TEHRAN, BAKU, TEL AVIV (Combined Sources)—Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Iran said a $۱.۶ billion arms deal with Israel, which was announced Sunday, was made “to liberate occupied Azerbaijani land,” Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday. The Azeri ambassador, Javanshir Akhundov, acknowledged the arms purchase after getting confirmation ...

The plan, prepared by the Interior Ministry and forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office earlier this week, would also see 2 million to 100,000 euro bounties offered for hundreds of lower-ranked leaders of the terrorist group. The proposed plan also includes a seven-person council which will be governed by officials from the Interior Ministry, gendarmerie ...

President Aliyev (left) and President Saakashvili (right) review the Azerbaijani army honor guard during an official welcoming ceremony in Baku, March ۶. Photo: Azerbaijani President's press office. President Saakashvili, who pays a two-day official visit to Baku, met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on March ۶. The two Presidents “expressed ...

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declaring victory late Sunday before thousands of supporters on Manezh Square as President Dmitry Medvedev applauds. Vladimir Putin reclaimed the presidency Sunday in a landslide victory, winning more than ۶۴ percent of the vote, according to early results. But widespread allegations of fraud suggested that the prime minister ...

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of fueling the Syrian conflict by backing opposition forces, but the Foreign Ministry said it will not protect Syria from military intervention. Putin called for both Syrian government and opposition forces to pull out of besieged cities to end the bloodshed. He said Western refusal to make that ...

Turkey is planning to purchase ۱۰۰ multi-purpose F-۳۵ jet fighters worth $۱۶ billion, Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz has said. The first two of the military aircraft will be delivered by ۲۰۱۵, he said. The decision to order two F-۳۵s was made last month. The multi-purpose F-۳۵ fighter jets are being produced by the US-based arms producer Lockheed ...

Turkey has the highest gasoline taxes in Europe and ranks third after the United Kingdom and Sweden in taxes on diesel gas, according to newly released data. “Turkey imposes the highest tax on gasoline, with a ۱.۰۴ euro per-liter tax,” said Petroleum Industry Foundation of Turkey (PETDER) in a March ۲ statement. The total volume of the indirect ...

Turkish President Abdullah Gul had an exchange of messages with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov on the occasion of the ۲۰th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message to Karimov, Gul recalled that Turkey was the first country to recognize independence of Uzbekistan, saying, “We sincerely wish that our relations ...

Baku – APA. Azerbaijani first lady, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva has met French minister of culture and communication Frédéric Mitterrand, APA reports quoting AzerTAc. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Mitterand and his delegation viewed a photo exhibition reflecting national leader Heydar Aliyev’s life ...

Baku-APA. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today visited the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium to inspect overhaul and reconstruction work. The President was told that rebuilding work at the stadium was carried out by Korean Samhoa company, APA reports. The work will include increasing the capacity of the ۲۹,۸۷۰-seat stadium by a further ۲,...

NAKHICHEVAN (News.az)—Foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey on Wednesday pledged further cooperation between the three countries in a declaration signed in Nakhichevan. The declaration followed a meeting between the ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan, Ali Akbar Salehi of Iran and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey. In the declaration,...

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)—The Armenian Public Television on Wednesday officially told the European Broadcasting Union that it was pulling out of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which is scheduled to be held in Baku, reported ArmRadio. Armenian Public Television accused Azeri President Ilham Aliyev of making hostile remarks in recent days....

BRUSSELS—President Serzh Sarkisian on Wednesday welcomed Europe’s desire to have direct and unimpeded ties with the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and said that Karabakh has always been part of the European family. The European Union has indicated its intention to establish direct contacts with Nagorno-Karabakh in an apparent effort to step ...

Tbilisi and Baku have agreed to make a joint bid to host UEFA European Football Championship, said President Saakashvili while addressing the legislative body of Azerbaijan, Milli Majlis, on March ۷. Poland and Ukraine will host the European football championship this year and EURO ۲۰۱۶ will be hosted by France. The bidding process to host EURO ۲۰۲۰ ...

Russia's leadership "can say what it wants", but it's NATO allies which decide on membership and "step-by-step" Georgia is getting closer to the Alliance "regardless of what other parties might say," James Appathurai, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said. The NATO ...

Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of an opposition Georgian Dream coalition, is ranked at ۱۵۳ position in Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires with an estimated worth of USD ۶.۴ billion. Ivanishvili's wealth in last year's similar list was estimated at USD ۵.۵ billion. Ivanishvili, who is now French citizen awaiting a response from the ...

Russia’s Prime Minister and president-elect, Vladimir Putin, speaks with journalists, March ۷. Photo from Russian PM’s website. Russia’s President-elect Vladimir Putin told journalists on March ۷, Russia “has special relations with the Georgian people” and expressed hope that “a solution will be found” to improve ties ...

Unilaterally removal of visa rules for Russian citizens is “a sign of strength” rather than of weakness, President Saakashvili said on March ۲ at a meeting with a group of students in his residence in Tbilisi. “We know that Russia is a problem. They have masterminded several dozen of terrorist acts against us in last two-three years, but ...

Russian citizens will be able to enter and stay without a visa in Georgia for ۹۰ days, according to a presidential decree number ۱۴۹. Publishing date of the presidential decree on the state online registry of legal acts is February ۲۹ - a day after President Saakashvili said in his annual state of the nation address that Georgia would unilaterally ...

The NATO-Georgia Commission met in Brussels on March ۷ to discuss “how to enhance Georgia’s partnership and connectivity with the Alliance,” NATO said in a press release. The NATO-Georgia Commission is a main mechanism through which NATO-Georgia cooperation is supervised, including implementation of reform targets set in Georgia's Annual ...