Domestic Politics

Russian president Vladimir Putin has appointed retired Vice Admiral Sergei Menyailo as the interim head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Menyailo was the first governor of Sevastopol following its annexation by Russia and served as Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in Siberia.

France and the European Union are preparing proposals that could result in a freeze of assets and a travel ban on Lebanese politicians, according to Reuters. The move aims to push politicians to agree on forming a government that addresses the multitude of challenges that have rocked Lebanon in the past few months.  

The Russian newspaper Kommersant has commented on the recent visits to Moscow by the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and former president, Robert Kocharian, during which the two – which the newspaper describes as "key political rivals and irreconcilable foes" – had separate talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

A blunt statement issued by the spokesperson of the European Union on Wednesday (7 April) called on Georgia to revise the selection process of Supreme Court judges in line with Venice Commission recommendations, warning that this was also "a condition for the disbursement of the second tranche of macro-financial assistance to Georgia under its current programme".

Former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan has emerged as the strongest challenger to prime minister Nikol Pashinyan in Armenian’s forthcoming parliamentary elections. However, as Benyamin Poghosyan argues in this op-ed, most voters are simply motivated by their hate of one or the other.

Seven Members of the European Parliament have published a joint statement in response to Georgian politicians' inability to reach an agreement to resolve the country's political crisis this week under the mediation of the President of the European Council’s Personal Envoy, Christian Danielsson.