Helicopter carrying Iran’s President Raisi crashes, search under way
Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident. The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein […]
Blinken speaks to Azeri, Armenian leaders about peace talks
Reuters US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Washington’s support for a peace treaty between the South Caucasus neighbors, the State Department said on Sunday. Yerevan suffered a major defeat last September when Baku’s forces retook the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which while part of Azerbaijan […]
Russian peacekeepers start withdrawing from Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region
Reuters Russian peacekeepers have begun withdrawing from Azerbaijan’s Karabakh and other regions, ending a multi-year deployment which gave Moscow a military foothold in the strategic South Caucasus region. The step, confirmed by the Kremlin and Azerbaijan on Wednesday, comes as Russia faces pressure in the wider region with neighbouring Armenia demanding Russian border guards leave […]
Azeri President says peace with Armenia is closer than ever
Reuters Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday his country is “closer than ever” to a peace with Armenia, half a year after Azerbaijan recaptured its Karabakh region from its ethnic Armenian majority, prompting a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians. “Today, we are in an active phase of peace talks with Armenia,” Aliyev said in […]
Azerbaijan’s Aliyev calls snap election after Karabakh victory
Reuters Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, riding high on a wave of support for his recapture of the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Thursday called an early presidential election for 7th February. Aliyev, 61, was last re-elected in 2018 for a seven-year term, with a declared 86 per cent of the vote, in a poll boycotted […]
Aliyev raises Azerbaijan’s flag in former breakaway region of Karabakh
Moscow, RussiaReuters Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday raised the national flag in the capital of the former breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after a lightning military operation last month brought the territory back under Azerbaijan’s control. “President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has raised the national flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in […]
Azerbaijan’s President says France will be to blame if new conflict starts with Armenia
Moscow, RussiaReuters Azerbaijan’s President scolded the European Union and warned that France’s decision to send military aid to Armenia could trigger a new conflict in the South Caucasus after a lightening Azerbaijani military operation last month. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev last week pulled out of an EU-brokered meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at […]
Azerbaijan halts Karabakh offensive after ceasefire deal with Armenian separatists
Yerevan, Armenia Reuters Azerbaijan said on Wednesday it had halted military action in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after its battlefield success forced Armenian separatist forces to agree to a ceasefire that will see the area fully return to Baku’s control. Under the agreement, outlined by Azerbaijan and the Russian Defence Ministry, which has peacekeepers […]