The Commission of the Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan on countering external interference has established that some media outlets and individuals in Russia have launched a large-scale information campaign against the country and ethnic Azerbaijanis.

On July 1, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced one of the leaders of the opposition party "Akhali" and the coalition "For Changes" Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison for refusing to testify to the temporary investigative commission of parliament. Before the verdict, the politician was in custody after refusing to pay bail in the amount of 30,000 lari.

Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses are being rapidly introduced in Georgia, increasing penalties for protesters. The initiator of the legislative changes was the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Russian citizens who are members of two organized crime groups have been detained in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. They are suspected of drug trafficking, online drug sales, and cybercrime. Investigative operations are currently ongoing.

Deputy Director of the Fourth Department of the CIS Countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Masyuk stated that the collective West is trying to "pursue a policy of containing Russia in the South Caucasus." He noted that there are attempts to sow discord in Russia's relations with neighboring countries and "traditional allies in the region."

The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan has opened a criminal case on the fact of torture and premeditated murder with particular cruelty of two citizens of the country and persons of Azerbaijani origin by Russian law enforcement officers. We are talking about the murder of two people, the Safarov brothers, and torture of other people during a raid by FSB officers in Yekaterinburg.

The EU Council decision to suspend the visa-free regime with Georgia for holders of diplomatic and service passports has been implemented in 11 countries. This information was disseminated by the EuroScope resource.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan reported on a special operation at the office of Sputnik Azerbaijan in Baku. Two employees of the Russian FSB working for this agency were detained. Moscow expressed concern.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan refused to participate in the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council, which is taking place today in Kyrgyzstan. A CSTO summit will also be held there in the fall, which is expected to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is unknown whether Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will take part in it. Yerevan has frozen its presence in all meetings of the structure since last year.

The delegation of the Azerbaijani Parliament headed by First Vice-Speaker Ali Akhmedov will not participate in the scheduled meeting of the Commission on Interparliamentary Cooperation with the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in Moscow.