Several MEPs from right-wing and Eurosceptic factions criticized the EU's policy toward Azerbaijan and stated that pressure from Brussels could have led to the current crisis in relations with Baku.

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Elgiz Mammadov, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement (MUM), to three years in prison. He was found guilty of drug possession and trafficking. Mammadov denied the charges, claiming the case was politically motivated.

"Russia continues to ignore its international obligations and is taking steps aimed at annexing Georgian regions," said Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili.

The prosecutor's office has requested 17 to 21 years in prison for the Crimean Tatars implicated in the so-called "third Dzhankoy group." 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that "foreign curators" and "local agents" are attempting to sour relations between Tbilisi and Yerevan amid the European Union's growing interest in Armenia.

The previous evening in Nalchik, at the "Tree of Life" memorial, participants lit 101 candles—a symbolic number referring to the years of the Caucasian War.

The Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentenced serviceman Islam Teshev to seven years in prison for leaving his unit without leave during mobilization.

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Shio III, stated that the country's demographic decline could lead to "other peoples" eventually outnumbering Georgians.

German Ambassador to Tbilisi Peter Fischer stated that Georgia has distanced itself from Ukraine and Moldova in the process of European integration. 

Tbilisi called the UK's decision to allow the import of fuel derived from Russian oil a manifestation of double standards, recalling long-standing calls from Western partners to curtail trade with Russia.