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

● The Helsinki Commission will hold a briefing on January 28 on the current situation in Georgia titled “Escalating Suppression of Dissent by the Georgian Dream Party.” According to the commission’s website, “Since October 2024, the ruling Georgian Dream party has plunged Georgia into the most severe human rights crisis since independence. They have adopted more than 20 new laws expanding state power to suppress dissent and stripping the judiciary of its independence.”

● Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream has continued to speak about measures to reduce food prices. He said that business freedom is one of the party’s key achievements since coming to power in 2012. “It is clear that businesses aim to maximize profits, but there is also social responsibility, and together with them we want to ensure lower prices,” Kobakhidze said.

● Kobakhidze also stated that “several Georgian producers reached an agreement regarding a specific product and simultaneously raised its price by 25%.” He said the State Security Service has launched an investigation to determine whether a cartel agreement took place. The same may apply to online marketplaces and distribution networks, he added.

● David Matikashvili, head of parliament’s procedural committee, announced the imminent creation of a temporary investigative commission on food price regulation. The commission will summon specific individuals directly involved in price-setting, he said.

● Against the backdrop of Georgian Dream’s campaign against high prices and visits by State Security Service officers to distribution and retail companies, the popular supermarket chain Nikora announced it is hiring a law enforcement liaison officer. Former National Bank president Roman Gotsiridze compared the situation to Soviet-era repression of business. “Under accusations of sabotage and spying for a foreign state (today called the ‘deep state’), the Soviet industrial elite was destroyed. One thing should be noted: the harsher the punishment, the more the public applauds,” Gotsiridze wrote.

● Opposition politician Givi Targamadze will be released from prison today after serving seven months, his lawyer said. He was arrested in June 2025 and sentenced for refusing to cooperate with a temporary parliamentary commission investigating the previous government (during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency, starting in 2004). A court also banned Targamadze from holding public office for two years. Several other opposition figures were also convicted on similar charges.

● The volume of gas transported through the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum) in 2025 nearly doubled compared to 2020, reaching 22.933 billion cubic meters, according to Georgia’s Oil and Gas Corporation. The pipeline delivers gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Turkey and onward to Europe. Georgia is also crossed by the North–South gas pipeline supplying Russian gas to Armenia. In 2024, deliveries totaled 2.229 billion cubic meters, slightly less than in 2023. The Georgian section of the pipeline is 234 kilometers long, with a design capacity of 12 billion cubic meters per year.

● Georgian Dream has appointed a new diplomatic representative to Russia. Aleksandre Tsuladze will head Georgia’s interests section at the Swiss Embassy in Moscow. From October 2024 to June 2025, Tsuladze served as minister of education. Previously, he was a deputy minister and, until 2023, a Supreme Court judge.

● Russian politician Mikhail Timofeyev has been detained in Georgia and may be extradited to Russia. The 60-year-old is an aide and political ally of former Khabarovsk governor Sergei Furgal, whose 22-year sentence sparked mass protests in 2020–2021. In 2023, Russian authorities arrested Timofeyev in absentia in connection with a 2004 murder case; pro-government media label him a “criminal authority.” Timofeyev arrived in Georgia in March 2024 and applied for asylum, citing political persecution, but Georgia denied his request. He faces no charges in Georgia; his detention is solely linked to a possible extradition.

● A scandal is unfolding within the Georgian Orthodox Church after altar servers accused a clergyman of sexual harassment, according to Pirveli TV. The Georgian Patriarchate’s public relations service said a written complaint is required, after which appropriate review procedures will begin.

● Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has arrived in Azerbaijan on a diplomatic visit and will later travel to Kazakhstan. He is accompanied by a large delegation of more than 40 Israeli business leaders and government officials from various sectors. At Sa’ar’s initiative, business forums will be held in Baku and Astana alongside official meetings. The visit to Astana is reportedly linked to Kazakhstan’s possible accession to the Abraham Accords, the landmark agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states — the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. In Astana, Sa’ar will also take part in an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

● Azerbaijan participated as a special guest in the third annual forum of parliamentary legal affairs committees of Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Albania, held in Romania. The forum focused on “The Rule of Law as the Foundation of European Integration and the Protection of Fundamental Rights.” Participants included lawmakers, senior prosecutors, Supreme Court officials, diplomats, lawyers, and public figures.

● A photo exhibition on Azerbaijani architecture was organized for forum participants in connection with Azerbaijan’s declared Year of Urban Development and Architecture. The exhibition showcased urban development projects, particularly in the Karabakh region, and highlighted Azerbaijan’s landmine problem resulting from more than 30 years of Armenian occupation. Romanian Senator Cristian-Augustin Niculescu-Țâgârlaș, a member of the Romania–Azerbaijan parliamentary friendship group, spoke at the opening, sharing impressions from his visit to Karabakh last summer and emphasizing Azerbaijan’s leading role in regional logistics and transport projects.

● The volume of gas transported via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum) in 2025 nearly doubled compared to 2020, reaching 22.933 billion cubic meters, according to Georgia’s Oil and Gas Corporation. The pipeline carries gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Turkey and onward to Europe.

● The American-Azerbaijani Youth and Sports Association has launched a multi-stage professional fighting tournament titled The Gauntlet in New York. The tournament features MMA and kickboxing bouts and includes both professional fighters and amateurs. It follows a knockout format, with eight athletes competing in each weight class. The association’s founder, U.S.-based world and European champion Elgun Khanoglanly, said the tournament aims to help Azerbaijani athletes gain exposure in the United States.

● Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, who has been arrested on charges of calling for a coup, was denied Holy Communion, Yerkir.am reports. Ajapahyan recently underwent surgery and is currently hospitalized. The incident occurred during a Divine Liturgy conducted by a cleric of the medical center.

● Two people were killed in the city of Goris following a domestic dispute. A grenade exploded in the hand of 45-year-old Varuzhan Yolian, killing both him and 38-year-old Armen Yolian. A 30-year-old Goris resident who was present at the scene was injured and hospitalized. Local media report that Armen Yolian was the driver of the mayor of Goris and had been in a long-running inheritance dispute with his relative over their grandfather’s mansion. The case had reached court, but no ruling had yet been issued.

● A scandal has erupted between the Armenian and Ukrainian national teams at the European Futsal Championship, being held in Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia. Following a group-stage match on January 22, both sides exchanged accusations. The Ukrainian Football Association filed a complaint with UEFA’s disciplinary bodies against Armenian player Denis Nevedrov and the entire Armenian team, accusing them of unsportsmanlike conduct. According to local media, the complaint was prompted by an offensive remark allegedly made by Nevedrov, who also holds Russian citizenship.
Armenia, however, submitted a letter to UEFA disputing the claim, stating that Nevedrov said different words and alleging that similar remarks had been repeatedly made by Ukrainian players during the match. The Armenian side also accused Ukrainian players of provocations, obscene language, and gestures. As a result, the traditional pre-match handshake between the teams did not take place — a rare occurrence at tournaments of this level.

● Armenia’s economy minister said that in 2025, Armenian exports to the European Union increased by 9.2% compared to 2024.

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 19-23 January, 2026