Railway Deal Talks: Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan signaled a compromise with Russia over the railway concession, suggesting Russian Railways could keep a partial stake instead of full control being ended, aiming to reduce barriers to integrating Armenia’s network into wider international routes. Trade & Services Pulse: Armenia’s trade turnover hit $8.4bn in H1 2026 (AMD 3.2tn), with growth slowing to 0.9% y/y; wholesale eased while retail accelerated, and the service sector grew faster to 11.0% y/y (AMD 2.1tn), led by finance and information/communications. Energy Infrastructure: Armenia approved a KfW loan for the “Caucasus Transmission Network IV” project to expand electricity exchange with Georgia from 200 MW toward 1,050 MW, with an initial phase targeting 350 MW. AI Expansion: Firebird opened a major AI computing facility in Hrazdan, planning a multi-phase buildout up to 300 MW and deploying tens of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs by end-2027. Agriculture Exports: Armenia and Russia discussed tighter conditions affecting Armenian goods and transit, with agreement to intensify food-safety regulator cooperation; separate talks also explored boosting agricultural exports to Kazakhstan. Banking Markets: Fast Bank launched an IPO of dram bonds totaling 13bn AMD with a 10.25% coupon and maturity in 2028.