Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan does not rule out taking its dispute with Russia over the management of the South Caucasus Railway to an international court if the issue cannot be resolved through negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian authorities hope to settle the matter through talks.
The international human rights organization Freedom House has published its annual report “Countries in Transition 2023”. The study notes that democratic governance is in decline from Central Europe to Asia.
Regarding Azerbaijan, the report states that in its rating the country is ahead of only Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. These three countries ended up in the top eight states with "strengthened autocracy."
According to the authors of the report, the state structures of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are practically devoid of "democratic qualities." It is also noted that the citizens of these countries suffer from the parochialism of the ruling elites.
Armenia and Georgia, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, are referred to as “hybrid regimes” in the study.