LIVE: Key morning headlines from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia

● President Ilham Aliyev made a state visit to Uzbekistan over the weekend. Pro-government media described it as a “new, symbolic and practical stage” in relations between the two countries. Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a one-on-one meeting and chaired the third meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council. They signed a “Treaty of Eternal Friendship,” awarded each other the countries’ highest state orders, and attended ceremonies to inaugurate and lay the foundations for Azerbaijani investment projects in Uzbekistan.

●  During his visit to Tashkent, Ilham Aliyev announced that Azerbaijan plans to invest $5 billion in Uzbekistan’s tourism sector. Analysts, meanwhile, note a significant increase in the activity of Azerbaijani companies directly or indirectly linked to Aliyev’s family in the Uzbek market, including PASHA Holding and the Sea Breeze project of the president’s former son-in-law Emin Agalarov. More here 

● Ilham Aliyev: “Uzbekistan has accumulated extensive experience in the automotive industry and is sharing this experience with Azerbaijan. The first project has already been implemented, and now we are talking about a full production cycle. More than $80 million in investment is planned in Hajigabul, Azerbaijan, where a second plant is being built, which will essentially give a major boost to the country’s automotive industry.”

● At a joint press conference, Ilham Aliyev said that “Uzbekistan is the first country to have helped Azerbaijan rebuild Karabakh after its liberation from occupation by Armenian forces.”

● Ilham Aliyev invited Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to make a state visit to Azerbaijan.

● Akif Gurbanov, head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, and journalist Farid Ismayilov, who were arrested in the “Toplum TV case,” have also been placed in solitary confinement. Earlier, activists Ruslan Izzetli and Ali Zeynal, who are also defendants in the case, were reportedly placed in solitary confinement. The information was shared by relatives of the detainees. Izzetli is reportedly suffering from serious health problems.

Arrests in the “Toplum TV case” began in March 2024. The initial charges were related to smuggling and were later toughened. All the activists and journalists deny any wrongdoing and say their arrests were politically motivated. On July 27 this year, the defendants were sentenced. Akif Gurbanov, head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, and board co-founder Ruslan Izzetli were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Toplum TV co-founder Alasgar Mammadli and activist Ali Zeynal received 14-year sentences. Institute for Democratic Initiatives staff members Ramil Babayev and Ilkin Amrahov, and Toplum TV video editor Mushfig Jabbar were sentenced to 13 years. Journalists Farid Ismayilov and Elmir Abbasov received sentences of 11 years, 11 months and 28 days.

The court also ordered the confiscation of their cars and apartments.

● For the first time in Azerbaijan, cryptocurrency has been confiscated in favor of the state. A trial has concluded against two people arrested by the State Security Service. The court found them guilty of illegally transferring large sums of money out of Azerbaijan or into the country. They were sentenced to two and a half and three years in prison, respectively, and fined heavily: one must pay more than 3 million manats (about $1.8 million), while the other was fined nearly 32 million manats (about $18.8 million). The state also confiscated 830 units of cryptocurrency held in an account with the international virtual-asset platform Binance.

Özbəkistanın tanınmış sənətçisi Akilbek Piyazovun repertuarında dahi Azərbaycan bəstəkarı və müğənnisi Müslim Maqomayevin “Синяя вечность” adlı möhtəşəm əsəri. pic.twitter.com/LkUv2C8CJ7

— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) August 23, 2026

● Another pro-European “Saturday March” was held in central Tbilisi. It was dedicated to Georgian citizens who have left the country in search of work and due to a lack of prospects. Participants said the growing emigration is driven by the policies of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which they say have pushed the country away from the European integration path enshrined in the Constitution. Many blame the party’s founder and honorary chairman, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, personally. “When the state serves Ivanishvili, villages and cities become deserted” was the main message of the march, reflected in the slogans and speeches. Organizers said the traditional Saturday marches throughout September would be dedicated to supporting Georgian emigrants. Here is the JAMnews video podcast “Protests in Georgia.”

● Georgia and Uzbekistan have launched a digital permit system for international road freight transport. Carriers will be able to obtain and use permits entirely electronically. Georgia already has similar systems with Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Kazakhstan. According to the Land Transport Agency, the new mechanism will reduce administrative barriers and facilitate the movement of goods along the Middle Corridor.

● Around 286,000 trucks have passed through Georgia’s transport corridor since the beginning of the year, about 9,200 more than during the same period last year. Freight transport generated 100.2 million lari (about $40 million) in budget revenue, up 3.2 million lari (about $1.5 million) year-on-year.

● In the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia), four candidates have been announced for the early “presidential election” on September 18: Marat Kambolov, a representative of the Russian authorities who is currently serving as “president,” as well as Zurab Kokoev, Murat Valiev and Kazbek Kodoev. A fifth candidate, Khokhu Chochiev, was denied registration due to discrepancies in his documents and collected signatures.

● The bodies of three sisters were found in a residential house in the village of Kulishkari, Zugdidi municipality. According to a local administration representative, the women lived alone and had not been seen in public for four to five days. The cause of death has not yet been established. An investigation has been launched, with experts testing food and water samples as poisoning is being considered as one possible cause.

● A 67-year-old man was found dead in Imereti. He was reportedly suspected of possible sexual harassment of an 11-year-old girl. According to available information, the man had communicated with the minor by phone, and the child told her parents about it. The family handed evidence over to the Interior Ministry. An investigation is underway.

●  The family of a 21-year-old Russian citizen who died in Batumi on August 15 is demanding that he be recognized as a victim and that the charge under which the investigation was opened be changed. The case is currently being investigated as incitement to suicide. The family believes other people may have been involved in his death. According to the lawyer, an initial examination found no signs of violence; the final expert report is still pending.

● Pro-Russian opposition groups criticized the authorities on the 36th anniversary of Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, adopted on August 23, 1990. The declaration remains at the center of public debate because Azerbaijan refuses to sign a peace agreement with Armenia over a reference to it in Armenia’s current Constitution. The declaration calls for the reunification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan considers this a territorial claim. Baku has long insisted that a peace agreement can be signed only if Armenia removes the reference from its Constitution. Armenian authorities have repeatedly said that constitutional changes are needed for Armenia itself and that the issue has never been discussed with anyone outside the country. A draft of the new Constitution is expected to be published in the coming weeks for nationwide public debate.

The Strong Armenia party said: “The Declaration of Independence is a cornerstone of statehood and a historical legacy that stands above the political agenda pursued by the authorities of the day.”

The Dashnaktsutyun movement said: “Remaining faithful to the idea of independence, we must find the strength to reject an anti-national government and reaffirm our desire to live freely and our determination to build an independent, sovereign, democratic, social and law-based state.”

The declaration was read out at a parliamentary session by a young MP named Aram Manukyan, after the founder of the First Republic of Armenia. He said that “the Armenian people welcomed the adoption of the Declaration of Independence with the greatest happiness and a sense of pride. Neither Nikol Pashinyan nor any other Bolshevik will be able to tarnish or consign to oblivion the birth certificate of our country.”

● Russia’s Foreign Ministry has again expressed its interest in maintaining control over Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant, the backbone of the country’s energy security. The plant was built and operates with the involvement of Russian specialists, while its nuclear fuel is also supplied by Russia. The plant’s operating license expired this year, but the Armenian government extended it for another 10 years. During this period, the existing plant must either be upgraded or a new one built. In February, during US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Armenia, the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in civilian nuclear energy. Washington was reportedly offering Armenia $9 billion in investment for fuel, maintenance and the possible construction of a new nuclear plant. Russia, however, wants to retain its role in Armenia’s nuclear energy sector.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called claims that the Metsamor plant poses a security threat to the region “destructive.” “We see such claims as attempts to sow division in Russian-Armenian cooperation and obstruct initiatives involving Russia. Such statements promote Western projects and technologies that are genuinely destructive for the region and significantly inferior to Russian ones, including in terms of safety,” Zakharova said.

● The body of serviceman Edgar Gevorgyan was found at a military base with a gunshot wound. According to the Defense Ministry’s press service, a suspect in the killing has been detained.

● A police officer who beat two investigators, along with two of his relatives, has been arrested, the Investigative Committee’s press service reported. The incident reportedly involved a police officer who was under the influence of alcohol and around 20 people connected to him through friendship or family ties.

● Armenia’s Interior Ministry reported a tragic incident in Yerevan: a 53-year-old Russian citizen died by suicide after jumping from the window of his seventh-floor apartment.

● Three flights were canceled and another 12 delayed at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport on Sunday. No reason was given.

● The Varchafest 2026 summer youth music festival has opened on the shores of Lake Sevan. The festival aims to support young musical groups and promote the tradition of live music. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the festival site over the weekend and toured the pavilions.

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 17-21 August, 2026