Some hard talk from the Russian foreign minister has led to recriminations in Yerevan and the prospect of Azerbaijan’s foreign minister getting sacked.
Armed forces on both sides appear not to have made many concessions to the need to social distance, but diplomats have held their first videoconference as part of the ongoing peace negotiations.
While the government seems to concede the inevitability of the incipient downturn, it is still clinging to rosy economic performance figures. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Two pro-Pashinyan candidates were the first-round leaders for de facto president. Observers noted widespread violations, however, and many argued the vote shouldn’t even have happened given the coronavirus outbreak.
There are worries that election observers from Armenia – which has been relatively hard-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak – could bring the virus into Karabakh.
The vote went ahead in spite of the global coronavirus outbreak; although Abkhazia hasn’t recorded any cases, election officials took pains that the disease couldn’t be spread by voting.
The hidden impact of coronavirus, a new secret police chief, and reading the government’s imagined data to understand its priorities and mindset. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Tinkering with the legislature, megaprojects for the dauphin, and talking about coronavirus without mentioning coronavirus: This and more in our weekly briefing.