strong Armenia speech that accused Rubinyan of misusing public funds, Latin Times reports. A temporary ethics committee formed in August presented eight conduct rules on Oct. 5, The Armenian Report says.
Voters chose this chamber on June 7. Final results reported by JAMnews gave Civil Contract 49.75% of the vote and 64 of 105 seats. Strong Armenia won 23.27% and 29 seats. The opposition Armenia alliance took 12.
Strong Armenia is new. Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian businessman, founded it in December 2025, according to its Wikipedia entry. He has been under house arrest since Jan. 17. The charges against him include tax evasion, money laundering and public calls to seize power. His Russian and Cypriot citizenship barred him from running, so his nephew Narek leads the faction. The party favors closer ties with Russia.
Narek Karapetyan has his own legal fight. In July, Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission let prosecutors bring criminal charges against him but refused their request to arrest him. Latin Times reports that his lawyers call the case politically motivated.
What the Trump Route vote approved
On Oct. 28, the day before the brawl, the National Assembly ratified the US-Armenia framework agreement on TRIPP. The vote was 63 to 32 with no abstentions, The Armenian Weekly reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the agreement in Washington on June 1, and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed it in Yerevan on June 4, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry says.
The route grew out of the Aug. 8, 2025, White House summit, where Trump hosted Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. It would link mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southern Syunik province. The plan covers rail, road, energy and communications lines. A joint development company would run it, and the US would hold 74% for an initial 49-year period, according to The Armenian Weekly.
The opposition objected during the debate. Armenia alliance lawmakers argued the deal binds Armenia without matching obligations from Azerbaijan. Republican Party politician Armen Ashotyan pointed to risks from US-Iran tensions, The Armenian Weekly reports. The US is already at war with Iran, a conflict that has cost it at least $47.1 billion. Washington has also told Gulf allies to brace for more strikes after the midterms. Strong Armenia also sharply criticized the agreement, PAN.am reports.
The peace deal now needs six opposition votes
The harder test is still ahead. Azerbaijan insists Armenia change its constitution before the two countries sign a final peace treaty, The Armenian Weekly reports. Pashinyan’s government rejects that as a precondition. It still plans to put a new draft constitution to a referendum.
That step takes two-thirds of parliament, or 70 of 105 votes. Civil Contract has 64, so it needs at least six opposition lawmakers. Both opposition blocs say they won’t back changes they see as imposed by Baku. After Thursday, winning six of them over looks harder than it did on Wednesday.
Pashinyan said on Oct. 22 that he could call snap parliamentary elections if support falls short, according to The Armenian Weekly. His government’s next step is to publish the draft constitution and send it to parliament, where it will need votes from the faction his party was fighting on Thursday.