LIVE: Key morning headlines from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia

● The 20th Session of the Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States opens today in Baku. More than 400 delegates from over 40 countries, including speakers of parliament from more than 10 countries and representatives of 10 international organizations, are taking part. The session will conclude on June 25.

● President Ilham Aliyev met with a Jordanian delegation led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which arrived in Baku to participate in the conference.

● Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan plan to expand cooperation in the energy and transport-logistics sectors, as well as strengthen cooperation in the Caspian Sea. These issues will be discussed during the upcoming visit to Baku by Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, according to Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry.

●  Azerbaijan has sent 17 railcars carrying 1,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to Armenia. On the same day, 18 railcars carrying 1,260 tonnes of Russian grain were dispatched to Armenia in transit through Azerbaijan. According to official figures, Azerbaijan has so far exported more than 13,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and over 4,000 tonnes of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline to Armenia. In addition, more than 32,000 tonnes of grain, 7,000 tonnes of fertilizers, 133 tonnes of aluminum, 68 tonnes of buckwheat, and 414 tonnes of anthracite from Russia have been transported to Armenia via Azerbaijan.

● Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement marking World Refugee Day on June 20, expressing solidarity with millions of people worldwide who continue to face hardship, displacement, and the loss of their homes and livelihoods. “For Azerbaijan, the issue of forced displacement has particular significance. As a result of the aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani territories, more than one million people became refugees and internally displaced persons, living in hardship for decades,” the statement said. It also noted that, following the restoration of the country’s territorial integrity, Azerbaijan is implementing a large-scale reconstruction and redevelopment program in the formerly occupied territories.

● Azerbaijani boxer Saidjamshid Jafarov won the gold medal at the Boxing World Cup in Guiyang, China. Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Murad Allahverdiyev and Alfonso Dominguez won bronze medals at the tournament.

Photo Zulfugar Karimov

● The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by the pro-Russian opposition challenging the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections. The plaintiffs include the Strong Armenia alliance, the Wings of Unity, Democracy, Law and Order, Prosperous Armenia, New Force, Alliance of Defenders of Democracy for the Republic, and the Armenia party bloc. Read more here

● The European Commission has allocated €34 million to Armenia to help mitigate the impact of Russian trade restrictions on Armenian exports.

● In May, Georgia imported 218.2 tonnes of flowers from Armenia, a record monthly volume. According to Georgia’s National Statistics Office, flower imports from Armenia increased 2.9-fold. This is significant for Armenia, as Russia had traditionally been its main export market but blocked imports of Armenian flowers and other products after the Armenian government announced its intention to pursue EU integration.

● Another shipment of Russian wheat — 490 tonnes in seven railcars — has been sent to Armenia by rail via Azerbaijan. More than 29,000 tonnes of grain have already been transported to Armenia along this route, as well as fertilizers, coal, aluminum, and other cargo.

● Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Yerevan Botanical Garden to inspect the construction of the Life Square project. The central alley and bicycle path have already been completed, while reconstruction of the cascading stairways is ongoing. The Armenian government has allocated 5.026 billion drams (about $13.7 million) for the project.

● A rockfall occurred on the Yerevan–Meghri highway leading to the resort town of Jermuk. About 2 cubic meters of rocks fell onto the road. The highway has since been cleared and reopened to traffic.

● A delegation led by the mayor of the French city of Vienne has arrived in Armenia. The visit is part of cooperation between Armenia’s Syunik Province and France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (Isère Department). The delegation visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

● Japanese Ambassador Yutaka Aoki attended the opening of the exhibition “Yakishime: Earthly Metamorphoses” at the History Museum of Armenia. The exhibition showcases the history of Japan’s ceramic tradition. “We are pleased to see in Armenia exhibits that are around 900 years old. The exhibition tells the story of a tradition passed down from generation to generation. The same techniques are still used today to produce plates, bowls and vases,” the ambassador told journalists.

Photo: International Day of Yoga celebrated in Yerevan.

● A march was held in Tbilisi to mark the seventh anniversary of the events that came to be known as the “Gavrilov Night.” On the night of June 20–21, 2019, authorities violently dispersed a mass protest outside the parliament building using rubber bullets and batons. Two people lost an eye after being struck by rubber bullets, around 240 were injured, and dozens were arrested. The immediate trigger for the protests was that, during the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy held in the Georgian parliament, Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov took the speaker’s chair. The march took place on the 571st consecutive day of protests in Georgia, whose main demand is that the government fulfill the European Union’s conditions and resume the country’s EU integration process. Here are photos and videos from the march. Below is a video report about the events of 2019–2020.

● Abkhazia’s de facto Foreign Ministry has criticized the Georgian educational project “When I Return to Abkhazia,” calling it part of a “revanchist policy” and accusing Georgia of imposing a distorted view of history on young people. “Such attempts to replace historical memory with propaganda narratives are further proof of Georgia’s unwillingness to acknowledge its responsibility for starting the war,” the statement said. According to Sokhumi, the only genuine indication of Tbilisi’s peaceful intentions would be the signing of a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force against Abkhazia.

● Ia Darakhvelidze, who was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison in connection with the alleged attempted attack on the presidential administration on October 4 last year, said she had left the country to attend scheduled events abroad. She said she had informed both the Prosecutor’s Office and the court in writing beforehand and that her passport had not been confiscated. Read more about the verdicts in the October 4 case here.

● The Presidium of the State Academy of Arts has expressed deep concern over the five-year prison sentence handed to the Academy’s president, Professor Giorgi Chakhunashvili, and six other defendants in the October 4 case. It called for an objective review of the case, international monitoring, and the involvement of human rights organizations.

● Parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who have been holding a public protest demanding state funding for expensive medication, say the health minister has received preliminary responses from pharmaceutical companies regarding the financing and import of the drugs. A final decision is expected next week. According to the parents, the process is moving forward based on an agreement reached with the prime minister.

● A young woman died after falling onto the tracks at Didube metro station in Tbilisi. An investigation has been launched.

● A truck driver was killed in Tbilisi’s Didube district when a steel structure he was transporting fell onto the cab during braking. The incident is being investigated under the article covering violations of traffic safety or transport operation rules.

● On June 28, Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III will personally bless worshippers at Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi following the Divine Liturgy.

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 15-19 June, 2026