The Georgian Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal case against Irakli Okruashvili, who served as the country's Minister of Defense from 2004 to 2006. He is accused of refusing to cooperate with the temporary parliamentary commission investigating alleged crimes by the authorities during the rule of the United National Movement.

Armenia officially notified the Secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that it refrains from signing the decision "On the CSTO budget for 2024" and, accordingly, from participating in the financing of the bloc's activities. This was reported by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova could neither confirm nor deny rumors that Georgian Dream-elected President Mikhail Kavelashvili has been invited to Moscow to celebrate Victory Day. SOVA reports on this.

Today, Muslims of the North Caucasus, together with their fellow believers from other Russian regions and around the world, celebrate Eid al-Fitr. This is one of the most ancient Muslim holidays, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which believers fasted, abstaining from food, drink and worldly pleasures from sunrise to sunset.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting on improving the investment climate in the North Caucasus Federal District. He noted that in 2023-2024, the district achieved very good results in terms of investment growth rates - almost plus 20%.

A large-scale rally involving refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh took place in the capital of Armenia on March 29. Protesters pitched a tent on Freedom Square where their headquarters will be located, Novaya Gazeta Evropa reports. Some demonstrators held portraits of Russian businessman, former state minister of the unrecognized republic Ruben Vardanyan, who has been in a Baku prison since September 2023.

At the request of the Russian authorities, a native of Ingushetia was extradited from Egypt. The man is accused of committing terrorist crimes.

The defense and prosecution did not exercise their right to challenge the verdict of journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova. On March 12, she was fined 600 thousand rubles in a case of justifying terrorism. The journalist spent almost a year in a pretrial detention center.