A significant court proceeding is currently underway in Azerbaijan involving individuals of Armenian origin accused of grave violations of international and domestic law during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Azernews reports.
Day: June 12, 2025
The majority of EU member states currently oppose suspending visa-free travel for Georgians, the EU Ambassador to Georgia told journalists a day after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said about his government’s efforts towards suspending or limiting the travel privileges Georgians have enjoyed with the bloc since 2017.
“For the moment, this is not the case,” EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski said about the visa-free travel suspension prospects on June 12, speaking to reporters at a conference organized by the Center for Security, Policy and Nationalism Studies of the University of Georgia. “I would say that the majority of member states are against it for a very simple reason: we don’t want to make ordinary people pay for the decisions, actions, and legislation that have been enacted in Georgia by the authorities.”
The EU’s decision to hold the Georgian authorities accountable has already been reflected in the suspension of visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic passports, the diplomat clarified. “For the moment, let me assure you that Georgian citizens can enjoy visa-free travel to the European Union,” he added.
Donald Tusk told the Polish parliament on June 11 that his government is working to build support within the EU member states for suspending or limiting the visa-free travel for Georgia, citing concerns about democratic backsliding and increased migration from Georgia. “I apologize to those Georgians who may feel offended, but I strongly support limiting visa-free travel from countries, like Georgia, that no longer uphold basic democratic standards and pose a migration risk to legal and public order in Europe,” the Polish prime minister noted.
Responding to Tusk’s remarks, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze again spoke of “threats” and “blackmail.”
“Yesterday, what we really heard in the Polish Parliament was a threat directed at the Georgian people,” Kobakhidze told reporters on June 12 while on an official visit to Budapest, Hungary. “I think this is blackmail aimed at pushing developments in Georgia in a different direction.”
Georgian Dream officials have claimed the EU is using the visa-free issue as a tool of “pressure” and “blackmail” against Georgia. When discussions about suspending Georgia’s visa-free regime emerged in April, some ruling party members encouraged the public to prioritize “patriotism over comfort.”
EU-Georgia relations further deteriorated following GD’s major foreign policy shift away from the EU in November 2024 and with the adoption of repressive legislation targeting critics, as well as violent crackdowns on pro-EU protests in November and December.
Ambassador Herczynski still expressed optimism about Georgia’s future in Europe. “We all know that Georgia is a candidate country for EU membership, and we sincerely hope that one day Georgia will become one of us — a member of the European Union.”
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President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the opening ceremony of a snack production plant operated by Nobel Food Industry LLC in Baku.
Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Azersun Holding Ahmad Gözel briefed the head of state on the facility’s operations.
The plant, established through a partnership between Azersun Holding’s Gafgaz Canning Factory and “Shervan” LLC, will produce a variety of snacks, including popcorn, nuts, and dried fruits. These products will cater to domestic consumers while also being exported to various countries. With an annual production capacity of 9,600 tons, the facility is equipped with modern machinery from leading global manufacturers. Raw materials such as sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts will be sourced locally. Spanning over 7 hectares, the plant will provide permanent employment for 210 people. The total investment in the facility amounts to 38 million manats, with 5 million manats provided as a concessional loan by the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund.
The sanctions package also targets Russian oil products, tanker operations, and the banking sector. The EU plans to blacklist 77 tankers from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and impose a full ban on SWIFT-related transactions with an additional 22 Russian banks. Von der Leyen emphasized that financial operators in third countries who help Moscow evade sanctions would also be targeted.
A Russian national has been detained in Abkhazia on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack at Sukhumi airport. He is accused of planning an explosion in the airport’s car park on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence.
The detainee’s name has not been disclosed, but he is identified as a Russian citizen born in 1980 and an engineer working for a construction company operating on the airport grounds. He was reportedly arrested at his workplace.
The recently reconstructed Sukhumi airport resumed operations in May 2025 after a 32-year hiatus. It currently operates flights exclusively with Russia, and the airport is largely managed by the Russian side.
According to the detainee, representatives of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate contacted him via social media on 24 February and offered him cooperation, which he agreed to.
He claims he planned to carry out an explosion in the airport car park that, according to the plan, could have caused mass casualties. Using his position, he gained access to the airport’s engineering plans and passed them on to Ukrainian intelligence, highlighting potential locations for planting explosives.
These statements were made in a video released by Abkhazia’s State Security Service, which has launched a criminal case against him under charges of espionage.
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