Day: November 23, 2025

At a moment when Armenia and Azerbaijan are closer than ever to signing a long-awaited peace treaty, some figures in Yerevan continue to indulge in the dangerous fantasy that peace is a form of surrender. Their claim that Armenia is being “pressured” into peace is not only misleading; it is a reckless narrative that exposes what they truly desire: perpetual confrontation, not reconciliation.

Azerbaijan’s Mikayil Jabbarov visits Israel to deepen ties  The Jerusalem Post

Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry has presented a weekly review in a video format, Azernews reports.

Elite corruption in Georgia

According to Transparency International Georgia (TI), over the past six years, 271 alleged cases of so-called “elite corruption” have been recorded in Georgia. These cases involve more than 227 current or former high-ranking officials from the ruling Georgian Dream party, including 38 government members, 40 members of parliament, 18 judges, and 72 municipal officials.

Elite corruption is a specific form of corruption occurring at the highest levels of power – that is, among political elites who use their positions and state resources for personal enrichment.

What property do Georgian Dream members own in Europe? Transparency International report

At least 18 people close to the party own property or businesses in the EU. Ahead of a possible visa-free suspension, many are buying companies and apartments and obtaining citizenship there for their families

Transparency International reports that

in 2025 alone, 48 new alleged cases of elite corruption have been registered.

Specifically, these include:

• the allocation of large-scale state contracts in favor of officials’ own companies and relatives;
• the distribution of budget funds and state property to businesses linked to the ruling party in exchange for political donations;
• disguising illegal income as gifts from family members;
• obtaining construction permits through corrupt deals;
• pressuring judges or using the courts for corrupt purposes;

and other similar practices.

“The investigative bodies, which for several months have been preoccupied with internal power struggles within Georgian Dream, have not shown interest in any of these cases,” the organization adds.

According to TI, the current corruption situation in Georgia is characterized, on the one hand, by an “impressively low level of petty corruption,” and on the other, by “near-total impunity for high-ranking corrupt officials.”

“Corruption in Georgia has taken an extreme form – that of state capture. The nature and scale of the alleged high-level corruption cases, their number, and their growing trend give grounds to assert that high-level corruption in the country is taking the shape of a kleptocracy.

The bodies responsible for preventing corruption-related crimes (the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Security Service) fail to respond effectively to alleged cases of high-level corruption, especially when individuals connected to the ruling party are involved,” Transparency International states.

News in Georgia

The United Nations on Friday issued a stark warning over the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, citing an escalation of violence that has resulted in growing civilian casualties, forced displacement and deepening insecurity among Palestinians.

The UN climate conference COP30 wrapped up in Brazil on Saturday without securing a firm commitment to phase out fossil fuels, a failure that immediately sparked public protest from dozens of countries, who warned that the summit’s final draft undermines global efforts to keep warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F).