Beyond the players, 1,000 foreign fans and volunteers are expected to arrive, marking a record number of participants for a team sport tournament in Armenia.
In a letter from the detention facility, Archbishop Galstanyan responded to reports that Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders may meet in Dubai in late July.
“We were deeply surprised to hear of the alleged moral transgressions which Prime Minister Pashinyan attributes to Armenian bishops,” the statement says.
Earlier in the week, Turkey’s former CHP mayor of Izmir and 137 municipal staff were detained in connection with investigations into tender-rigging and fraud.
Vardevanyan decries Prosecutor General’s direct role in launching charges against Samvel Karapetyan, calling it unprecedented and politically motivated.
Prosecutors claim he knowingly concealed the land seizure and illegal construction, presenting falsified documents that misrepresented the site’s condition.