Day: July 27, 2026

Armenia

• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the official Armenian readout, ‘the two leaders discussed issues related to the Armenia–France strategic partnership agenda, reaffirming their mutual readiness to consistently develop bilateral relations and expand cooperation’.
• Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan traveled to Iran for an official visit. Khudatyan met with Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, who said Iran was working on expanding the export of natural gas to Armenia.

Azerbaijan

• On Friday, the prosecutor requested a 14-year sentence for pro-democracy figure Anar Mammadli and a 13-year sentence for independent journalist Anar Abdulla. Their next hearing is scheduled for 6 August. Mammadli, who is the chair of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre, was detained in April 2024 and was accused of smuggling committed by a group.
• According to official statistics, the number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan this year has dropped by 11% compared to the previous period last year. The Association of Travel Agencies has stated that ‘it is incorrect to label the current situation a dangerous trend’. However, economist Natig Jafarli pointed out that, in contrast, tourism grew in both Georgia and Armenia during the first half of 2026.
• Today, the National Hydrometeorological Service reported that dust concentrations exceeded normal levels in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula. The agency forecast that dusty weather is expected to persist until tomorrow afternoon.
• In the first half of this year, Azerbaijan allocated over ₼1 billion ($590 million) for the reconstruction and restoration of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories. According to the Finance Ministry, this amount is 31.45% lower than in the same period last year.

Georgia

• On Sunday evening, police detained 11 anti-government protesters in central Tbilisi. Most of them were carrying posters reading: ‘Is Bidzina a dick?’ — a reference to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
• Georgia experienced another nationwide power blackout on Saturday morning. The State Security Service announced that it has launched an investigation into both of last week’s blackouts under charges of sabotage.
• The EU has included Inter RAO, the indirect owner of Georgia’s electricity provider, Telasi, in its 21st sanctions package. Inter Rao owns a 75% stake in Telasi through Silk Road Holdings, which, according to a tender published by the government, is based in the Netherlands.
• Nikolaz Khurtsilava, a man accused of assaulting comedian Onise Okriashvili, has been released on bail by the Tbilisi City Court. The attack on Okriashvili took place on Thursday evening after he had joked about a Georgian author. Several pro-government media outlets and pages have launched a smear campaign against Okriashvili following his remarks.

Abkhazia

• Alias Avidzba has been appointed Abkhazia’s new Minister for Emergency Situations. He replaces Lev Kvitsinia, who will continue serving as the president’s special representative for cooperation with the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
• Russia’s Federation Council has ratified an agreement with Abkhazia on assistance in implementing the republic’s 2026–2030 State Programme for Socio-Economic Development. According to the agreement, its stated objectives are to further expand socio-economic cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia, improve living standards, and encourage economic and investment activity in the republic.
• In the first half of 2026, 292 crimes were recorded in Abkhazia, according to the Interior Ministry. Drug trafficking offences accounted for the largest share of recorded crimes.

The North Caucasus

• Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov said that the Akhmat Kadyrov Public Foundation has launched a humanitarian mission in the Gaza Strip, which he claimed will reach one million people. As part of the operation, food supplies have already been delivered to refugee camps. According to Kadyrov, the shipment includes 40 tonnes each of flour, sugar, pasta, rice, and lentils.
• The EU sanctions have hit Ingush billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev. The new sanctions package imposes restrictive measures on 48 individuals and 168 entities.
• Ingush blogger Adam Aushev, also known as Abu Kavkaz, has been added to Russia’s ‘foreign agents’ register, maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Aushev was placed on Russia’s wanted list in 2023 after being accused of justifying the activities of the terrorist organisation the Caucasus Emirate. Prior to that, criminal cases had also been opened against him on charges of rehabilitating Nazism and making public calls for extremism and terrorism. He has also been linked by the authorities to the Committee of Ingush Independence.
• Murad Dadaev (also known as Noah Krieger), a Chechen-born former member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has published a video showing his car being escorted through Grozny by a police vehicle clearing the road ahead. Earlier, he posted footage from the front line in Ukraine, where he received a medal from the Russian Defence Ministry, and announced efforts to recruit a military battalion bearing his name made up of German nationals to fight on Russia’s side.
• In Moscow, a taxi driver from Chechnya has been fined after praying on the side of the road. He was found guilty of conducting missionary activity in breach of Russian legislation after stopping near a traffic police office, laying out a prayer mat on the asphalt, and praying.
• Ruslan Lekoev, a 36-year-old man arrested for attacking a betting shop in Vladikavkaz, has signed a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry and been sent to fight in Ukraine. In April, after losing a large sum on gambling, Lekoev entered a betting shop, held a knife to a female employee’s throat and demanded money. When he was detained, police found a hunting rifle in his sports bag. The employee was hospitalised.
• Members of the Chechen diaspora staged pickets outside German embassies in Austria, the Czech Republic and Finland in support of Muslim Alkhazov, a Chechen asylum seeker facing deportation from Germany to Russia.
• Five mountaineers from Bosnia and Herzegovina have died while climbing Mount Elbrus. According to preliminary information, the weather deteriorated sharply during the ascent, causing the group to lose their route. A total of 11 people have died on Elbrus over the past two months.
• Seven schoolchildren in Karachay–Cherkessia have been charged over the assault of fellow pupils. According to investigators, the group repeatedly attacked other teenagers at school and in the street over what officials described as a ‘minor reason’ in late 2025, filming the assaults on their mobile phones. Three victims were identified. The teenagers have been charged with hooliganism committed by a group acting in prior conspiracy.

For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.