A Belarusian opposition leader who rallied mass protests against disputed leader Alexander Lukashenko has been jailed for 18 years, BBC reported. Sergei Tikhanovsky was convicted of organising riots among other charges following a trial condemned as a sham. He planned to challenge Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, but was detained before the vote. …

European Council President Charles Michel today had separate meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who both are in Brussels on working visits. No additional details have been reported.

Armenia’s Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan today met with Matthias Lüttenberg, Director for Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia Countries of the German Foreign Ministry, and German Ambassador to Armenia Viktor Richter, the Ombudsman’s Office reported. Tatoyan presented on concrete facts and examples about the violations of rights of Armenia’s border residents by the Azerbaijani servicemen. …

The United States is determined to implement the agreements reached between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to prevent a conflict between the two countries, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Jakarta during his visit to Indonesia, swissinfo reported. “President Biden told President Xi that we share a deep responsibility to …

A virtual summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will be lengthy in time and cover a broad agenda, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, highlighting the utmost importance of the upcoming contacts, TASS reported. “Tomorrow, the Russia-China summit will take place. This will be a video-conference of President …

Gas prices in Europe have continued to spike since the end of last week. Thus, at the auction on ICE Futures on December 14, the price of January futures for TTF reached $1,425 per 1,000 cubic meters or 122.24 euros per MW / h, the Russian newspaper Korrespondent wrote. Gas prices in Europe have risen …

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts an increase in the number of hospitalizations and mortality rates due to the Omicron variant. Concerns are growing as the death toll rises, and we expect surge in hospitalization and even death tolls around the world, the WHO said in a statement. The British prime minister announced yesterday about …

The farce trial of two Armenian prisoners of war was scheduled to take place today in the Court of Grave Crimes in Gandzak (Ganja). According to Azeri media, the preparatory court session was postponed because the Armenian captives were not brought to court. The next court session will be held on December 17. It is …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday that Ankara will work to normalize relations with Yerevan, Bloomberg wrote. “We will appoint mutual special representatives for normalizing relations with Armenia,” Cavusoglu said in a speech to parliament, noting that Ankara is coordinating its steps with Azerbaijan. Bloomberg says Turkey’s surprise offer is in line with the …

Armenia will appoint a special representative for dialogue with Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan has said. “Armenia, as always before, is ready for the process of normalization of relations with Turkey without preconditions, which is enshrined in the Armenian government’s program, the Spokesperson said in response to media questions. “In this regard, …