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

● A court trial has begun in Baku against 12 journalists currently under arrest in the so-called “Meydan TV case.” If found guilty, the journalists face up to 12 years in prison on a range of financial crime charges linked to alleged funding from Western donors, including currency smuggling, money laundering, and tax evasion. All defendants categorically deny the charges and say they are being persecuted for their critical reporting on the authorities. Those appearing in court include:

• Meydan TV journalists Natig Javadli, Khayala Aghayeva, Aytaj Tapdig, Aynur Elgunesh, Aysel Umudova, and Ramin Jabrailzade. They were arrested in December 2024 along with Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism.

• Arqument.az editor-in-chief Shamshad Agha, who collaborated with Meydan TV, and freelance contributors Nurlan Gahramanli and Fatima Movlamli, who were arrested in February and March 2025.

• Former Voice of America correspondent Ulviya Ali, who denies any connection to Meydan TV. She was arrested in May 2025.

• Freelance photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar, who was arrested in August this year.

Those charged in this case are among at least 24 journalists currently under arrest or imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Earlier this year, seven journalists were sentenced to prison terms of up to nine years on similar charges in the case involving the popular investigative outlet Abzas Media.

●  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) protested and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to drop all charges and release the detained journalists. “The grim spectacle of the trial of 11 journalists and a respected journalism educator underscores the scale and unjustified nature of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on the independent press,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. The committee said it had sent a request to President Ilham Aliyev’s office for comment but received no response.

●  A new stage in the development of energy partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States was discussed during meetings in Washington between Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Director General of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service David L. Vogel, and White House National Energy Dominance Council Director Jarrod Agen. “The role of Azerbaijan in bringing oil and gas resources to international markets, developing the Southern Gas Corridor, and green energy corridors was assessed,” Shahbazov wrote on X. He said the discussions covered cooperation opportunities in oil and gas export and transit routes, electricity, and the TRIPP transit project through the South Caucasus region. The expansion of cooperation with ExxonMobil, which is involved in the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli field development project, was also discussed.

●  A presentation of a new documentary film about Ruben Vardanyan took place in Baku. Vardanyan, a Russian oligarch and Armenian citizen currently in pretrial detention in Azerbaijan, was arrested as the former “state minister” of the former unrecognized “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.” He is accused of torture, mercenarism, war crimes, terrorism, and other crimes.
The film, titled The Oligarch’s Design, was produced by AnewZ TV. It is described as an investigation into how “financial power, political influence, and targeted narratives can shape conflicts and public perception.” The film reportedly draws on international journalistic investigations, open-source intelligence data, and materials related to the exposed large-scale offshore financial network known as the Troika Laundromat, linked to Russian corporate and political interests. It also examines the context of Vardanyan’s decision to renounce Russian citizenship in 2022 and assume leadership of an unrecognized separatist entity.

● Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev wrote on X about a productive meeting in San Francisco with a group of more than twenty ethnic Azerbaijanis working in Silicon Valley and at various U.S. technology companies. “There was an exchange of views on the contribution these young professionals could make to the development of Azerbaijan’s digital sector, as well as possible support for their work from the Azerbaijani side,” the minister wrote.

●  Uzbekistan Culture Days are being held in Azerbaijan from December 14 to 20.

● Today, December 15, World Turkic Languages Day is being marked for the first time. The decision was adopted at UNESCO’s General Conference in November this year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The Turkic language family includes Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Turkmen, and Uzbek, which together are the native languages of more than 200 million people. The initiative to establish World Turkic Languages Day was put forward by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan and was supported by 21 countries.

●  Ruben Babayan, director of the Yerevan Puppet Theatre, suggested flogging Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, who was sentenced to two years in prison for calling for the overthrow of the government. Babayan proposed “adopting the punishment used in Iran — 20 or 30 blows with sticks.” “Many of our talkers would hold their tongues if they knew such a punishment awaited them,” he said in an interview with Public Television.

●  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a liturgy again, this time at a church in the village of Aygeshat in Armenia’s Armavir region. The service was led by the head of the diocese, Archbishop Sion Adamyan, together with Priest Mkrtich Mushadyan, who also conducted a liturgy in Gyumri last week. Services held by clergy who publicly support Pashinyan in his confrontation with the leadership of the Armenian Church have become a regular occurrence. The service in Gyumri sparked protests in Echmiadzin, where church representatives claimed the church had been “forcibly seized.” Several clergy are already under arrest for political calls against the state. Pashinyan has stated that the Catholicos violated the vow of celibacy and should step down. Local media are actively reporting on Russia’s support for church leaders. Here is more on the latest developments in this confrontation and its underlying causes.

●  Nikol Pashinyan has begun publishing video messages explaining the campaign against the church and its causes. In one video, he answered why he now attends liturgy every Sunday, having not done so in previous years: “Because some high-ranking church officials, through their actions, have driven thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people like me out of the church. It is impossible to constantly remain in such an atmosphere and environment. There is much talk about sectarianism, but the biggest sectarian is Ktrich Nersisyan (the Catholicos’s secular name) and his narrow circle,” Pashinyan said.

●  Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, has been re-elected as chairman of the Armenian National Congress.

●  Armenia should commit to reimbursing the costs of medical care for Armenian citizens who seek asylum in European Union member states due to health-related issues. This was stated by Arman Yeghoyan, chair of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on European Integration, in an interview with CivilNet. “Of course, our goal is for as few people as possible to leave for this reason, and for as many as possible to have access to comparable medical services here in Armenia. But if something cannot be provided and people seek asylum for this reason and incur expenses, then yes — Armenia must reimburse them. That is the plan,” Yeghoyan said.

●  Twelve-year-old Albert Armenakyan placed fourth at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025, the final of which was held in Tbilisi. The top three places went to France, Ukraine, and Georgia.

●  The lights of Armenia’s main Christmas tree were switched on in Republic Square in Yerevan following a symbolic performance of “Brave Heart” by Junior Eurovision participant Albert Armenakyan. More than $1.5 million was allocated from the city budget for festive lighting and decorations — $150,000 more than last year.

● Protests continue on Rustaveli Avenue in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi – for more than a year now, every day. On December 14, protesters joined a global demonstration in support of Ukraine — “Stop the Safari on People / Save Kherson.” The campaign opposes war crimes committed by Russia and is being held simultaneously in more than 40 cities worldwide on December 13, 14, and 15. In addition, the protesters in Tbilisi continue to demand new, fair parliamentary elections and the release of those detained during the protests.

● On Sunday, elections for the chair of the Georgian Bar Association took place. The vote drew media attention amid reports of violations. Independent media claim that lawyer-delegates were transported from the regions in minibuses on the condition that they support the pro-government candidate Irakli Kandashvili. Nevertheless, Kandashvili failed to win in the first round, receiving 1,283 votes, while Irakli Chomakhashvili, a defense lawyer for activists detained during protests, received 1,109 votes. A runoff is scheduled in two weeks.

● Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, will be released from Rustavi prison on December 19 after serving seven months in detention. He was arrested on May 22 for refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary commission established by Georgian Dream to investigate the activities of the previous government during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili.

● The Unity–National Movement party has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against laws adopted by Georgian Dream that ban political parties and individuals from engaging in political activity. The party says the laws contradict the Constitution.

● Georgian Dream–backed President Mikheil Kavelashvili said that “Georgia definitely wants to be part of Europe, despite the fact that the European Union is currently going through a crisis.” He added that Georgia is not abandoning its path toward European integration and hopes the EU will withstand global challenges, including confrontation with the United States. “We are ready for dialogue with the EU, but protecting national interests is our priority. Our messages must be clear to everyone: we want peace, stability, and economic development, and we are ready for dialogue with all. We must remain vigilant to emerge victorious from these events — by which I mean preventing radical violence and foreign interference in Georgia’s affairs,” Kavelashvili said.

● The final of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025 took place in Tbilisi. First place went to French performer Lou Deluze with the song “Ce Monde.” Second and third places were taken by representatives of Ukraine and Georgia — both ethnic Armenians — Sofia Nersisyan and Anita Abgaryan, respectively. Eighteen countries took part in the contest.

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 8-12 December, 2025