Tag Archives: Azerbaijan

Lukoil expects to be named Dostluk operator

JUNE 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — Lukoil expects to be named as the operator of the Caspian Sea’s Dostluk oil field which Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan said earlier this year that they want to exploit, the TASS news agency quoted Lukoil chairman Vagit Alekperov as saying. Dostluk sits midway between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and had been the focus of a long-running row between the two countries.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan waives coronavirus restrictions for Euro2020

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JUNE 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan said that it would waive coronavirus quarantine rules for football fans travelling to Baku for the delayed European Championship 2020. Baku hosts four games, including a quarterfinal match. For the first time, the European Championships matches are spread across the continent.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan and Armenia trade more accusations over border violations

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JUNE 2 2021 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan said that 40 Armenian soldiers had crossed into its territory but that they had been forced to retreat, an accusation that was immediately denied by Armenia. It wasn’t clear if there had been any combat. Both sides have accused the other of violating borders. Armenia has also said that Azerbaijani forces had captured its soldiers. Azerbaijan defeated Armenia in a war last year for control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Sixt rental car signs franchise deal in Azerbaijan

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JUNE 1 2021 (The Bulletin) — Sixt, the Munich-headquartered car rental company, concluded a franchise agreement with Azerbaijan-based Smart Rent a Car. Sixt, which is still run by the Sixt family, has been expanding its franchises over the past few years and already has franchise partners in Armenia and Georgia.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Armenia plans major military exercise

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MARCH 12 (The Bulletin) — Risking a rise in tension with its neighbour and enemy Azerbaijan, Armenia said that it would hold a major military exercise on March 16-20. The military exercise will involve 7,500 soldiers, reports said. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six week war last year for control of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian army was defeated and has been accused of being underprepared.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan cancels licence of another insurance company

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MARCH 12 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Central Bank, the country’s financial regulator, cancelled the trading licence of Ravan Sigorta, an insurance company. This is the third licence of an insurance company that the Azerbaijani Central Bank has cancelled this year. The authorities in Azerbaijan have been pruning its financial sector of banks and other institutions that it considers to be too weak to survive another financial jolt.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan orders AstraZeneca and Sputnik-V vaccines

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MARCH 11 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan, which has begun a mass vaccination scheme against the coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease, said that it had now ordered batches of Sputnik-V, the Russia-made vaccine, and the AstraZeneca vaccine. Sputnik-V was the first recognised vaccine for the disease. Some European countries have stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine because of worries that it triggers blood clots.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Coronavirus rips into region’s economies

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MARCH 11 (The Bulletin) — Fresh economic data showed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economies of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. In Kyrgyzstan, the National Statistics Committee said that the economy was 8.9% smaller in Jan. and February this year compared to the same period in 2020; in Kazakhstan, economy minister Aset Iragliev said that GDP had shrunk by 2.9% in the year to end-Feb; in Azerbaijan, the State Statistics Agency said that the economy was 3.2% smaller now than last year.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

German MP resigns over corruption allegations linked to Azerbaijan

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MARCH 11 (The Bulletin) — Mark Hauptmann, a German MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, resigned his position after being accused of receiving cash from Azerbaijan to promote its interests. Spiegel magazine said that Mr Hauptmann had used his position as the editor of a regional newspaper to promote Azerbaijan’s agenda in 2015 and 2018. He has denied the accusations. In January, a court in Italy sentenced former MEP Luca Volonte to four years in prison for taking bribes from Azerbaijan.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan promises construction projects to Israeli companies

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BAKU/MARCH 9 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s government has promised Israeli companies contracts to rebuild Nagorno-Karabakh, the region that it took control of last year after a six-week war with Armenia.

Israeli military advice and technology were critical for helping Azerbaijan defeat a well-dug in Armenian army that had held Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s, and analysts said that the contracts were effectively payback for this help.

Media quoted Ibrahim Khazar, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey, as saying that the construction work would concentrate on restoring the region’s “historical and authentic heritage”. He also said that Israeli companies had offered to “rehabilitate” the region.

Analysts have said that rebuilding Nagorno-Karabakh will give Azerbaijan’s construction sector a boost.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021