Georgian police detained Tsotne Koberidze, a politician and member of the Coalition for Change opposition group, on Dec. 6 amid government crackdowns as pro-EU protests in the country continue.
Georgian police detained Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the Coalition for Change opposition party, on Dec. 4 amid government crackdowns as pro-EU protests in the country continue.
For the fifth day in a row, Georgians are holding massive protests against their government in the country's capital, Tbilisi. The brewing dissatisfaction was ignited by the country's democratic backsliding under the leadership of the pro-Russian, increasingly illiberal government. The final straw appeared to be the parliament elections won by
Over 220 protesters have been detained over the past few days, the country's Interior Ministry said. This included several journalists and Zurab Japaridze, leader of the opposition Girchi – More Freedom party, who was detained on Dec. 2 before being released the same day.
"During our observation, we noted the cases of vote buying and double voting before and during elections, especially in rural areas," said Ioan Bulai, the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, the chair of the opposition Gakharia For Georgia party, said that the announced results "do not reflect the will of the Georgian people" and called for "reasonable forms of protest" to "defend the European future and the institution of elections."
"All options are on the table" if Georgia does not reverse its trend toward authoritarianism, "including the potential temporary suspension of the visa liberalization scheme," a spokesperson for the European Commission told Politico.
Yerevan on Sept. 18 accused five Armenian citizens and two former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh of undergoing military training in Russia in order to stage an armed coup in Armenia.
The bills would ban gender transition, adoption by same-sex couples, and forbid gatherings or the distribution of information "aimed at promoting" LGBTQ relationships.
"Today's action underscores our concern about the consequences of anti-democratic actions in Georgia and efforts by key individuals to use violence and intimidation to achieve their aims," said Treasury official Bradley Smith.
Speaking on Russian state television, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said earlier in the week, "Who needs Armenians? Nobody. Let them develop their economy and rely on their own resources.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan for the first time since the beginning of its full-scale war on Ukraine on Aug. 18, the latest significant development in the South Caucasus country's delicate balancing act between East and West. The visit comes amid a larger, historic realignment between the three countries
In an appeal posted on Facebook, Georgian Dream emphasized that it needs to obtain a "constitutional majority in order to qualitatively improve the political system, which cannot be achieved without removing the collective 'United National Movement' from politics."
Putin arrived in Baku for talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Failure to register as a foreign agent by Sept. 1, when the official monitoring period begins, could result in fines of 25,000 Georgian lari ($9,200).
The process of their withdrawal was completed with a formal ceremony, during which Edgar Hunanian, the newly appointed head of Armenia's border guard, thanked the Russian detachment for their service.
Georgia's State Security Service (SUS) "is investigating the facts of the preparation of the murder of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, organized and financed by former high-ranking officials of the Georgian government and former employees of law enforcement agencies in Ukraine," the SUS wrote on Facebook.
The opposition media outlet Mtavari reported on July 21 that at least four Georgians who fought in Ukraine have been sought for interrogation by Georgia's State Security Service (SUS).
"Russian occupation forces are responsible for all destructive actions committed on the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as along the occupation line," Georgia's State Security Service (SUS) said.
The pilot, Kakhaber Zurabishvili, was killed in the crash. The Georgian Defense Ministry said the cause of the crash was being determined.
The news came as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien is scheduled to arrive in Baku on June 27, in what will be his third trip to the South Caucasus in two months.
The announcement did not say how many Caesar howitzers would be included in the deal, or when they might start arriving in the country.
The speaker of the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, signed the controversial "foreign agents" bill into law, the local media reported on June 3.
A Tbilisi office of United National Movement (UNM), a Georgian opposition party, was attacked by up to 100 masked men overnight on June 1, the party said in a statement.
Radar Armenia alleged that the trip to neither country is taking place as Baku canceled Zelensky's visit. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.
"The Collective Security Treaty has not fulfilled its objectives as far as Armenia is concerned, particularly in 2021 and 2022. And we could not let that happen without taking notice," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Feb. 22.
"Our analysis shows... that Azerbaijan wants to launch military action in some parts of the border with the prospect of turning military escalation into a full-scale war against Armenia," Pashinyan said during a government meeting.
The election, which Aliyev was widely expected to win, was seen as a referendum on the country's victory in September 2023 over Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh after decades of ongoing conflict.
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