Regional
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office has denied that Pashinyan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Turkmenistan. Russian media had reported that the meeting took place on the sidelines of the Caspian Environmental Summit.
- Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov visited Baku, where he met Aliyev. Kadyrov mentioned the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in December 2024, which was caused by a Russian air defence missile striking it over Grozny, describing it as ‘a shared pain’. 38 people were killed in the crash.
Armenia
- Pashinyan has announced the opening of the Amulsar gold mine two weeks ahead of COP17. The mine was due to open back in 2019, but concerns about its environmental impact on Armenia’s water resources and surrounding communities delayed the project.
- A soldier was found dead with a gunshot wound on Saturday. His death has added to a growing number of non-combat fatalities in the army.
- The EU’s preferential trade programme for Armenian goods came into effect on Saturday. The measures cover around 80% of Armenia’s exports to the EU and were introduced after Russia implemented restrictions.
- Catholicos Karekin II and other senior clergy members met in Etchmiadzin on Friday to discuss the parliamentary commission formed to reform the church. They called the process an ‘illegal’ attempt to interfere in the church’s internal affairs, and urged the ruling Civil Contract Party to act according to the legislature.
Azerbaijan
- The ECHR has ordered the state to pay journalist Rauf Mirkadirov and activist Fuad Ahmadli a total of €8,000 ($9,000). In Mirkadirov’s case, the court found that his right to a fair trial had been violated and in Ahmadli’s, that the authorities had failed to provide sufficient grounds for keeping him in detention and that his right to the presumption of innocence had been violated. Azerbaijan generally does not enforce ECHR rulings.
- Meydan TV’s imprisoned editor-in-chief is at risk of kidney failure, the independent media outlet reported. Editor-in-chief Aynur Elgunash is facing serious health problems, according to her relatives, who say she suffers from kidney pain and high blood pressure. Elgunash has been imprisoned for 22 months and her relatives claim she has been denied access to adequate medical care in this time.
- Instagram, Telegram, Threads, and TikTok have reportedly been blocked, with many linking the restrictions to ongoing protests against hijab bans in schools. There has been a growing number of videos shared on these platforms, showing protests at schools against the ban.
Georgia
- The General Prosecutor’s Office has dropped its investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of prisoner Giorgi Davitadze by prison guards. On Saturday, the agency said that no crime had been established in the case, and added that a ‘proportionate measure of coercion’ was used against Davitadze ‘for the purpose of a personal search’.
- The Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into National Bank Council member Nana Keinishvili over suspected involvement in illicit business activities. The investigation follows complaints alleging that she controls businesses regulated by the National Bank through family members and affiliated individuals, and tried to acquire a stake in a regulated company.
- Giorgi Kirvalidze, a Gama fighter accused in the 4 October ‘peaceful revolution’ case, has been sentenced to seven days of detention for insulting Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. TV Pirveli reported that Kirvalidze insulted Ivanishvili during a court hearing on Friday.
- The US Department of State has kept Georgia in its highest risk tier for human trafficking. In its 26th annual human trafficking report, the US said Georgia continued to make serious and sustained efforts to combat human trafficking, but prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers and identified fewer victims. It also criticised the government’s lack of cooperation with civil society organisations.
- A Georgian man, Lasha Broladze, has been killed fighting against Russia in Ukraine. His death was announced on Sunday by fellow soldier Giorgi Partsvania. According to information collected by RFE/RL over more than four years, around 90 Georgians have been killed fighting against Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Abkhazia
- Debris from a Ukrainian drone that attacked Sochi fell in Abkhazia near the settlement of Tsandripsh (Gantiadi), close to the border. There have been no reports of damage or casualties.
The North Caucasus
- Chechnya’s mufti, Salah Mezhiev, has described praying for Ramzan Kadyrov as a duty for Chechens, declaring his inauguration ‘a blessing from the Almighty’.
- Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has awarded his daughter, Tabarik Kadyrova, the republic’s highest honour: the Order of Kadyrov. It has emerged that, in addition to a large group of companies, a non-profit business centre is also now registered in her name.
Russia’s Justice Ministry has added Muslim Satuev (Phlarmat), a video blogger who is originally from Chechnya but lives in Lithuania, to its register of ‘foreign agents’. - The US has deported Idris Makhmudov, who is reportedly of Chechen origin. He was one of the organisers of a hunger strike at an immigration detention centre in the state of Georgia, which more than 70 detainees joined. Makhmudov has also been barred from entering the US for 10 years.
- Chechnya has become one of six Russian regions where, as part of an experiment, civilians are allowed to take the Ready for Labour and Defence (GTO) fitness test in operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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.