Armenia preferred negotiations with Azerbaijan through the mediation of the West

A format for meetings between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been formed in Washington. This gives legitimacy to peace negotiations, said Sarkis Khandanyan, head of the Armenian Parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.

In addition, on January 8, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, during a meeting in Yerevan with the US State Department's chief adviser for negotiations in the Caucasus, Louis Bono, said that Armenia had agreed to continue negotiations in a trilateral format in Washington. Previously, Bono visited the region on December 7, 2023 and held a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan. The latter announced his readiness to negotiate with his Azerbaijani counterpart Bayramov in Washington.

On December 6, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the US authorities had “reduced” relations with Baku. He stressed that if Washington "says that the relationship will remain as it was before... then we can restore the Washington process." According to him, if this does not happen, only Brussels and Moscow will remain to mediate the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Последние новости
MMA fighter from Chechnya hospitalized following a brawl involving gunfire in Vladikavkaz
Society
MMA fighter from Chechnya hospitalized following a brawl involving gunfire in Vladikavkaz
18 October 2026

Mixed martial arts fighter Ibragim Islamov, known by the nickname "Nikarkho," sustained a gunshot wound from a non-lethal (traumatic) pistol during an altercation in the center of Vladikavkaz. Two people were injured in the incident, both of whom were hospitalized. The North Ossetia branch of the Russian Interior Ministry has opened a criminal case, and one of the individuals involved has been detained.
Azerbaijan marks 35 years of independence—33 of which have seen the country ruled by a single family
Society
Azerbaijan marks 35 years of independence—33 of which have seen the country ruled by a single family
18 October 2026

On October 18, Azerbaijan celebrates the Day of the Restoration of Independence. It was on this date in 1991 that the republic’s Supreme Soviet adopted a Constitutional Act, formalizing the country’s departure from the Soviet system and the restoration of its state sovereignty.
US Congressman Calls Kobakhidze’s Meeting with Iranian President an “Insult to Trump”
Politics
US Congressman Calls Kobakhidze’s Meeting with Iranian President an “Insult to Trump”
18 October 2026

American Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has criticized Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze for holding talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The meeting took place in Yerevan on the sidelines of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17).
Drone alert declared across southern Russia this evening
News
Drone alert declared across southern Russia this evening
17 October 2026

On the evening of 17 October, a drone alert was declared again in several districts of Krasnodar Krai. The warning covered Anapa, Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk, Abinsky, Krymsky and Temryuksky districts. Earlier in the day, alerts had also been issued in Sochi, Tuapse municipal district and Mostovsky district.