Russia & CIS

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar visited the military unit and TrainingEducational Center of the Combined Arms Army deployed in the city of Nakhchivan on June 10 the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported

Theres a big confusion in the enemy forces camp regarding who controls whom said Leyla Abdullayeva spokesperson for Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A helicopter crash landed onto the roof of a building in midtown Manhattan and then caught fire on Monday afternoon authorities said Trend reports citing CNBC

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's official spokesman, told reporters on June 10 that the Kremlin was watching the development of the investigation of the case of journalist Ivan Golunov. Peskov added, though, that he was not ready to comment on the case. He only said that the case of Ivan Golunov is supposed to attract "close attention of the Office of the Prosecutor General and other services." He declined to answer questions about possible resignations and the objectivity of the investigation.Putin was informed about the case of Ivan Golunov on Friday, Peskov said. He also said that the Kremlin fully trusts the Office of the Prosecutor General in terms of reaction to possible incidents of abuse of human rights. Speaking on the problem of distrust to law enforcement and judicial systems, Peskov acknowledged that the Golunov case "gave rise to a large number of questions," but one did not have to talk about distrust to the system in general. He also declined to comment on the question of possible resignations and possible violations made on the part of law-enforcers. "A mistake is possible because it's people who work everywhere. Mistakes may take place anywhere. Journalists can also make mistakes when they write their materials. They can make many mistakes, but the main thing is to acknowledge those mistakes and explain, how they were made not to let them happen again," said Peskov.Ivan Golunov, a special correspondent of Meduza website, was detained in the afternoon of June 6 in Moscow. His detention was legally registered only on the night of June 7 - i.e. 13 hours  later. Golunov was not allowed to call either his relatives or a lawyer. The journalist's relatives were notified of his detention only after 13 hours, while the lawyer was allowed to talk to Golunov only in 16 hours.Golunov suffered injuries during his detention. In response to his requirements for a lawyer, a law-enforcement officer punched the journalist in the head twice. When the journalist was lying on the pavement, a policeman put his foot on the young man's chest.Golunov was charged with an attempt to sell large batches of drugs. Illegal substances were found in his backpack and in his apartment. Law-enforcement authorities later exposed nine photographs allegedly made in Golunov's apartment, although it later turned out that eight of those pictures were made in completely different premises.The journalist claims that the drugs were planted on him; his colleagues support his words on the matter. Golunov is known for his high-profile investigations of corruption among metropolitan and federal officials. Other journalists believe that Golunov was arrested in response to his another investigation, which was devoted to the funeral business in Moscow. The journalist had received a number of threats in this connection during the recent months.On the afternoon of June 8, a Moscow court was supposed to gather for a meeting to choose a measure of restraint for the arrested journalist. However, Golunov did not feel well as he had hardly slept and eaten before. ER doctors insisted on hospitalizing Golunov, but law-enforcers prevented this to happen, nor did they let medical specialists examine the journalist. Ivan Golunov was eventually taken to a hospital for examination. Several hours later, the head physician of the hospital said that there was no reason to hospitalise the journalist, because his condition was satisfactory. Nearly all Russian media outlets, except for clearly pro-Kremlin ones, supported Golunov. His case received an extensive coverage in Russia and attracted attention to many public figures and activists. On June 8, a Moscow court decided to put Golunov under house arrest, while prosecutors insisted on two months of arrest. Golunov is not allowed to leave his home, he is not allowed to talk to anyone related to his case. He is not allowed to use means of communication either. Golunov's lawyers intend to appeal to the European Court for Human Rights. 

Azerbaijan has been elected as a member of the UNESCOs Intergovernmental Committee of the 20192023 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on the sideline of the seventh ordinary session of the Conference of Parties to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in Paris France

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has made a phone call to President of Kazakhstan KassymJomart Tokayev

Georgia attracted 2811 million in foreign direct investments in the first quarter of 2019 which is a 63 decrease compared to the same period of 2018 according to the latest preliminary data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia Geostat

In JanuaryApril 2019 insurance companies of Azerbaijan collected premiums worth 2653 million manats and the value of insurance payments amounted to 667 million manats Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Authority FIMSA

An article devoted to the 3rd meeting of Joint Intergovernmental Commission held on May 22 and strengthening of UKAzerbaijan relations in the field of renewable energy is published at the website of the government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland APAEconomics reports citing Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is greatly interested in attracting Russia to the use of transport routes passing through Azerbaijan and the countrys logistics potential Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov said

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter of congratulations to KassymJomart Tokayev on his election as President of Kazakhstan

Some 146000 tickets for the Baku 2019 Summer European Youth Olympic Festival are on sale Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports on June 10

Nearly 100 people have been killed in attack in a village in central Mali inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group BBC reported

A delegation led by Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar has arrived in Nakhchivan to observe the AzerbaijaniTurkish joint livefire tactical exercises dubbed Indestructible Brotherhood 2019 the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry reported on Monday

Azerbaijan does not recognize the socalled elections held in South Ossetia which is a blatant violation of international law Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday

New Zealand will begin scaling back its noncombat mission in Iraq next month and bring home the last of its troops by mid2020 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov on Monday arrived in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to observe the AzerbaijaniTurkish joint livefire tactical exercises dubbed Indestructible Brotherhood 2019 the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported

Up to 2 million refugees could flee to Turkey if fighting intensifies in northwestern Syria as aid funds run dangerously low the United Nations said on Monday Reuters reports

Russia supports peaceful settlement of the ArmeniaAzerbaijan NagornoKarabakh conflict and welcomes continuation of the negotiation process Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov said at a press conference on Monday Trend reports

A total of 653 people have been killed and 3547 others injured in the fighting in and around Libyas capital Tripoli the World Health Organization WHO said Sunday