YEREVAN

The Turkish government has expressed concern an agreement between Russia and Armenia to unify their air defense systems and Armenia's recent statement that a ceasefire with arch-foe Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh virtually no longer exists will increase the risk of clashes in the Caucasus. 

Armenia said on Dec. 22 that the ceasefire with arch-foe Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh virtually no longer exists, describing frequent skirmishes at the frontline as "war."

Moscow has reportedly beefed up its military presence in the region around Turkey following economic sanctions after the Nov. 24 downing of a Russian SU-24 fighter jet by Turkey near the Syrian border.

14 helicopters to Armenia

Armenians voted in a referendum to boost the prime minister's powers, results showed on Dec. 7, a move supporters say will bolster stability but opponents warn will entrench the ruling party's control over the ex-Soviet state.

Turkey will send troops to Armenia on Oct. 11 in compliance with an international treaty, the Turkish General Staff has stated.

A Turkish inspection team will be sent to Armenia, with whom Turkey has no diplomatic ties, for a three-day inspection period as part of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, the General Staff announced.

Azerbaijani forces on Sept.24 shelled Armenia, killing three civilian women, officials in Yerevan said, as tensions mounted in the Caucasus neighbours' decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

A new exhibition at Istanbul?s Depo gallery takes a closer look at personal and communal affiliations in the Armenian diaspora, said by Armenians themselves to be ?scattered like pomegranate seeds across the world.?

?GRANDCHILDREN, New geographies of belonging? opens on Sept. 3 at Depo in Istanbul?s Tophane neighborhood, and will run until Nov. 1.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a letter of condolence to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, following a suicide bombing in southeastern Turkey that killed 32 people and wounded nearly 100 on July 20.

Armenian authorities launched a criminal investigation July 3 into police officers involved in a brutal crackdown on demonstrators protesting against electricity price hikes.

Social movements and popular protests organized around them against government policies have become a part of global politics since the Occupy Wall Street movement.