JAMnews. Top stories in local media, commentary.
December 16, Armenia. The EU will help Armenia combat disinformation from Russia
● Turkey is an important element of the TRIPP project (a transit route that will connect Azerbaijan with its autonomous region of Nakhchivan through the territory of Armenia – JAMnews). This was stated by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien in an interview with CivilNet. She noted that the United States is in direct contact with Turkey on this issue. Armenia is also working with Turkey on the steps necessary to implement the project, the ambassador said.
● The TRIPP transit project will be implemented on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity and will take into account Iran’s security and political concerns, said Armenia’s Ambassador to Iran Grigor Hakobyan during a meeting with Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on international affairs.
● Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan took part in a working breakfast ahead of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. It was reported that progress in the peace process with Azerbaijan and the reform efforts undertaken by Armenia’s current government were highly praised. Ministers expressed readiness to support Armenia in its efforts to counter hybrid attacks from Russia and the spread of disinformation through which the Kremlin seeks to influence the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026. Here is an analysis on this topic
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● “Armenia has requested assistance from the European Union to prevent external information interference, and this assistance will be provided,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas.
● Cooperation between Armenia and the EU in various areas, including countering hybrid threats, is not new and has been ongoing for a long time, said Ani Badalyan, spokesperson for Armenia’s Foreign Ministry. As examples of broad cooperation, she cited the joint EU–Armenia Resilience and Growth program and the decision to deploy an EU monitoring mission in Armenia along the border with Azerbaijan. Badalyan added that the EU supports Armenia in ensuring that electoral processes comply with democratic standards.
● “The Armenian authorities will spend the funds received from the EU to discredit the opposition,” said Garnik Danielyan, a lawmaker from the opposition Armenia faction (which has a reputation for being pro-Russian), commenting on Kallas’s statement.
● A new shipment of goods is currently en route to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan reported. “When they arrive, I will publish information about the new supplier countries and volumes,” he said.
● Defense Minister Suren Papikyan: “The situation on the border with Azerbaijan is very calm; we are preparing for the New Year.”
● The youth wing of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party (which has a reputation for being pro-Russian) held another protest outside the EU building in Yerevan. “In Armenia, bishops, national benefactors, public and political figures, and leaders of opposition communities are being persecuted. People are held in pretrial detention for months and years, deprived of the right to a fair trial, and subjected to political persecution. Before 2018 (that is, before Nikol Pashinyan and his team came to power – JAMnews), the EU consistently expressed concern about violations of human rights, justice, and democratic standards. But now the same EU remains silent, and we ask why,” protest participants told journalists.
● In Armenia, owners of unfinished construction projects will be given one year to register their ownership rights, said Suren Tovmasyan, head of the Cadastre Committee. Only those structures that were recorded on maps during a nationwide video survey conducted in 2021 will be eligible for registration.
● In Armenia, starting January 1, 2026, pensioners and social benefit recipients will receive cashback of up to 20% for cashless transactions, instead of the current 12%. As a result, pensioners and benefit recipients will be able to increase their base pension or allowance by up to 10,000 drams (about $30), compared to the current 6,000 drams (about $16), the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reported.
● Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan: “A new Code of Church Rules is needed, and it must include standards of integrity for clergy.”
December 16, Georgia. Archimandrite Dorote Kurashvili, who openly supports mass pro-European protests, has had his right to perform priestly duties suspended
● Archimandrite Dorote Kurashvili (pictured), who has openly expressed support for mass pro-European protests, has had his right to conduct priestly service suspended. The order, signed by the Patriarch, states that the decision was made “following warnings and repeated violations of church canonical ethics, on the basis of the 55th Apostolic Canon.” Archimandrite Dorote serves at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. He has actively supported demonstrators arrested during anti-government rallies and the pro-European protest movement, and frequently criticizes the actions of the ruling team both in his sermons and in public statements.
● Fifth President Salome Zurabishvili said that the Patriarchate’s decision to strip Archimandrite Dorote Kurashvili of his right to officiate disgraces the Georgian Church and its centuries-long struggle for freedom and independence. She also stated that she is convinced that “the Patriarch could not have agreed to such an injustice and therefore could not have signed a document containing such a decision.”
● Transparency International stated that it cannot consider selective actions by the ruling party against specific former officials to be a genuine fight against corruption. “It is clear to the organization that there is an internal confrontation between clans within the ruling party, and investigative bodies are being used for this purpose. Recent investigations into senior officials, their arrests, and subsequent release on bail have raised many questions. There is a view that the founder of Georgian Dream, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, is getting rid of former party members under the guise of fighting corruption,” the statement said.
Transparency International claims that all former officials currently under investigation belong to the “clan” associated with either former head of Georgia’s State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili or former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. “At the same time, there are numerous corruption allegations against many other high-ranking officials, yet investigations have not addressed those cases,” TI said.
● “The EU enlargement report states that Georgia is backsliding more than any other country,” said EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. “If a country wants to move forward on the European path, it must behave differently. This applies to the government. And, of course, we will continue to support civil society and independent media. This is extremely important not only to give people hope, but also to send a message to the government that it is wrong to ignore what people want,” Kos said.
● A package of amendments to the Customs Code has been submitted to the parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party, aimed at strengthening control over cargo flows. Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said the main reason was the recent detection of drug trafficking cases. He noted that joint teams of officers from the Central Criminal Police Department and the Customs Department will be established at border checkpoints, ports, and airports to conduct thorough inspections of all suspicious cargo.
● According to the draft legislative amendments submitted to parliament by Georgian Dream, penalties for involving minors in criminal activity and for complicity in crimes involving minors will be toughened.
December 16, Azerbaijan. Russia’s foreign minister accused the West of “seeking to break up the Caspian ‘five’ in order to dictate its decisions in the region”
● Gultekin Hajibeyli, a member of the Coordination Center of Azerbaijan’s National Council of Democratic Forces, has received an official decision banning her from Turkey for five years, although the notice does not state that she will be deported to Baku. In early December, Hajibeyli wrote that she had been detained, forcibly taken to a migration center in Istanbul, and was to be extradited to Azerbaijan. A court decision has been issued in Baku for her arrest in connection with the case of Ramiz Mehdiyev, the former influential “grey cardinal” of Azerbaijani politics. For decades, Mehdiyev served as head of the Presidential Administration (starting under Heydar Aliyev) and is currently under arrest on charges of attempting to seize power and treason. Several opposition figures have already been arrested in Baku in connection with this case, including Ali Kerimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, and his adviser Mammad Ibrahimli. Both are charged with attempting to violently seize power. Hajibeyli previously stated that she had submitted an urgent application to the European Court of Human Rights. She also said that she holds a two-year residence permit in Turkey and called on the Turkish government “to refrain from making an illegal decision under pressure from the Azerbaijani authorities.”
More details on the arrests of opposition figures here.
● President Ilham Aliyev has put forward an initiative to declare the largest amnesty to date. It is expected to affect more than 20,000 people in total. According to the draft, the amnesty would include, among others, the release of individuals who took part in combat operations in defense of the country’s territorial integrity. The lists are also expected to include close relatives of those who were killed or went missing during these operations, as well as those “who suffered as a result of Armenia’s military provocation against the civilian population.”
● Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western countries of “seeking to break up the Caspian ‘five’ in order to dictate their decisions in the region.” “They constantly try to infiltrate the processes taking place here and impose solutions on regional countries that primarily serve Western interests. This is a clear continuation of neocolonial policy — the West has always wanted to live at the expense of others,” Lavrov said in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster.
● Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is paying a working visit to Moscow today. It was previously reported that the main topic of his meetings would be discussions of Tehran’s nuclear program. Ahead of the visit, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that “Moscow will support Tehran’s efforts to overcome the crisis in relations with the IAEA and the West.”
● EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said at a press conference that Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke at a meeting of EU foreign ministers and briefed them on the details of the peace process with Azerbaijan and the current situation in Armenia. “Armenia is facing hybrid threats and massive disinformation ahead of elections (parliamentary elections in 2026). We are already seeing Russia repeat the same strategy it used in Moldova. In this context, assistance to the Armenian government in protecting against hybrid and cyber threats was discussed.”
Azerbaijani media have noted that Ararat Mirzoyan traveled to Brussels just two weeks after the signing of a strategic partnership agreement between the EU and Armenia, and that Armenia was not mentioned on the meeting’s agenda.
More details on the EU–Armenia agreement here
● Dutch State Secretary for Foreign Trade Aukje de Vries wrote on X about a meeting with Elchin Amirbayov, Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan for Special Assignments. The discussion focused on strengthening trade and economic ties and prospects for cooperation in the agricultural sector and the maritime industry, according to the statement.
● Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that during the Second Karabakh War in 2020, “false accusations were spread against Ankara.” “Certain circles, using the rhetoric of Ankara’s adversaries, accused Turkey of supporting Azerbaijan. False reports were circulated alleging that Turkey had supplied weapons to Azerbaijan and transferred jihadists,” Erdoğan said at the presentation of the Vision Concept of the Turkic World for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara.
● A bilateral visa-free travel agreement between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Maldives has entered into force.
● “More than three thousand children are already studying in schools in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation. More than 300 teachers are working there,” said Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev in an interview with Real TV. He noted that construction of the Karabakh University campus is ongoing and that new academic programs are being developed. Up to 1,500 students are planned to be admitted next year. According to the minister, a vocational school in Shusha is also expected to be commissioned.
● A statement regarding the presence of heavy metals – cadmium and lead – in glass cups produced by the Chinese company Market Union Co. Ltd. was jointly issued by the Ministry of Health and the Food Safety Agency. Poland had previously issued a similar warning. Azerbaijani authorities reported that the product had not been submitted to the Ministry of Health’s sanitary and quarantine center and had not undergone laboratory testing. Citizens who purchased the cups are being urged to submit them to the center for free testing. If no hazardous substances are found, the cups will be returned to their owners.
