Iran has sharply responded to accusations voiced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stressing that the country is fully capable of defending itself.
Day: January 23, 2026
In 2025, Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries exceeded $7.635 billion, marking a 10.2 percent increase compared with 2024, according to the State Customs Committee, Azernews reports. The share of CIS trade in Azerbaijan’s total foreign trade turnover reached…
Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the opposition party Strategy Aghmashenebeli, was released from Rustavi prison on January 23 after completing a seven-month sentence for defying the so-called Tsulukiani Commission.
“I am very motivated and feeling optimistic,” Vashadze said in his first comments to journalists after his release. “I want to greet Georgia. I am confident, and I believe we will win, because we want to live in a developed country that is a member of the European Union…We want to live in a country where people are not arrested for having different opinions.”
Vashadze was arrested on June 24 after being found guilty of failing to comply with a request of the Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary investigative commission to appear at a hearing. Eight people, including six active opposition members, were sentenced to months in prison in the case. All refused to appear before the commission of the disputed Parliament, which they did not recognize as legitimate.
Vashadze is the second to leave prison among those serving a full sentence in a series of commission-related jailings. Zurab Japaridze, leader of Girchi-More Freedom party, was released first on December 19 after serving seven months. Two others – Lelo’s Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze – were released in early September following pardons from Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili amid the party’s decision to participate in the October 4 municipal elections.
Initially tasked with probing alleged misconduct by the former ruling United National Movement, the Georgian Dream commission, headed by GD veteran member Tea Tsulukiani, expanded its scope to target all major opposition party leaders. The commission concluded its work in August, 2025 with a 470-page report, which Georgian Dream has cited in a Constitutional Court lawsuit seeking to ban the United National Movement and what it calls “affiliated” opposition parties.
Four others remain in prison for not appearing before the Tsulukiani commission, including Ahali party leaders Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia, former MP Givi Targamadze, and former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. While Gvaramia and Targamadze are set to be released, Melia and Okruashvili had their sentences extended on separate criminal charges while in custody. Melia was convicted in November and sentenced to an additional year for splashing water at a judge during a court hearing. Okruashvili, who was found guilty of abuse of power in a high-profile 2004 killing case, is expected to remain in prison for four more years.
Giorgi Vashadze is also among eight opposition figures charged in November with sabotage. He faces seven to 15 years in prison. Three others – Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and Zurab Japaridze – have already been granted bail, which they posted.
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Last year, Georgia imported cigarettes (containing tobacco) worth 45.3 million USD from Azerbaijan, making it the top supplier of cigarettes to the country, according to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, Azernews reports. This figure was 41 percent higher than in 2024, underscoring strong growth in demand for Azerbaijani tobacco products in the Georgian market.