In a message, Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili said "a day will come when we will build a strong, developed, democratic and peaceful state together with Abkhazians and Ossetians".

US and EU join Georgia in criticising President Putin for his visit to Abkhazia, but authorities in Sukhumi are defiant, describing the response as "pretty nervous"

The visit came despite Georgian protestations. The international community recognises Abkhazia as part of Georgia.

Turkmen President ended his official visit to Azerbaijan. Both sides hailed the level of relations between the two countries, and declared themselves pleased with the results of the visit.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are both Caspian littoral countries and have been discussing ambitious projects aimed at facilitating the transportation of Turkmen energy resources to world markets.

Nine years ago Georgia and Russia fought a short war. Different sides bear some responsability for the start of the war, but what eventually happened revealed Russia's bad intentions in the Caucasus and beyond.

President Sargsyan and President Rouhani discussed various issues related to bilateral co-operation, as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In a sign of Iran's increasing re-engagement with the international community high level delegations from over one hundred countries, including a delegation led by EU High Representative Federica Morgherini, and those representing the three South Caucasus countries, attended the ceremony

President Aliyev later tweeted "Our solidarity and national diversity are our great assets"

"Pence's visit to Georgia coincided (or more likely was timed to coincide) with the largest military exercises NATO has ever held in Georgia. This, some may claim, was just theatrics. In part this is true, but it is the sort of theatrics that the present Russian leadership understands", writes Dennis Sammut in this op-ed