Day: September 20, 2025
Armenian National Security Service delegation in Baku
A delegation of Armenia’s National Security Service arrived in Baku on the evening of 19 September. It is headed by the director of the National Security Service, Andranik Simonyan. The Armenian delegation is reported to be taking part in the 3rd International Security Forum. Armenia’s National Security Service also announced that the forum will conclude on 21 September. No further details have yet been provided regarding this first such visit of an Armenian delegation to Azerbaijan.
It is known that the delegation departed Yerevan on a Gulfstream G450 aircraft, designed for 16 passengers, owned by FlyOne. The plane landed at Heydar Aliyev International Airport yesterday at 20:12. The flight from Yerevan to Baku lasted 50 minutes.
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- “Baku not only gained dividends in Washington but also made concessions to Yerevan” – Opinion
- Armenian prisoners in Baku: reports of suicide attempts and hunger strikes, and Yerevan’s response
Comment
Commentary
Political analyst Armine Margaryan wrote on her Facebook page that she had to reread the news of the Armenian National Security Service delegation’s visit to Azerbaijan several times before she could believe it:
“The fact is that high-level contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan almost always took place within the negotiation process and almost always confidentially. That is, when Armenians met with Azerbaijanis, society instinctively understood that it was about the conflict and issues related to its settlement. Neither we nor the Azerbaijanis were accustomed to contacts in other formats. And that was normal. Or rather, it used to be normal.
After the Washington agreements of 8 August, this norm must change — both at the political level and in our mindset.
It is necessary to use every possible platform for meetings and to listen and hear each other. And if such a platform happens to be Yerevan or Baku, this raises the capitalisation of the peace process to a new level.
The peace process is not a document. The peace process is a change in mindset — ours and that of the Azerbaijanis. And for this, mutual contacts and the gradual building of trust are essential, step by step.
In Baku, our prisoners of war are still being held, and they must be brought home — the sooner the better. And I am convinced that the visit of the delegation headed by the director of the National Security Service to Baku brings us several steps closer to that long-awaited day.”
Armenian National Security Service delegation in Baku
Britain sanctions Georgia’s ex-prosecutor general
The UK has imposed sanctions on former Georgian prosecutor general Otar Partskhaladze and businessman Levan Vasadze for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to the British government, their assets in the UK will be frozen, they are banned from entering the country, and restrictions have been placed on trust services linked to them.
Sanctions also hit two oil tankers that unloaded Russian crude in a Georgian port. London says the vessels are part of the Kremlin’s “shadow fleet” — ageing and unsafe ships used to sustain Russia’s energy revenues. They are now barred from UK ports and from being registered under the British flag.
In addition, sanctions were imposed on Aeza International, which provided cyber services for Russian disinformation campaigns, and on HeliCo Group, a transport-sector company.
“The UK has announced new sanctions targeting Georgia-linked supporters of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.
As Russia’s war footing weakens, the Kremlin is increasingly looking to proxies in third countries to support its war and propaganda operations, including in Georgia.
Two oil tankers have been sanctioned for transporting Russian oil to the Georgian port of Batumi, as part of the ‘shadow fleet’– a collection of decrepit and dangerous vessels used by the Kremlin in a desperate attempt to cling onto their energy revenues, the number one source of funding for the illegal war in Ukraine. These ships will now be barred from entering UK ports and will be refused access to the UK Ship Register.
Georgian politician and media mogul Levan Vasadze is targeted for using his platforms to pump out pro-Russian disinformation. Businessman, Otar Partskhaladze, who has extensive links to Russia and to the highest levels of the Georgian Dream party is also sanctioned”, – the British government said in a statement.
UK Europe minister Stephen Doughty said they were cutting off “another lifeline by targeting and deterring those in Georgia who provide support for Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine”.
“The Kremlin must be in no doubt: the UK will continue to expose the shadowy networks propping up Putin,” he said.
The UK government added that it remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine, pledging an additional €142m for its energy infrastructure and signing a 100-year partnership agreement.
On 14 September 2023, the US imposed sanctions on Otar Partskhaladze over his business activities and cooperation with Russia’s FSB.
News in Georgia