Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev missed the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg due to a busy work schedule. Aliyev's administration also noted that his absence from the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on December 21 was due to Azerbaijan not being a member of the organization.

The court has extended the pretrial detention of Shahin Shikhlinsky, the former head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg. He will be held in pretrial detention until at least May 31, 2026.

On Sunday, December 21, an expanded meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) was held in St. Petersburg. The meeting, chaired by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, was attended by the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Chairman of the EAEU Board, Bakytzhan Sagintayev.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili stated that the ruling party's signing of a document in support of Ukraine was motivated not so much by fears of an international investigation as by a desire to irritate Russia.

The British Embassy in Tbilisi has called on the Georgian government to strengthen measures to prevent Russian oil supplies using the so-called "shadow fleet." The diplomatic mission believes that these schemes facilitate sanctions evasion and pose a threat to maritime security and the environment.

The National Security Service of Armenia reported that Yezras Nersisyan, the brother of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, was recruited by the KGB during the Soviet period and given the codename "Karo."

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili criticized the statement by European Union Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas that the European Union supports the Georgian people, but not the country's government.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that the first shipment of Azerbaijani petroleum products is heading to his country.

CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov emphasized the organization's interest in Armenia's return to full membership. According to Armenian media reports, Tasmagambetov stated that the CSTO continues to consider Armenia an ally and expects its active participation to resume in the foreseeable future.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas stated that the Georgian government's current policies are not aligned with the European Union's direction. Arriving at the EU summit in Brussels, she emphasized the EU's support for the Georgian people but expressed disagreement with the Georgian government's actions. Kallas stated that the country's leadership is leading Georgia "in the wrong direction," which is hindering the process of European integration.