Author: Vasil Iarajuli

Brussels (25/11 – 33.3) Tajikistan Supreme Court has sentenced a widely respected 65-year-old female journalist, Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva, to 21 years in prison on charges of incitement to overthrowing the government. Mamadshoeva was accused by the authorities of being a leading figure behind the political turbulence that rocked her native Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) earlier this year. State propaganda has previously alleged that the veteran reporter and activist hatched the purported plot, for which no credible evidence has been produced, at the behest of an unnamed foreign government. Mamadshoeva’s brother, Khursand, was last week sentenced to 18 years in prison on…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday said his Government’s “major goal” was to ensure “peace and stability” in the South Caucasus region with “friendly” nations of Azerbaijan and Armenia through acting as an “unbiased” mediator to resolve their long-running conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Speaking with the Georgian Public Broadcaster, the official claimed Tbilisi was “successfully implementing” the role by pointing to the 2021 deal brokered by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the United States official Philip Reeker, which ended up with the release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war by Baku in exchange for receiving from Armenia a map of…

Last week’s decision by the European Commission to recommend Georgia receive European Union candidate status caught many by surprise. A survey conducted by the Tbilisi-based Caucasus Research Resource Centre (CRRC) in the previous days showed that, despite widespread support for EU membership, only 33% of respondents believed it would obtain it. Unlike Ukraine and Moldova, which became candidates in June last year, Georgia had instead been required to address 12 priorities first. Despite some progress towards those goals, only three satisfied Brussels to some extent and Georgia now needs to address nine areas of concern . In an increasingly charged and polarised environment, with Tbilisi cautious…

Palestinian groups expect Israel to flood Hamas tunnels with a type of nerve gas or chemical weapon under the surveillance of US Delta Force commandos as part of a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, a senior Arab source familiar with the Palestinian groups told Middle East Eye. Israel and the US hope to achieve the element of surprise in order to penetrate Hamas tunnels, rescue an estimated 220 hostages, and kill thousands of soldiers belonging to Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, the source said, noting that the information they received came from a leak originating in the US. Middle East Eye…

“It is not yet known how Yerevan will pay for the acquisitions announced on Monday, the sum of which may amount to several 100 million euros,” according to the French publication Le Monde, Azernews reports.This refers to the French military equipment, which the heads of the Defense Ministries of Armenia and France agreed to supply on October 23. Yerevan intends to purchase three GM200 radars designed to detect air threats and an undetermined number of short-range Mistral missiles.The newspaper notes that on October 3, French Foreign Minister Colonna even suggested that Armenia use the European Peace Fund, a mechanism used to organize military…

Azerbaijani Prime Minister urged India not to arm Armenia. This was reported in the Cabinet of Ministers, Azernews reports. It was noted that Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov met today with the Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mrs. Anupriya Patel. The meeting emphasized the importance of the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technological cooperation between Azerbaijan and India held in Baku. Confidence was expressed that the decisions taken and documents signed at the meeting would contribute to the development of relations between the two countries. Talking about his activity as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement of…

A former senior political advisor to ex-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was detained at the airport in Tbilisi and forced to leave Georgia, where he has been advising the country’s leading opposition party. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the chairman of the United National Movement, Georgia’s main opposition bloc, confirmed that Ben Mallet, a veteran political campaigner, was questioned upon his arrival in the capital. Accusing the government of double standards and sparking a “diplomatic scandal,” Levan Khabeishvili asked: “Can you imagine that a British citizen was not allowed, but they lay a red carpet for [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov and…

The bilateral economic relations and priority directions were discussed on Wednesday by Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili and Mamuka Tsereteli, the head of the America Georgia Business Council, as well as the US business delegation, who will participate in the upcoming Tbilisi Silk Road Forum. The strategic partnership between Georgia and the US was highlighted at the meeting, with the officials stressing the importance of developing “closer” relations between the business circles of the two states, the Economy Ministry said. The parties reviewed fruitful cooperation in finance, tourism, transport, healthcare and renewable energy, as well as real estate, information technology,…

For most of its post-Soviet history, Armenia has essentially had one partner in the field of defense and security: Russia. But recent experiences have shown that Moscow cannot be relied on for help when the chips are down. So now, despite the country’s deep economic dependence on Russia, Armenia’s leaders are looking elsewhere for security cooperation and finding eager partners. France steps in to boost Armenia’s weak air defenses On October 23 Yerevan signed an agreement with Paris on the purchase of three GM 200 anti-aircraft radar systems and a memorandum of understanding on the future delivery of Mistral short-range air defense systems. Future…