Trending
Opinion: Germany must help EU diplomacy succeed in the South Caucasus
11 May 2023
Latest
Latest
- Opinion: Armenia Braces for a Turbulent Pre-Election Period
- Israel approves plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip
- Great power interest in Central Asia putting Uzbekistan in the spotlight
- Monday Commentary: For Trump the problem is not Ukraine, it is China
- LINKS Europe announces the names of all the chairpersons of the five thematic groups for the development of the Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue
- Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza in international waters
Filter archive
Trending
Russia lifts ban on flights to Georgia, removes visa restrictions for Georgian citizens
10 May 2023
On Wednesday (10 May), Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two separate decrees lifting a ban on flights to Georgia, and abolishing visas for Georgian citizens.
From 15 March, Georgian nationals will be allowed to enter Russia without visas for up to 90 days. Lifting the ban on flights reverses a 2019 decision in which the Kremlin banned air traffic with Georgia following a wave of anti-Kremlin protests there.
After President Putin signed the decrees, the Russian Foreign Ministry also released a statement reversing its 2019 advice against Russian citizens travelling to Georgia.
The statement added that Putin's decrees "are in line with our principled approach of consistently facilitating the conditions for communication and contacts between the citizens of Russia and Georgia, despite the absence of diplomatic relations".
Later, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported that the Georgian Deputy Minister of the Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili said that Georgia would issue permits for direct flights to non-sanctioned airlines, before adding that authorities were yet to receive any such requests from Russian airlines.
Trending
Russian brigade flees Bakhmut, UK prepares to supply Ukraine longer-range missiles
10 May 2023
An entire Russian brigade has reportedly fled the embattled town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine. This news was initially announced by the Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, and confirmed by Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade on Tuesday (9 May).
Russian forces have been trying to take the town for some 10 months, but have reportedly taken huge losses in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance. Bakhmut, which had a pre-war population of around 70,000, has been almost completely destroyed by the fighting.
"Prigozhin's report about the escape of the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces from Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians who remained there is true. The Third Assault Brigade is grateful for the publicity of our success at the front," the Third Assault Brigade wrote in a statement.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Third Assault Brigade, Andriy Biletskiy, claimed that they had liberated a 3km x 2.6km strip of land south-west of Bakhmut in the process.
