Moscow welcomes the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled for May 10 in Almaty, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.   “We welcome this meeting, which is scheduled for May 10,” the diplomat said, asked about Russia’s expectations from the upcoming talks. .  …

According to the decision of the Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream, we are beginning to create a database, which will comprise information about all those individuals who are involved in violence, other illegal actions, threats and blackmail, or publicly approve of such actions, through party structures,” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated at…

EU Mission in Armenia issued a statement on the occasion of EU and the Republic of Armenia on the status of EUMA – the SOMA.    “Important development and great news for EUMA! Following the completion of the final steps of ratification, the Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Armenia on the status…

The Legal Affairs Committee will discuss the nine points required to join the European Union at the sitting on May 10, the committee chair, Anri Okhanashvili, said in a post, adding the committee will discuss the transparency bill in its third reading on May 13, Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   “On Friday, May 10, we…

Reuters. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi met Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Monday (May 6).   The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is hoping to bolster his agency’s oversight of Tehran’s atomic activities after various setbacks.   Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami, speaking…

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs the Eurasian Economic Union, will chair the jubilee summit of the organization, which will take place on May 8 in Moscow. Yuri Ushakov, assistant to the Russian President, informed the journalists about this in a briefing.   “The session is dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the signing…

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey met within the framework of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Gambia.   Jeyhun Bayramov and Hakan Fidan exchanged thoughts about Baku-Ankara alliance relations, which, according to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, are dynamically developing and have reached a qualitatively…

The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Parliament, Fuat Oktay, met with the Republican Senators Jim Risch and Thom Tillis and the Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen as part of his visit to Washington.    According to Turkish media, during the negotiations Turkey’s bid to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the US, the…

In a phone call with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, President of the European Council, Charles Michel discussed the recent developments in Georgia and reiterated the EU’s full support to all Georgians “who put European future of their country first,” Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   “Georgian citizens’ call for an open democratic and pluralistic society…

Former US President Donald Trump has developed a detailed plan on resolving the Ukrainian conflict peacefully, but will not reveal it until the election, the Daily Telegraph reported, citing an anonymous source close to the politician.   “There is a plan, but he’s not going to debate it with cable news networks because then you…

President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili had a telephone conversation with the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, and announced that the bill ‘On transparency of foreign influence’ being considered by the country’s parliament hinders Tbilisi’s integration into the European Union, the Georgian president’s office said.   “During a long telephone conversation with the President…

“Georgian Prime Minister [Irakli Kobakhidze] was invited to the U.S. with the agreement that before the visit, the Georgian Parliament would temporarily suspend the debate on a draft bill “on the transparency of foreign influence,” the country’s Foreign Ministry has said, Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   “Today, the U.S. ambassador’s statement was issued, stating that…

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated in his X page.   “This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements. I have instructed the Director General of the Israel MFA…

Matthew Miller, US State Department Spokesperson, issued a statement regarding the advancement of “Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence”. The statement, particularly reads:   “The United States condemns the Kremlin-inspired “foreign influence” legislation advanced in Georgia’s parliament earlier today and the false narrative government officials have adopted to defend it.  Members of the ruling…

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said Georgia would adopt the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence and at the same time would become a member of the European Union, agenda.ge reports   The most important thing is to protect “national dignity and principles”, which will “bring results in all directions”, Kobakhidze…

Police on Wednesday, May 1, detained dozens of protesters attempting to tear down barricades in different districts of Istanbul after authorities banned May 1 rallies at the city’s main Taksim Square. Tens of thousands of police were deployed across Istanbul, blocking even small sidestreets with metal barriers in an attempt to prevent groups of protesters…

A plenary session of the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday resumed deliberations on the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party against public protests, in its second hearing, agenda.ge reports.   The session will review the draft law, which calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in…

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomes the agreement of Azerbaijan and Armenia to hold their negotiations in Almaty, Kazakhstan for the preparation of a peace treaty between them.   “I welcome the agreement of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia regarding the holding of [their] foreign ministers’ negotiations, on the proposal of…

The U.S. State Department on Monday reacted to the detention of Anar Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring Center in Azerbaijan.   “We are deeply troubled by the continuing arrests of members of Azerbaijani civil society – most recently, Anar Mammadli,” a State Department spokesperson told TURAN’s Washington correspondent.   Mammadli’s detention on Monday…

The US Embassy in Azerbaijan expressed concern over the detention of the head of the Center for Election Monitoring and Democracy Training, Anar Mammadli.   “We are deeply troubled by the continuing arrests of members of Azerbaijani civil society – most recently, Anar Mammadli.    We urge the Azerbaijani government to immediately release all individuals…

Reuters. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential billionaire founder of Georgia’s ruling party, accused a Western “global party of war” of meddling in Georgia in a rare speech at a rally backing a bill on foreign agents that has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country.    Ivanishvili, who served as Georgia’s prime minister from…

The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia discussed the draft law On Transparency of Foreign Influence today and approved it in the second reading, Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   The committee rejected an alternative proposal regarding specific provisions of the bill proposed by opposition MP Teona Akubardia. As per the rapporteur on the…

There have been mass anti-government protests since mid-April, when the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced plans to pass a law critics say resembles Russian legislation used to silence dissent, France 24 reports.   Waves of similar street protests — during which police used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators — forced the party to…

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has reiterated that Taksim Square is not a suitable venue for May Day celebrations and demonstrations by workers and unions, reaffirming the previous decision to close the iconic location, Turkish media reports.   “Taksim Square is not among the designated venues for meetings and marches. This area, with its heavy traffic,…

Armenia will soon convey to Turkey its approaches regarding the restoration of the Ani Bridge. This was reported by the press service of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, responding to a written request of Sputnik Armenia.   “Turkey has transferred to Armenia a protocol on the repair of the Ani Bridge, which is currently being revised and…

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke by phone today with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the US State Department reports. “The Secretary commended President Aliyev for last week’s announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to use the 1991 Alma Ata declaration as the basis for border delimitation and emphasized its importance to the two sides…

The German Foreign Ministry has summarized the meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Berbock and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, which took place yesterday in Berlin.   Aliyev was in Germany to attend the high-level meeting of the 15th St. Petersburg Climate Dialogue and was also received by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.  …

Irakli Garibashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Dream party, on Saturday said he hoped to have “less misunderstanding” with the country’s “strategic partners and friends” on the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.   Garibashvil’s remarks followed a letter, sent by the bipartisan group of the United States senators to Georgian Prime Minister…

Dina Titus, a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, informed that the bill on the review of sanctions against Azerbaijan was presented to the Congress. “I just introduced the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act to take action against 44 Azerbaijani officials following the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Artsakh and the violent…

“We need several years to draw closer to the EU member states. The law On Transparency of Foreign Influence is significant to speed up economic development,” said Prime Minister of Georgia Ikarli Kobakhidze, Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   According to the PM, the activities of non-government organizations obstructed the country’s progress by their attempts to…