Regional
- The UN Leaders' Summit has started in Yerevan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the leaders of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Georgia are among those in attendance.
- Guterres urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to implement the provisions of the peace agreement during the press conference in Yerevan. The UN Secretary-General added that this naturally included the issue of detained persons.
- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he intends to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan by 2031. This is when the next parliamentary elections are set to take place in Armenia.
- Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that, in contrast to the Armenian Constitution, the issue of enclaves and exclaves does not pose an obstacle to the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The comments came after Pashinyan said earlier this week that neither country should have enclaves or exclaves.
Armenia
- Pashinyan has established a working group to discuss the efficiency of the South Caucasus Railway concession management with Russia and to identify potential solutions within three months.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he believes that the next meeting of foreign ministers within the ‘3+3’ regional format — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Iran — could be held in Azerbaijan, followed by a meeting in Yerevan.
Azerbaijan
- Two brothers have reportedly been detained in Nakhchivan over the hijab school ban issue. According to their relatives, who spoke to Meydan TV, the brothers were taken to the police after protesting against their children being barred from attending school wearing hijabs. Both brothers were reportedly sentenced to 25 days of administrative detention. It is unclear under which legal provision the sentences were handed down.
- Azerbaijan’s Parliament has issued a statement warning that hybrid attacks against the country have escalated. According to the statement, investigations conducted in cooperation with relevant state agencies have identified activities aimed at manipulating public opinion, polarising society, and undermining trust in state institutions.
- On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists that the ‘unbreakable bond’ between the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan would continue to exist ‘in the strongest possible way’, while also acknowledging that there were problems between the two countries. A few hours after Fidan’s remarks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared a post on X about education and the Maarif Foundation.
Georgia
- The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday that Vato Kipiani and Avtandil Bilanashvili, known as ‘Katsro’, had been detained and charged. Both are figures who the media have linked to the criminal underworld for years.
- A prisoner died at Kutaisi Prison No 2 on 9 October. The Special Penitentiary Service said yesterday that the prisoner fell from the upper bunk of a bunk bed in his cell and landed face down on the floor. He received medical assistance, but could not be saved.
- Viktor Japaridze, an MP elected to parliament on the Georgian Dream list and a member of the People’s Power party, has sold his 52% stake in POSTV, a TV channel sanctioned by the UK, for ₾1,000 ($380). Giorgi Shengelia, who previously managed Japaridze’s stake, is now the new majority owner of the TV channel.
- The court has decided to keep Iranian activist Mohammad Mahdi Rahimian in immigration detention. The Migration Department must make a final decision within three months on whether to deport him or grant him asylum or another legal status.
South Ossetia
- Russia will assist South Ossetia in establishing a data centre, developing fibre-optic infrastructure and modern mobile communications, and digitising public services. South Ossetian President Marat Kambolov announced this following a meeting with Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media Maksut Shadaev.
- President Marat Kambolov has made the first appointments to South Ossetia’s new government.
The North Caucasus
- The Daghestani Parliament has elected Fyodor Shchukin as Head of the republic. He received 78 of the 87 votes cast by lawmakers. Shchukin had served as acting Head of the republic since May 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced the republic’s leadership following devastating floods.
- Security forces in Chechnya are detaining relatives of Arbi Khaskhanov, who fled his military unit. He is currently in Slovakia, where he is seeking protection. RFE/RL reported this, citing Austrian human rights activist Roza Dunaeva.
- The Supreme Court of Daghestan has increased the sentences of former police officers Shamil Aliyev and Ramazan Saipulaev in a case involving the torture of local resident Yulduz Kurashova and the fabrication of a criminal case against her. The court replaced their suspended sentences with prison terms. This is the fourth time the verdict has been reviewed.
- A court in Nalchik has fined 29-year-old Eduard Udovydchenko ₽31,000 ($370) for ‘discrediting’ the army. According to the court ruling, Udovydchenko posted ‘text comments’ in a public Telegram channel that included the phrases ‘waging war on hospitals, schools and maternity hospitals’ and ‘drug addicts and alcoholics’.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.