During the reporting period, trade with Georgia accounted for 1.68 percent of Azerbaijan’s total trade turnover, an increase of 0.36 percentage points year-on-year.
Day: September 26, 2025
Azerbaijani official buys hotel in Georgia
Rza Talibov, the son of Vasif Talibov, former head of the Nakhchivan Supreme Assembly, and now an official at Azerbaijan’s migration service, has purchased a luxury hotel and a new plot of land in Georgia.
The story was reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Hotel for $8.6m, land for $730,000
According to the investigation, 43-year-old Rza Talibov bought the London 1889 hotel in Batumi in May this year for $8.6m. The deal was carried out through the purchase of 100% of the shares in B-Pearl Turizm, the company that owns the hotel.
In July, using the same company, he acquired a 2,000 sq metre seaside plot in the coastal settlement of Makhinjauri, near Batumi, for $730,000.
The hotel had previously operated under the name Divan Suites and was owned by Talibov. But in 2023, amid his father’s resignation and growing political pressure in Nakhchivan, he sold it.
The purchase was financed through a loan
In an email to OCCRP, Talibov said the purchases in Georgia were financed through loans from Azerbaijani and Georgian banks. He described the earlier sale and subsequent buyback as “an asset redistribution strategy.”
Journalists have noted, however, that Talibov simultaneously holds a senior state post while running multimillion-dollar business operations in Georgia. Under Azerbaijani law, public officials may own shares in companies but are required to file annual declarations of income and assets. It has not been made public whether Talibov submitted such a declaration.
The Talibov family’s wealth
Previous OCCRP investigations found that the Talibov family owns property in Georgia and the United Arab Emirates worth a total of $63m. The family also exercised full control over Nakhchivan Bank, which for many years was the region’s main financial institution.
Vasif Talibov, who ruled the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from 1995, has long been associated with authoritarian governance and repression. International media have frequently referred to Nakhchivan as “Azerbaijan’s North Korea.”
Court testimonies reveal years of illicit income for the Talibov family
After Talibov’s resignation, testimony from several former Nakhchivan officials in court revealed that the family had been receiving unofficial income for many years.
Former finance minister Rafael Aliyev admitted in court that he personally handed over 3 million manats to Vasif Talibov’s son, Seymur Talibov.
Former customs committee chairman Sahat Habibbayli said bribes worth $2.5m–$3m were collected every month and passed on to the leadership, amounting to more than $30m a year.
Despite this, no member of the Talibov family has yet faced trial on charges of abuse of office.
Azerbaijan lags in corruption rankings
Official Baku claims to be fighting corruption, but international indicators tell a different story. In the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International, Azerbaijan scored just 22 out of 100, ranking 154th out of 180 countries.
At the same time, several independent journalists investigating corruption, including staff at Abzas Media, are currently in detention. They say the charges against them were brought in retaliation for their reporting on corruption cases.
Azerbaijani official buys hotel in Georgia
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About – Spring Hill
Georgian Dream–elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili said he had a “brief encounter” with U.S. President Donald Trump at a dinner hosted by the American leader at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“I had a warm greeting with him [Trump],” Kavelashvili told Georgian reporters in New York, adding, “Then […] I told him that it was time to start our relations from a clean slate, to which he replied, ‘Yes, I will look into this matter.’”
“Then I told him again that it is necessary and it is already time for our relationship to start [from a clean slate], and he assured me he would certainly revisit this issue and follow up. Let’s wait and see what his response will be.” Kavelashvili added.
No photo or video has been released of the encounter that Kavelashvili told journalists about.
Kavelashvili also said he held “several meetings” with the U.S. administration members. Earlier, he shared a picture with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, describing their communication as “friendly” and saying he conveyed to Lutnick “the message of the Georgian people, namely that the current administration’s silence with respect to Georgia raises questions within our society.” He added that Lutnick “assured me that he would duly convey my views to members of the administration.”
Georgian Dream–elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, accompanied by GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and GD Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze, attended the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York from September 22 to 26. On September 25, he delivered his address to the General Assembly in Georgian. Kavelashvili’s appearance on the world stage was limited to a few meetings, including with the presidents of Slovakia and Serbia.
Kavelashvili’s said encounter with Trump, in which he spoke of resetting Georgia-U.S. relations, comes amid strained ties between Tbilisi and Washington, as GD officials call for a reset while regretting the U.S. president’s “silence” despite what they describe as “shared values.”
On September 1, Kavelashvili penned an open letter to Trump, expressing regret over what he called the Trump administration’s “passivity” toward Georgia despite “full alignment in values” with the Georgian government, and accusing the “Deep State” of still dominating in Georgia. In May, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also penned a similar open letter to Trump.
Kobakhidze and the Georgian Dream say that Trump is in a “battle” with the “deep state” and that the prospect of resetting relations hinges on whether Trump prevails.
Also Read:
- 11/09/2025 – U.S. Helsinki Commission Holds Hearing on Georgia’s “Anti-American Turn”
- 07/07/2025 – U.S. Ambassador: GD Sent “Threatening, Insulting, Unserious” Letter to Trump Administration
- 28/05/2025 – Ivanishvili Says Sanctions, “Blackmail” Behind His Refusal to Meet U.S. Diplomat
- 21/05/2025 – U.S. Secretary of State Rubio Calls Georgian Dream an “Anti-American Government”, Warns of Consequences
- 30/11/2024 – BREAKING: U.S. Suspends Strategic Partnership with Georgia