More than 20 people were detained in the Armenian city of Gyumri on Monday during a protest in support of detained Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan. According to reports, 23 people were detained.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced the release from custody in Azerbaijan and the return to Russia of Igor Kartavykh, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-backed publication Sputnik Azerbaijan. The decision to lift the arrest was made following a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Dushanbe.

Georgia and Azerbaijan are striving to simplify border crossings: the parties plan to introduce a single-window system at joint border crossings.

Berlin has recalled its ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, for consultations. The decision, made by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadepoel, is intended to determine how to proceed, the ministry announced.

Former head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration and former president of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Ramiz Mehdiyev, will be removed from the Security Council on charges of attempting to seize power. The court previously placed him under house arrest for four months.

Глава Чечни Рамзан Кадыров награжден орденом «Группа войск в Германии». Награду вручил председатель чеченской региональной общественной организации «Союз ветеранов Группы советских войск в Германии Чеченской Республики» Муса Кавраев. 

Russian citizen and billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, owner of the Tashir Group, will remain in custody for another 30 days. A Yerevan court has extended his pretrial detention.

Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has appealed to the Constitutional Court to ban the activities of approximately ten opposition political groups.

The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Ulyanovsk region, Islam Huseynov, has been stripped of his Russian citizenship and will be deported. According to Russian media, this decision was made jointly by the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service (FSB). The reasons for the citizenship revocation and deportation have not been officially disclosed.

Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, announced he was banned from participating in the Democracy Forum in Prague. He claimed the ban came from President Ilham Aliyev.