Latest news in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, summary. Live

●  Today, a verdict will be announced in the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder and director of the popular media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti. She has been in pretrial detention for six months after slapping the head of the Batumi city police, who had allegedly insulted her. Mzia is charged with assaulting a police officer and faces 4 to 7 years in prison.

Human rights activists argue that the slap, which caused no harm, does not constitute assault and should not be criminally punishable at all. Leading international press freedom organizations have united in support of Mzia Amaghlobeli. A resolution of the European Parliament demands her “immediate and unconditional release and the dropping of all politically motivated charges.” The European Parliament also expressed “deep concern over Mzia Amaghlobeli’s severe vision deterioration in custody” and called for her to receive “immediate access to medical care.” The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has also accepted the case for review.

Hundreds of activists, journalists, and concerned citizens from Tbilisi and other cities are expected to travel to Batumi today to show their support. All the details on Mzia Amaghlobeli’s case here

●  August 3 marked two years since the tragic landslide that struck the mountain resort of Shovi in Georgia. 33 people died, and the bodies of many victims were searched for over several weeks. One teenager’s body remains missing. The resort of Shovi no longer exists.
Here is a report from the site, one year after the tragedy.

●  Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream party announced that Georgian experts, in collaboration with a Swiss company, are studying glaciers and erosion processes across the country to prevent the risk of similar disasters. He spoke to journalists while visiting Shovi. Kobakhidze noted that there had been no previous precedents involving glacial mass collapse in Georgia, and thus no such studies had been conducted before.

●  Today, the final session will be held of the temporary parliamentary commission created by the Georgian Dream party to investigate the actions of the previous government during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili (2003–2012). The session will approve the commission’s draft conclusion on the actions of specific individuals who held political positions under that regime – and also includes a review of the actions of former officials currently in opposition. The final report will be reviewed at the plenary session of the Georgian Dream-led parliament in September. Six opposition leaders refused to cooperate with the commission and were each sentenced to several months in prison, read more here

●  Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party made another statement against the opposition, once again calling them “foreign agents.” “They are trying to undermine state institutions, and this is a direct order coming from outside. This includes efforts to discredit law enforcement agencies and the Central Election Commission. They do this despite sociological studies confirming that the approval rating of all state institutions exceeds 50%. The majority of the population’s trust in the CEC significantly exceeds 60%. This proves that the opposition’s campaigns are ineffective,” Kobakhidze told journalists.

●  Representatives of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party claimed that German Ambassador Peter Fischer, who has been openly critical of the Georgian authorities, is renting an apartment in Tbilisi owned by the family of opposition leader Mamuka Khazaradze. “This indicates the ambassador’s corruption,” Georgian Dream stated.

●  Grigol Gegelia, a leader of the Lelo – Strong Georgia alliance (co-founded by Mamuka Khazaradze), protested against these accusations, saying: “The authorities continue their campaign against ambassadors from Georgia’s friendly countries. They are seeking to expel the German ambassador from his residence – and even from the country. It’s unclear what they even want. There is a rental agreement in place. Khazaradze’s family and the businesses he founded pay hundreds of millions of lari in taxes annually. It’s absurd that the Prime Minister believes Germany’s foreign policy is determined by the lease agreement of its ambassador’s apartment,” Gegelia said.

Photo: Mzia Amaghlobeli

●  Syria has become the 14th country to which Azerbaijan supplies natural gas via various pipelines. “The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, is gaining increasing influence in regional and global energy markets,” said Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov. The opening of the Turkey–Syria gas pipeline segment took place on Saturday in the Turkish city of Kilis, 7 km from the Syrian border. The ceremony was attended by the energy ministers of Turkey and Syria, the economy minister of Azerbaijan, and the president of the Qatar Development Fund. Jabbarov noted that the project is not only commercial but also diplomatic, and recalled previous meetings of the presidents of the two countries in Antalya and Baku.

●  “In the near future, major energy resources and logistics flows will be directed to Turkey through the Zangezur Corridor,” said Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar to journalists. The Zangezur Corridor is a route from Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian territory, a point of sharp dispute between the two countries. Baku demands the road be extraterritorial, while Yerevan insists it will not relinquish control over the route on its territory. Bayraktar said that currently, oil, gas, and electricity supplies from Azerbaijan to Turkey go through Georgia. “Among the main projects implemented so far are the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, and the Nakhchivan-Turkey electricity interconnector. All these projects operate in parallel and in coordination. The Zangezur Corridor will become the main logistics route from Central Asia through Azerbaijan to Turkey and then to Europe,” Bayraktar said.

●  Azerbaijan’s delegation to the OSCE has called for the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group, which has operated since the early 1990s as a facilitator for negotiations on the Karabakh conflict under the co-chairmanship of the U.S., France, and Russia. “This structure has lost its relevance with the end of the conflict for which it was established,” the statement reads. “Azerbaijan was forced to restore its territorial integrity under conditions where the OSCE failed to fulfill its mandate for conflict resolution. […] The OSCE’s ability to respond effectively to security challenges will depend on how well the organization can learn from past failures. […] The OSCE’s limited resources should be directed to where they are most needed,” the statement says.

●  The pro-government outlet Report published a large article in support of the imminent opening of the first legalized casino in Azerbaijan. Gambling has been banned in the country since 1998 by a decree signed by then-president Heydar Aliyev. The current ambitious project (shown in the photo) is owned by Emin Agalarov, former son-in-law of the President of Azerbaijan, and is being implemented within the Sea Breeze resort complex on an artificial island near Baku. “This is an economic model aimed at returning funds and tourist traffic that for many years have been flowing out of the country. According to statistics, about 17% of casino visitors in Batumi, Georgia, are Azerbaijani citizens. Every year, they buy plane tickets, book hotels, and spend significant amounts in restaurants and shopping centers of the neighboring state. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan loses tourism income, job creation opportunities, and a taxable base,” Report writes. Sea Breeze is positioned as a year-round eco-friendly resort that “could turn the Caspian coast into the new capital of premium tourism in Eurasia.” Here is a critical analysis of this and similar projects.

●  The most discussed event in Armenia was the concert by American singer, actress, and dancer Jennifer Lopez on Sunday evening (video below). It drew more than 30,000 spectators, 15,000 of whom came to Armenia from other countries. The concert was held at the Republican Stadium, with both seated and standing areas for the audience. Media reported that residents of nearby high-rises watched the concert from their balconies and windows overlooking the stadium. In the days leading up to the concert, huge queues were observed at the Armenian-Georgian border crossing “Bagratashen,” as foreign guests arrived. Many couldn’t find hotel rooms in Yerevan, and some tourists stayed in regions closer to the capital.

Criticism began on July 31, when it became known that the Armenian government had allocated $6 million to organize Jennifer Lopez’s concert. The Armenian service of Radio Liberty requested additional information on the expenses. It turned out the government planned to pay the singer over $2.5 million, along with $37,000 for her two-day meals, $185,000 for hotel accommodations for the film crew, $11,500 each for a lawyer and an accountant, and $15,500 for the concert program producer.

The opposition harshly criticized the cabinet for squandering taxpayer money. Former Prime Minister Grant Bagratyan stated that “allocating $6 million from the state budget to Jennifer Lopez’s concert in Yerevan is unconstitutional” and claimed the decision carries significant corruption risks.

In response, ruling party MP Arsen Torosyan said the concert would bring “significant economic and international benefits.” According to figures he published, the thousands of attendees would generate a total added value of $10,071,320, with net profit—considering tourist spending—estimated at $4,071,320.

“Moreover, the concert brings Armenia $2 million in visibility value, promoting tourism and international recognition. This analysis was performed by Grok, an artificial intelligence system created by xAI. This concert shows that the Armenian government’s investment is not only financially sound, but also a strategic step for the country’s future development,” he wrote.

●  Preliminary investigation has concluded in a criminal case regarding an attempted assassination of former Armenian Prime Minister and ‘Republic’ Party leader Aram Sargsyan. The investigation revealed “credible factual evidence that S.S. was planning to murder Aram Sargsyan in July 2025 and had acquired and stored an F-1 grenade” for that purpose. An Armenian Telegram channel, citing its sources, claimed the attempt failed because the National Security Service intervened in time and monitored the situation. The motive behind the planned attack is still unknown.

●  Russian media reports that 140 tons of food and hygiene supplies are set to be delivered to Armenia as a “new batch of humanitarian aid for displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.” The initiative is organized by Rossotrudnichestvo, a federal agency responsible for spreading Russia’s humanitarian influence globally. Many Karabakh Armenians responded on social media calling to reject the aid. One of them, David Babayan, head of the NGO “Union of Wounded Freedom Fighters,” stated: “What did Russia do in Artsakh? The murder of our innocent citizens whom the peacekeepers were supposed to protect; days of blockade—we must not forget this; handing over our military-political leadership as hostages, and more shady deals.” Renowned Karabakh journalist Marut Vanyan also reacted negatively: “Russia again decided to ‘help’ Armenians in Artsakh. 140 tons of food and hygiene items. Don’t forget to line up pregnant women and film them on phones, like you did in Nagorno-Karabakh before. Thanks, but we don’t need your toilet paper.”

●  The joint Armenian-American military exercise “Eagle Partner 2025” will take place from August 12 to 20 in Armenia. It will involve Armenia’s peacekeeping brigade, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, and the Kansas National Guard. The goal is to train troops for international peacekeeping missions. These exercises have been held before and consistently trigger negative reactions from Moscow. Last year, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Yerevan was undermining security cooperation with Russia: “These exercises are nothing but regrettable. They are being held against the backdrop of Armenia freezing its participation in the [Russia-led military bloc] CSTO and publicly criticizing the organization,” she said. More on last year’s drills and reactions — here.

●  Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee told local media that Azerbaijan’s airspace is ‘theoretically open’ to Armenian civilian aircraft. The reason they don’t fly through it is an internal decision by the airlines.

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 28 July-1 August, 2025