Regional
- The Trump Route ‘remains a top priority’ for the US and the administration of President Donald Trump ‘remains committed to making TRIPP a reality’, a State Department spokesperson told the state-run media outlet Armenpress.
- Suspects in the murder of Aishat Baimuradova, a woman killed in Yerevan after fleeing her family in Chechnya, have been placed on the wanted list in Russia. Both are wanted under a criminal article, although its number is not specified in the records. At the same time, one of the suspected killers, Karina Iminova, is also listed as missing, which may indicate that relatives are searching for her.
Armenia
- Yesterday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna participated in the official opening ceremony of the Estonian Embassy in Armenia.
- Mirzoyan also met with his Kazakh counterpart Ermek Kosherbayev. During the meeting, according to the Armenian readout, they discussed ‘initiatives aimed at developing strategic partnership [...] including those aimed at promoting trade and economic relations and business ties’.
- The Armenian Apostolic Church said it ‘strongly condemns’ the Civil Contract party’s election programme under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which includes support for Pashinyan’s Church reform agenda. The goal of toppling Catholicos Karekin II is part of the agenda.
Azerbaijan
- US Vice President JD Vance raised the issue of imprisoned journalist Farid Mehralizada during his visit to Baku in February, according to RFE/RL president Stephen Kapus. Kapus wrote that the ‘Azerbaijani leadership can humanely correct this injustice’ by releasing Mehralizada.
- The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has opened communications with the Azerbaijani government regarding 16 individuals who have been banned from leaving the country. Human rights lawyer Fariz Namazli said the court had requested a legal basis for the restrictions, adding that ‘Azerbaijani law does not provide for travel restrictions for witnesses in criminal cases, which can apply only to suspects and the accused persons’. The identity of the 16 individuals was not stated.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Azerbaijani government ‘to immediately release all journalists wrongly jailed during the country’s ongoing press freedom crackdown’. The organisation condemned the Supreme Court’s 3rd April decision ‘to uphold lengthy prison sentences’ for journalists from Abzas Media and RFE/RL.
Georgia
- Tensions arose yesterday at the 9 April memorial in Tbilisi where anti-government protesters had gathered on the 37th anniversary of the 9 April 1989 massacre. In one incident, protesters accused two people of starting a fight, suggesting they were government plants.
The North Caucasus
- A federal state of emergency has been introduced in Daghestan and Chechnya due to flooding. According to forecasts by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, Roshydromet, a third wave of flooding is expected in Daghestan on Saturday. Today, a storm warning was issued in Chechnya and Ingushetia.
- The Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences linked recurring floods in Daghestan to a combination of natural processes and anthropogenic impact, which increases the scale of disasters and heightens risks for the population.
- Judge Patimat Makhatilova of the Sovetsky District Court in Makhachkala has submitted her resignation. In 2013, she legalised a residential building in Makhachkala that had partially collapsed during flooding.
- Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday designated the human rights group Memorial International an ‘extremist organisation’ and banned its activities in the country. Memorial documented human rights violations in the North Caucasus, including abductions, torture and extrajudicial killings. In 2022, the group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- The Cherkessk City Court has ordered the arrest of former Minister of Property and Land Relations of Karachay–Cherkessia Dmitry Bugaev. Investigators accuse the official of abuse of office, allegedly leading to ₽16.7 million ($200,000) in damages.
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.
