Daily Brief

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Wednesday, 20 May 2026

•4 min read

Regional * The Baku–Tbilisi passenger train will operate once daily at night to and from Tbilisi, and is expected to carry over 200 passengers in each direction. The train, manufactured by the Swiss company Stadler Rail Group, was inspected by President Ilham Aliyev in 2019. The passenger rail service is resuming after a six-year hiatus. Armenia * Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys have signed a strategic partnership agreement. * The i

Daily Brief

Tuesday, 19 May 2026

by OC Media

•4 min read

Regional * The Azerbaijan Economy Ministry has stated that it will resume daily passenger train services on the Baku–Tbilisi–Baku route from 26 May after an agreement was reached with Georgia. Passenger rail service between Baku and Tbilisi was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown, and Azerbaijan has since repeatedly extended the land border closure, with the latest extension set to run until 1 July 2026. * Yesterday, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed agreemen

Daily Brief

Monday, 18 May 2026

by OC Media

•4 min read

Regional * The Russian Cabinet of Ministers has supported a cooperation agreement between the governments of Daghestan and South Ossetia. The order was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The agreement would increase trade, economic, scientific, technical, and socio-cultural cooperation. Armenia * Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone call with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during which the two leaders discussed various issues related to bilateral cooperation

Daily Brief

Friday, 15 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Regional * Former Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili has been appointed CEO of the Italian petroleum company Italiana Petroli (IP), which had recently been acquired by Azerbaijan’s SOCAR. Davitashvili stepped down as minister in June 2025. * Yesterday, 14 freight wagons with Russian wheat were sent to Armenia via Azerbaijan. Armenia * In a heated exchange, former President Robert Kocharyan referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a ‘lackey’. Later the same day, Pashinyan r

Daily Brief

Thursday, 14 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Regional * In an incident of apparent vandalism at the Armenian Surb Nshan Church in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, church icons were thrown near the rubbish, prompting an official investigation. Armenia * The US and the EU welcomed the lifting of restrictions on bilateral trade between Armenia and Turkey. * Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan hosted a delegation from AECOM, which had come to Armenia under the US State Department to begin site survey work for the Trump Route. * The Akanates obse

Daily Brief

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Armenia * Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan received a US delegation to discuss the Trump Route (TRIPP). According to the Armenian readout, the sides ‘discussed and agreed on a number of operational and legal issues related to the implementation of TRIPP’. * Armenian authorities have arrested an unclarified number of Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s affiliates over electoral bribery offering material incentives for people to attend his alliance’s rally. Azerbaijan * Azerbaij

Daily Brief

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

by OC Media

•3 min read

Regional * Armenia’s Catholicos Karekin II has congratulated the newly elected Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Shio III. Armenia * Responding to recent comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting Armenia should choose between closer ties with the EU and its current membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that ‘until this moment, when there is no need to make a choice [...] we are not placing such an issue on the agenda’