Media monitoring in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, 18-22 September, 2023

● Representatives of Baku and the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian community met in Yevlakh. “The issues of reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh on the basis of the Constitution and laws of Azerbaijan, as well as restoration of infrastructure were discussed. “The Azerbaijani side plans to provide humanitarian support in the near future, provide them with fuel, establish heating systems in kindergartens and schools, ambulance and fire-fighting services,” the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration said.

● The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan sent two 20-tonne trucks, carrying various food and hygiene supplies, and two cars, carrying bread, from Aghdam to Khankendi today. Delivery of food will continue, the Ministry claims.

● “Dialogue with Karabakh Armenians has been impossible due to Armenian illegal armed formations in the region. “The Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ counter-terrorist measures have achieved their goal. Direct dialogue with Karabakh Armenians and their reintegration has already started,” Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov said, speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh.

● “In a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his apologies and deep condolences over the tragic death of servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh, and assured that a thorough investigation will be carried out,” the Azerbaijani President’s website said.

● The General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan has opened criminal cases on two incidents in Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in the deaths of 6 Russian peacekeepers. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces shelled an RMK vehicle in the Terter district. “A group of servicemen mistook the vehicle for illegal Armenian armed formations due to the difficult terrain and foggy and rainy weather,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.

● “Russia has taken note of Baku’s statement on the investigation into the deaths of Russian peacekeepers. The peacekeepers continue to fulfil their functions in Karabakh in good faith,” Russia’s permanent mission to the UN said.

● The Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ engineer-sapper units are clearing mines in the territories that came under the control of the Azerbaijani army as a result of the 19-20 September operation, the Defence Ministry said.

● The Prime Minister met with the US President’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (pictured). Issues of strengthening partnership and bilateral relations were discussed. Garibashvili emphasised the importance of joint efforts in the face of global challenges, an official statement said after the meeting.

● The Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia denied reports about the start of flights to Georgia by the Russian airline Rossiya, which is under EU sanctions. The agency said the opposite is true: this airline was twice denied a licence.

● “There is a conflict of values between the two centres of the United National Movement,” said Nika Melia, former chairman of this leading opposition party.

● The ruling party leader is pleased with the departure of all three deputy bank presidents and her adviser from the National Bank system after the National Bank allowed access to accounts for citizens caught up in sanctions. Irakli Kobakhidze said the National Bank has “now been purged of incompetent staff”.

● The Russian government has temporarily banned the export of petrol and diesel fuel, including to Georgia, due to fuel shortages in its own market. Experts attribute this to costs due to the war in Ukraine. “Supplies will continue only to Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” the Russian economy ministry said.

● A rally in connection with the Interior Minister’s speech in Parliament has been announced for 11:00 today at the service entrance to Parliament. The slogan of the protest is “We are against Russian agency”. The information was disseminated by the Girchi party.

● The President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili met with the Ambassadors of the European Union, Great Britain and the Acting US Ambassador in her office in Tbilisi. According to the presidential administration, the issue of financial sanctions and the behaviour of the National Bank of Georgia were discussed.

● Technical University professor Otar Gelashvili, who was kidnapped and beaten about a month ago, has died, according to the university’s rector. “The murder is not related to academic and scientific activities, the main version of the investigation is entrepreneurial activities of the deceased,” the rector said.

● The UN should urgently send a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the humanitarian situation,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the UN Security Council meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh convened by France.

● A meeting of representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku was held in Yevlakh. An agreement was reached to hold a new meeting in the near future.

● “There is no direct threat to the population in NK, but Yerevan is ready to receive about 40,000 families” – Armenian PM.

● The situation in Yerevan’s Republic Square was tense all night. The police detained 46 people with the use of force. In the morning the situation in the capital is calm.

● One person was detained for hitting a deputy from the ruling Civil Pact Hovik Aghazaryan. The MP came to the Yerablur military pantheon, but he was not allowed there by the relatives of the fallen soldiers. A criminal case was initiated under Article 195 of the Armenian Criminal Code (physical influence).

● Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with Emanuel Macron. They discussed the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. The need for guarantees to ensure the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh was noted.

● The Secretary of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan will leave for Iran on 1-2 October, where high-level talks are scheduled.

● Russian peacekeepers evacuated 5,000 civilians from Martakert, Martuni and Askeran districts in Karabakh,” the Russian Defense Ministry reports and publishes footage of assistance to the evacuees.

● The military pantheon “Yerablur” is tense these minutes: a clash took place between the parents of the military men killed in the 44-day war and members of parliament. The parents spent the whole night at the entrance of the pantheon to prevent government officials from entering on Independence Day.

● U.S. Secretary of State Blinken congratulated Armenia on Independence Day and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the country’s sovereignty and to ensuring peace in the South Caucasus.

● The Armenian segment of social media is overflowing with announcements of missing people. Whole families, children and elderly people are wanted. Due to the damage of cell phone towers during the hostilities, Karabakhis cannot contact their relatives.

● The Indian Defense Ministry is planning to appoint military attaches in Armenia, Spain and Cote d’Ivoire as part of a program to expand the presence of its Air Force abroad. This was announced by Indian Air Force Air Chief Air Chief Marshal Chaudhary.

● Twenty-four hours after it began, Azerbaijan ended its announced counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh. Armenian community leaders accepted official Baku’s conditions for the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces and the surrender of military equipment.

● Today, representatives of Azerbaijani authorities and Karabakh Armenian community will meet in Yevlakh to discuss details of the reintegration process.

● In an address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity and has never had plans to seize other people’s territories. He also added that Baku highly appreciates Yerevan’s position on the counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh.

● Last night, President Aliyev held telephone conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel. They discussed issues related to the process of reintegration of the Karabakh Armenian community into Azerbaijani society.

● Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov will take part in the UN Security Council meeting on Karabakh today. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev did not rule out that calling an emergency UN meeting “may bring more harm than good”.

● Eight Russian peacekeepers were killed in Karabakh as a result of car shelling, according to unspecified data. Russian and Azerbaijani specialists are investigating the incident. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry expressed condolences to the Russian side.

● “The draft peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan is 70% agreed,” Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said at a briefing for foreign diplomats accredited in Baku.

● The leader of the Workers’ Table free trade unions Afiaddin Mammadov is detained on charges of “hooliganism with the use of weapons”. He himself categorically rejects the charges.
Four other activists were detained and sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest. According to their friends, all of them were arrested for posts in social networks condemning the counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh.

● The Justice Ministry considers it expedient to revoke the Georgian citizenship of former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze (pictured), who has fallen under US sanctions. He was found to have a second citizenship – Russian, which he did not report, which is a violation of the law. The Agency for Management of Public Services has already sent a conclusion to the president.

● Investigative project “Kavshiribi” (“Connections”) writes that ex-general prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze has already managed to transfer a stake in one of his companies to his son. Partskhaladze was under US sanctions for his ties to the Russian FSB, after which his bank accounts and property were blocked, but then the National Bank lifted the blockage. Several National Bank executives resigned in protest. Read more here

● Independent TV channel TV Pirveli reported that its film crew, which is conducting a journalistic investigation into the ex-general prosecutor’s case, was attacked by its security guards and journalists had their cameras and other equipment taken away.

● Otar Partskhaladze’s bodyguard beat up a journalist of another independent TV company, Formula, the TV channel reported.

● “Ivanishvili [an oligarch considered Georgia’s shadow ruler] did so to create immunity for himself. We have an internal resolution of the National Bank, according to which Georgian citizens will not be subject to financial restrictions in case they fall under sanctions” – Anna Buchukuri, one of the leaders of the For Georgia party, said.

● One of the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream responded to this statement: Mamuka Mdinaradze: “In the future, our citizens will be protected from sanctions when no proof of guilt is presented”.

● Acting President of the National Bank Natia Turnava on restoring access to Partskhaladze’s accounts: “I made the decision myself, it was my decision, and I am not easily pressurised.”

● All three deputies and the advisor to the head of the National Bank resigned.

● It has become known that the government is forcing private universities to write off students’ tuition debts. This was revealed by sources in various local media outlets. On 15 September, the Prime Minister said that students of public and private universities will be relieved of financial debts.

● Dutch police are searching for 28-year-old Tornike Manvelidze. He is accused of murdering a Georgian citizen, a 32-year-old man. The deceased flew to the Netherlands together with the killer. According to the Dutch police, the incident took place in the evening of 19 September, at 18:00, at the Helling Hotel in Utrecht.

War in Karabakh. Azerbaijan is conducting an anti-terrorist operation. LIVE from Baku, Yerevan and the battlefield

● Former Ombudsman Nino Lomjaria (pictured) addressed the National Bank to the country: “It is not enough that they snatched the opportunity to get the status of an EU candidate country right from under our noses, now they want to turn us into an isolated and sanctioned country!” she said. Natia Turnava, or whoever you are in the National Bank, cancel this disgraceful order!”

● The National Bank yesterday changed the order for the implementation of the international sanctions regime. As a result of this decision, access to accounts was restored for ex-Georgian Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, against whom the US imposed sanctions a few days ago for “co-operation with the Russian FSB” and whose accounts were automatically frozen by the National Bank.

● The order was signed by acting NB President Natia Turnava. According to it, the sanctions regime can be applied to Georgian citizens only if a court has passed a guilty verdict. According to the same principle, the sanctions regime will be applied to a legal entity whose share is owned by a Georgian citizen who has fallen under sanctions.

● “[Informal Georgian leader] Ivanishvili is violating U.S. sanctions by allowing the sanctioned former prosecutor general to access his accounts through the National Bank of Georgia. “Ivanishvili not only controls all institutions, but also protects himself and his subordinates from international responsibility, while pushing Georgia towards Russia and distancing it from the West,” said Giorgi Gakharia, the country’s former prime minister and leader of the For Georgia party.

● Georgia’s ruling party failed the vote on the bill “On Deoligarchisation” in the third reading. “It is no longer needed,” government officials said. Instead, the bill has now been replaced by an action plan for deoligarchisation and amendments to laws already in force. By the end of this week, the plan will be sent to the Venice Commission for expertise.

● A new case of femicide in the country – a man killed his ex-wife and her mother in front of his minor children. It is reported that he is a serving employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

● A visa-free agreement was signed between Georgia and Peru.

● According to the Head of Armenia’s Mission to the EU, transporting humanitarian cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh via the Aghdam route does not lift the blockade. They claim, the decision cannot be considered as a fulfilment of the UN International Court of Justice’s decision that the Lachin corridor must be opened and the blockade must be lifted.

● Moscow is expecting the continuation of humanitarian supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, according to an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

● Charles Michel welcomed the simultaneous dispatch of humanitarian supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, saying on social media X, “This should now be regularised.

● The Armenian Foreign Minister is attending the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

● There is still no date and place of the proposed meeting for the leaders of Turkey, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to a source in Erdogan’s administration told RIA Novosti.

● Last night, at about 01:00, a serious road accident occurred in Fizuli district. As a result of a truck overturning, three MIA officers were killed and six others received injuries of varying degrees of severity.

● At 4 am today at the 58th kilometre of the Ahmedbeyli-Fizuli-Shusha road a truck exploded on a mine. Two civilians were killed as a result. The State Security Service called the incident a terrorist attack.

● Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov is in New York, where he will attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly today.

● “More than 10,000 Armenian armed forces continue to be illegally deployed on the territory of Azerbaijan. In violation of its obligations, Armenia provides technical, military, logistical and financial assistance to maintain these forces,” Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said in a Foreign Ministry briefing for the diplomatic corps accredited in the country.

● “Some of those who were captured or taken hostage in the First Karabakh War may be alive and still being used as slaves in Armenia,” said Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor Khanlar Veliyev. “Armenia does not provide any information about the captives and hostages,” he added.

● Communication with 40 villages in Astara district in southern Azerbaijan has been cut off due to prolonged downpours. About 15,000 people live in these villages. “Intense rains do not allow to carry out necessary works. Therefore, there is no alternative way to restore communication with the villages so far,” said Allahveran Mahmudov, first deputy head of the district’s executive power.

● “Cultural Landscape: Khinalig and the Nomadic Way” has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The decision was made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh. Khynalyg village is located in Guba district and is one of the highest altitude settlements in Europe. Photos from this village and stories from locals on JAMnews

● “The US showed very serious condemnation to the Georgian government when it imposed sanctions against former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, accusing him of links with the Russian FSB. “In such cases, of course, there is evidence,” Bill Browder, a well-known American financier and author of the Magnitsky Act, told Formula TV channel. He suggested that many more people influential in Georgia will fall under the sanctions. Earlier sanctions were imposed against four judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Read more here

● The head of the ruling party called “contrary to the constitution” the decision of the National Bank to restrict access to bank assets of former Georgian Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, who is under US sanctions.

● “The case of Partskhaladze is only the tip of the iceberg. This is not a simple case of some spy and it is very important to find out when the recruitment took place” – said Kakha Kemoklidze, one of the leaders of the For Georgia Party.

● The deputy speaker of parliament spoke in defence of Partskhaladze, saying that this is “not the kind of person who would work against the motherland and undermine his country.”

● A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman accused the Georgian government of “trying once again to demonise Ukraine”. “Ukraine has not interfered, does not interfere and does not intend to interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs,” he said. This was Kiev’s reaction to a statement made yesterday morning by Georgia’s security service that a Ukrainian Euromaidan scenario and a violent change of government was being prepared in the country. Read more here

● The parliament speaker accused Giorgi Lortkipanidze, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, who was Georgia’s deputy interior minister during Saakashvili’s presidency, of plotting in Georgia. Lortkipanidze responded that this was “a complete misconception.”

● “The main thing is that everyone in Georgia wants a European future. There can be no future with Russia, the people will not allow it. Everything is in our hands, no one can take it away from us, and those who try will lose themselves” – President Salome Zurabishvili.

● The Prime Minister met with the Federal Chancellor of Germany in New York within the framework of the UN General Assembly. The bilateral format of cooperation and the process of Georgia’s European integration were discussed.

● Russian President awarded Russian propagandist of Georgian origin Tina Kandelaki with the Order of Friendship.

Photo JAMnews/David Pipia

● President Salome Zurabishvili continues her European tour to lobby for the country to become a candidate for EU accession. After Germany, Belgium and France, she travelled to Switzerland.

● Representatives of the opposition parties “United National Movement” and “Agmashenebeli Strategy” Zurab Chiaberashvili and Sergo Chikhladze are starting their trips to Europe on behalf of the “Victory Platform” they created. They plan to hold meetings at parliaments and foreign ministries in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to discuss opportunities for Georgia’s European integration and bilateral co-operation. Read more here

● Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili believes that “it is up to the European Union itself to show the Georgian people that it confidently and steadily supports our European aspirations.”

● The opposition United National Movement is demanding the launch of an investigation against former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, who has been placed under US sanctions, as well as against Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze. The party claims they are acting against state interests. Read more about Partskhaladze’s ties to Russia’s FSB here

● Heavy hail completely destroyed vineyards in Shilda, Gremi and Almati villages in Kvareli district in Kakheti region (on video).

● Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze became the world champion for the seventh time in a row. At the 88th World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, he defeated 208, 215 and 220 kilograms in the snatch.

● This morning, for the first time after many months of dispute, both roads into Karabakh are operational. One International Committee of the Red Cross lorry each carrying humanitarian supplies for the local Armenian community travelled today towards Khankendi (Stepanakert) and from Aghdam (on the Azerbaijani side), and through the Azerbaijani crossing point of Lachin on the Armenian side. The roads were opened after the ICRC agreed a proposal to this effect with Baku and the Armenian community in Karabakh.

● “The main obstacle to the peace process is that Armenia continues to financially and politico-military support the illegal regime on the territory of Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev told Russia’s TASS.

● “Planted mines are hindering the search for missing persons,” said Habib Mikayilli, a spokesman for the Azerbaijani presidential administration. Some 3,900 Azerbaijani citizens are reported missing. Of them, six went missing in the second Karabakh war.

● The Girkan forests, located in southern Azerbaijan, are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is the first natural area of the country to be included in this list.

● Elections to the Council of Elders were held in Yerevan. According to preliminary data, Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Pact party is in the lead (32.57% ). Former mayor, actor Hayk Marutyan (8.89 per cent) is in second place. But there were not enough votes for the mayoral candidate to be automatically elected. If one party got over 50% of the mandates, the Mayor is automatically elected. However, as this did not happen, the mayor will be elected by open voting. Read more here

● The turnout in the elections was only 28.46%. A total of 234,553 out of 824,250 possible voters cast their ballots. The head of the Armenian Central Election Commission Vahagn Hovakimyan has recognised that this is an unprecedentedly low figure.

● “Unfortunately, there will be no signing of peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku at the European Political Community summit in Granada”, according to Nikol Pashinyan.

● After months of disputes, humanitarian supplies have been simultaneously delivered to Karabakh from the Azerbaijani side, through the city of Aghdam, and from the Armenian side, through the Azerbaijani border crossing point of Lachin. The unrecognised NKR states that “the decision was made on the basis of security considerations and taking into account the current crisis situation”.

● The Armenian Foreign Minister will attend the UN General Assembly session in New York. Ararat Mirzoyan will hold meetings with UN officials and colleagues from different countries on 18-24 September.

● Yerevan has sent Moscow a proposal on ratification of the Rome Statute. This was stated by Armenian Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan in an interview with TASS. He also said that they are not ratifying the statute because of Russia, but due to the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan on Armenian territory.

Media monitoring in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, 11-15 September, 2023