2024

While preparations for the election were efficient and professional, it lacked genuine pluralism and critical voices were continuously stifled. Longstanding restrictions on freedoms of association and expression were reinforced by recent legal amendments and resulted in legislation not in line with international democratic standards, international observers said in a statement  today, OSCE press office reports….

Charles Michel, President of the European Council congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as the president of Azerbaijan.   “Congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his reelection and extended best wishes for his new mandate. Underlined the importance of continued engagement with OSCE/ODIHR. Discussed also EU-Azerbaijan relations and cooperation, including connectivity and energy. Had substantive discussions also…

Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan Mazahir Panahov has held a press conference on the preliminary outcomes of the snap presidential election.   Panahov disclosed that the results from 6,102 out of 6,537 polling stations (93.35 percent) in 125 constituencies have been submitted to the CEC. He highlighted that the number of valid…

Today, during the weekly briefing, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also referred to the topic of Armenia’s possible EU membership. “First, I have never heard that membership in the European Union is determined by self-declaration. Second, it is the sovereign task of each state to determine its national course in…

Head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand, congratulated Armenia on the occasion of officially joining the ICC. “Sincere congratulations to Armenia on formally joining the International Criminal Court on 1 February 2024! A clear signal of the country’s commitment to the rule of law and a great basis…

The snap election of the president continues in Azerbaijan, as of 10:00 a.m., 1,259,371 people, 19.44%, participated in the voting.   Elections started at 8:00, polling stations will be open until 19:00.   Aliyev voted with his family in Stepanakert.   Seven candidates are competing for the position of president: the current head of the…

Reuters. Six people, including three police officers, were wounded in an attempted terror attack in front of an Istanbul courthouse on Tuesday (February 6), which resulted in the two shooters being killed in a gun battle, according to authorities.   The shooters, identified as a woman and a man, are believed to be affiliated with…

The reelection of President Ilham Aliyev, who silences all dissent, is assured without much suspense on 7 February 2024. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the wave of arrests of journalists that started on 20 November and calls on the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is observing the election, to roundly condemn…

Kazakhstan intends to boost oil deliveries through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route or TITR to 3 million tonnes within two years, the government press service reported on Monday, Interfax reports.   President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in 2022 asked for oil transportation through the Trans-Caspian corridor to be increased. KazMunayGas and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan…

A scandal broke out in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan: Swiss politician, a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Evangelical People’s Party, Nick Gugger was expelled from the country. Foreign Minister of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis was informed about the incident.   Gugger came to Azerbaijan as an official and accredited as an OSCE/ODIHR…

The Georgian State Security Service on Monday said it had seized several units of special explosive devices and a “significant quantity” of explosive material allegedly originating from the Ukrainian city of Odesa and intended for transportation to Russia, agenda.ge reports.    The agency said professionals of its Counter-Terrorism Centre had uncovered two electric car batteries,…

The Georgian authorities intend to carry on trying to settle relations with Russia, according to the government program of Irakli Kobakhidze, a prime ministerial candidate, which he submitted to the parliament, TASS reports.   “In parallel with the country’s European integration, Georgia’s main task remains to restore its territorial integrity in a peaceful manner and…

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has cautioned the European Union states against providing military assistance to Armenia, Interfax reports.   Bayramov met with Marketa Pekarova Adamova, president of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, on Friday. According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Bayramov said that “Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of the EU…

Edmon Marukyan, Ambassador with Special Assignments of Armenia, in his X microblog, referred to the new conditions presented to Armenia by the President of Azerbaijan Aliyev.   “In March 2022, Azerbaijan proposed five fundamental principles on which the peace treaty with Armenia had to be based, namely: Mutual recognition by states of sovereignty, territorial integrity,…

Georgian Prime Minister candidate Irakli Kobakhidze announced after the party congress that the only change in the government’s composition would be the replacement of Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze with Irakli Chikovani, Georgian Public Broadcaster reports.   “It’s noteworthy that the past three years have been remarkably successful for our country. We doubled our nominal economy…

Addressing the National Congress for the Commemoration of the 24,000 Martyrs from Tehran on Wednesday, Major General Hossein Salami dismissed US threats against Iran amid heightened tensions over the death of three American forces, IRNA reports.   “We hear threatening words from American officials,” he said. “You have tested us and we know each other,…

The ruling Georgian Dream party officially nominated Irakli Kobakhidze as the candidate for the position of Prime Minister, Georgian Public TV reports.   Irakli Garibashvili, the new GD chair, announced at the party congress that Irakli Kobakhidze would be the GD’s candidate for the Prime Minister position, expressing his wishes for his success.   A…

You clearly worded that proposal which was addressed by Yerevan directly to the Azerbaijani side. It seems to me it should be asked to the Azerbaijani side as well. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Maria Zakharova, answering a reporter’s question as to how Russia assesses…

Russia believes that Armenia should be guided by long-term interests in the rapprochement with NATO.    The  spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Maria Zakharova said when asked to comment on the words by NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomin,  who mentioned that Armenia’s  has…

Canada had imposed the embargo first because of Turkey’s 2019 incursion into Syria and then of its backing of Azerbaijan in the 44-day Karabakh war.    The Canadian government has announced the removal of export restrictions imposed since 2020 on defense industry companies seeking to sell to Turkey, bianet reports.   In a statement to…

Senator, Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin issued a statement on the situation of democracy in Azerbaijan.   “Azerbaijan’s assault on journalists, illegal detention of opposition and alleged use of transnational repression are anti-democratic tactics. Baku must release political prisoners and halt harassment to be part of the international community, ahead of COP29”,…

The United States is prepared to let Turkey back into its F-35 fighter jet program as long as the issue of its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system is resolved, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has told CNN Turk.    “We were in the process of negotiating the Patriot sale, and…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan responded to the proposal of Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to sign a non-aggression pact between Yerevan and Baku, if it turns out that the signing of the peace treaty will take longer than expected.   Azerbaijani MFA spokesman Aykhan Hajizada described the proposal as unacceptable. He noted…

On January 29, the meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and Kamal Kharrazi, Foreign Policy Advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader and Head of Iran Strategic Council on Foreign Relations took place.   The interlocutors discussed various issues of the agenda of the Armenian-Iranian multisectoral cooperation, noting the high level of political…

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday announced his exit from the position of the head of the Government, agenda.ge reports.    In his comments, Garibashvil said he was leaving after having “submitted to the public an extensive report on my three years of work” at the end of 2023.   “I started working as…

The appellate court of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku has denied the appeal which was submitted in relation to the decision by a court of first instance to extend the period of pretrial detention of Ruben Vardanyan, former Minister of State of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani media informed.   Earlier, a court of first instance in Baku…

Aykhan Hajizada, head of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, responded to the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Hanke Bruins Slot.   Earlier, the latter mentioned at the session of the foreign relations committee of the Dutch Parliament that Azerbaijan’s latest statements regarding Armenia are…

Moscow continues to be the venue for peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu told TASS in an interview.   “We are grateful to Russia at present for intermediary efforts to normalize relations between Baku and Yerevan, and Moscow continues to be the platform for peace talks,” the Ambassador…

The Biden administration has announced its approved a $US23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s Nato membership, the state department said.   The state department will now notify Congress of the agreement, as well as of a separate $8.6bn sale of 40 F-35s to Greece, The Guardian reports. Turkey…

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in the weekly briefing, answering the question whether Moscow is ready to become a partner in the transfer of mine maps by Armenia to Azerbaijan, noted that Russia is ready to continue efforts that will promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus. “Moscow remains…