Caucasus in July 2026: the most important developments in politics
In the Caucasus in July 2026, the most prominent development was Azerbaijani diplomacy with Europe and Russia. On July 21 President Ilham Aliyev visited Berlin for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Germany wanted to strengthen energy cooperation. At a press conference Aliyev disclosed that German and Russian representatives had held secret negotiations in Baku. Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Baku on July 1, and on July 13 Aliyev said Azerbaijan was considering leaving the Council of Europe, citing alleged bias against his country. He hosted the Slovak president on July 14 and 15. The Kremlin called his support for Ukraine's territorial integrity mistaken, while the Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers met in Moscow on July 17, and Aliyev and Putin spoke by phone on July 28. On July 24 Aliyev recalled the ambassadors to Italy and Turkey.
Armenia's relations with Russia came under strain. After a phone call with Vladimir Putin on July 27 or 28 in which he urged an end to Russian export restrictions, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on July 29 and 30 that the Eurasian Economic Union was paralyzed and that the restrictions could mark the beginning of its end. He also said he was ready to address Iran's concerns about the US-backed TRIPP transit route, whose ratification was placed on the government agenda on July 15. A top EU official visited Yerevan on July 2, offering economic support.
On peace with Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on July 17 that de facto peace existed with Armenia, while Baku said it wanted Armenia to change its constitution. Pashinyan confirmed efforts to free Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, and Armenia was weighing a new envoy for talks with Türkiye. In Israel, a Knesset vote on recognizing the Armenian Genocide was suspended on July 13.
Domestic pressure on opposition and critics continued. In Armenia a court extended the detention of opposition leader Andranik Tevanyan by two months, parliament stripped opposition figure Narek Karapetyan of immunity, and Catholicos Karekin II was set to stand trial, a first for the Church. UN experts voiced concern over terrorism charges against opposition figures. In Georgia a journalist was jailed for 14 days over a Facebook post and a court detained four protesters over banners about Bidzina Ivanishvili.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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