Caucasus

Synod to identify candidates convened for April 3. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople proposed two names, provoking a furious reaction from the Russians. The Georgian Church was one of the first to adopt a very radical and aggressive stance, withdrawing from the World Council of Churches. Theologian Čapnin: “The real problem is religious nationalism”.

A new law on local viticulture – the finest in the former Soviet states – is about to come into force in Tbilisi. A step towards meeting European quality standards and preventing the spread of viruses among crops. But small farmers fear that the introduction of a licensing system will encourage the formation of a closed circle amongst the major producers.

Nakhchivan was hit in the enclave that is supposed to be reconnected to Baku with the corridor provided for in the agreement signed by Trump to end the war with Armenia. The historic dispute with Iran over overlapping territories and different interpretations of the Shiite variant of Islam. Tehran denies responsibility, but Aliyev says he is ready to “defend his country's security and territorial integrity”.

The parties opposed to the pro-Russian Georgian Dream are trying to agree on a common platform with the aim of bringing about early and ‘legitimate’ parliamentary elections to overthrow the current government without conflict. However, the disagreements between the various forces are far from resolved.

Pašinyan's government will place a sculpture dedicated to the writing created by the monk Mesrop Mashtots to translate the Bible in an area adjacent to the European Parliament headquarters. A symbol of national pride, resilience and the deep bond between faith and culture in the first Christian nation in history. It is also a political message about the current leadership in Yerevan's view of Europe.

In the city of Armavir, a thousand Armenians took to the streets wearing red armbands to support the bishops and priests imprisoned in the clash between Pashinyan and the Apostolic Church. Moscow views these initiatives with sympathy, concerned about the pro-Western initiatives of the current government in Yerevan that call into question Russia's role as traditional guardian.

Prime Minister Kobakhidze declares himself ‘available at any time for discussions with members of the pro-Western opposition’. But these same forces, which do not recognise the legitimacy of his government, remind him of their leaders in prison and the approval of the law against ‘foreign agents’. Meanwhile, Tbilisi is cut off from trade agreements between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

An opinion poll among immigrants from the former Soviet Union ranked Azerbaijan as the country closest to Israel and Aliyev second only to Trump among the world's most friendly leaders. A bond cemented by many factors, including historical reasons but also today's commercial agreements on energy and military cooperation.

From standardised textbooks prepared directly by the ministry to uniforms, education in Georgia is returning to the practices of the former Soviet Union. Even the age of enrolment in the first year has been raised to 6, reducing the number of classes in the entire school cycle to 11. The promise: ‘In all schools there will be a single approach, a single standard, a single level of quality.’

Iraklij Kobakhidze defends the appeal to the Constitutional Court to outlaw the main opposition forces and says he wants to remain at the helm of the Georgian government until 2030, ‘hoping that the approaches of the European bureaucracy will change’. The National Movement's accusations: the current administration is increasingly transforming Georgian society into a totalitarian dictatorship.

The traditional dish that has been celebrated in Yerevan for centuries at the end of October to mark the end of the harvest is a thanksgiving for nature's generosity and a wish for a peaceful winter for those engaged in agricultural work. The filling with thousands of grains of rice represents the whole of humanity, which absorbs the sweetness of the other ingredients inside the pumpkin without losing its own specificity.

Azerbaijan might provide troops for the Gaza international stabilisation force under Trump’s peace plan. For 30 years, the Muslim nation in the Caucasus has been a key ally of the Jewish state as well as a channel of communication with Turkey. Bilateral relations are based on the common fight against Islamic extremism and terrorism.