logo
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan reinforce ties ahead of ECO Summit

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan reinforce ties ahead of ECO Summit

Euronews18 hours ago
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has arrived in Azerbaijan for a state visit, underscoring a growing partnership between the two countries in Central Asia and South Caucasus.
Mirziyoyev's trip comes just days before the 17th Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Summit begins in Khankendi.
Welcomed by President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Mirziyoyev held bilateral talks focused on trade, transportation, energy and regional connectivity, as well as the opening of a new embassy building in the Azerbaijani capital.
During the visit, the two leaders also laid the foundation stone for a new 'Uzbekistan' park in the Azerbaijani capital.
The trip follows a series of high-level exchanges as both nations continue to invest in more comprehensive cross-regional cooperation.
Agreements between the two sides now encompass logistics, renewables and cultural exchange, as Tashkent and Baku look to position themselves as platforms for wider integration between Europe and Asia.
Mirziyoyev will also attend the ECO Summit, where heads of state from across the region are expected to discuss trade corridors, sustainability and economic alignment.
For Azerbaijan, the visit underscores its growing role as a diplomatic and economic bridge between Asia and Europe, while for Uzbekistan, it marks the continuation of its outward-facing diplomatic push.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan reinforce ties ahead of ECO Summit
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan reinforce ties ahead of ECO Summit

Euronews

time18 hours ago

  • Euronews

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan reinforce ties ahead of ECO Summit

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has arrived in Azerbaijan for a state visit, underscoring a growing partnership between the two countries in Central Asia and South Caucasus. Mirziyoyev's trip comes just days before the 17th Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Summit begins in Khankendi. Welcomed by President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Mirziyoyev held bilateral talks focused on trade, transportation, energy and regional connectivity, as well as the opening of a new embassy building in the Azerbaijani capital. During the visit, the two leaders also laid the foundation stone for a new 'Uzbekistan' park in the Azerbaijani capital. The trip follows a series of high-level exchanges as both nations continue to invest in more comprehensive cross-regional cooperation. Agreements between the two sides now encompass logistics, renewables and cultural exchange, as Tashkent and Baku look to position themselves as platforms for wider integration between Europe and Asia. Mirziyoyev will also attend the ECO Summit, where heads of state from across the region are expected to discuss trade corridors, sustainability and economic alignment. For Azerbaijan, the visit underscores its growing role as a diplomatic and economic bridge between Asia and Europe, while for Uzbekistan, it marks the continuation of its outward-facing diplomatic push.

New evidence suggests Russian forces caused Azerbaijan Airlines crash
New evidence suggests Russian forces caused Azerbaijan Airlines crash

Euronews

time2 days ago

  • Euronews

New evidence suggests Russian forces caused Azerbaijan Airlines crash

Russian military forces were involved in the missile strike on Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 which crashed on 25 December 2024, a new audio recording and a letter published by an Azerbaijani news website on Tuesday purport to prove. Azerbaijani news outlet Minval claims it received an 'anonymous letter ... containing testimonies, audio clips, and technical details' pointing to 'technical deficiencies in the communications equipment used at the time. Minval claims the letter includes a written statement 'allegedly signed by Captain Dmitry Sergeyevich Paladichuk, a Russian air defence officer (who) was acting under direct orders from Russia's Ministry of Defence when he authorised the missile strike.' Euronews cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claims in the Azerbaijani news outlet's report. Minval's news report on Tuesday quoted the letter claiming that 'Captain Paladichuk was stationed near Grozny on duty from 24 to 25 December. At 05:40 on the day of the incident, his unit was ordered to enter full combat readiness." "Due to poor mobile reception and a lack of functional wired communication, coordination relied heavily on unstable mobile connections," the letter added. "A potential target was detected at 08:11 and tracked using radar. Two missiles were reportedly fired at the object after Paladichuk was instructed via phone to destroy it — despite heavy fog obscuring optical confirmation.' According to the letter, 'the coordinates, speeds, and directions of the target at the time of both missile launches were provided in detail in the written explanation. The first missile is said to have missed, while the second one allegedly detonated close enough for shrapnel to strike the aircraft.' Minval also claimed that it reviewed "three voice messages" believed to support the claims made in the letter. The voices reportedly confirm that operational orders were given, two missiles were fired, and shrapnel from the explosion struck the aircraft, according to the outlet. The outlet has released one audio recording purporting to depict the sequence in which a voice in Russian gives military directions, orders a missile to be fired, followed by the sound of what appears to be a firing sequence, the same voice saying 'target missed', and allegedly ordering another missile to be fired. On the day of the tragedy, Azerbaijani government sources told Euronews that a Russian surface-to-air missile was fired at Flight 8432 during drone air activity above Grozny, the flight's destination. The same sources said that the shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as the missile exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight, disabling it. The damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots' requests for an emergency landing, the same sources said, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan, where it crashed while attempting an emergency landing, killing 38 and injuring 29. Subsequent reports after the tragedy claimed that Flight 8243 was downed by a missile from a Russian Pantsir-S1 system. Putin calls crash 'tragic incident', stops short of apology Three days after the crash, in an address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, "we can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done.' At that time, on 29 December, Aliyev stated that Baku had made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash. 'First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,' Aliyev outlined. Aliyev noted that the first demand was 'already fulfilled' when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to him on 28 December. Putin called the crash a 'tragic incident," though he stopped short of acknowledging Moscow's responsibility. The Kremlin said at the time that air defence systems were firing near Grozny, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect Ukrainian drone strikes. In the days following the tragedy, Russian military bloggers claimed that the said explosion happened over the Naursky District of Chechnya, where several Russian military units were posted at the time, including those with air defence systems, basing their conclusions on open-source data. The new claims linking the Russian military to the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 tragedy appear at a time of a fast-moving escalation of judicial measures between Russia and Azerbaijan, as relations between the two countries reach a new low.

Azerbaijan cancels Russian cultural events over deaths of two citizens
Azerbaijan cancels Russian cultural events over deaths of two citizens

Euronews

time4 days ago

  • Euronews

Azerbaijan cancels Russian cultural events over deaths of two citizens

Azerbaijan has cancelled all cultural events planned by Russian state and private institutions in protest over the deaths of two Azerbaijanis after police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Azerbaijani officials said Sunday. Azerbaijan's Culture Ministry wrote on X that concerts, exhibitions, festivals and performances were cancelled on account of "the demonstrative targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence committed by Russian law enforcement agencies against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds in Yekaterinburg." "Recently such cases have become systematic," it pointed out. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry demanded "an immediate investigation into the case and bringing those responsible for this unacceptable act of violence to justice as soon as possible". According to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, Russian law enforcement raided homes of Azerbaijani residents in the industrial city in Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday. Two Azerbaijanis were killed, it said, along with several others seriously injured and nine detained. The ministry on Saturday summoned the Russian Embassy's chargé d'affaires in Baku, Pyotr Volokovykh, demanding a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible. The victims were identified as Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, both around 60 years old. Their brother, Sayfaddin Huseynli, told Azerbaijani public broadcaster ITV that the men were tortured to death "without any trial or investigation, despite their innocence." He described the raids as "savagery," claiming that others were beaten and subjected to electric shocks. "The so-called Russian law enforcement agencies broke into houses in the middle of the night, beat and took people away like animals," Huseynli said. The Azerbaijani government also announced the cancellation of a planned visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk. "The government of Azerbaijan does not consider it appropriate under the current circumstances for Overchuk or any other official representative of Russia to visit the country," state media reported. In a statement, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it expected "that the matter will be investigated and all perpetrators of violence brought to justice as soon as possible." The bodies of the Safarov brothers will be transported to Azerbaijan on Monday, domestic media reported. Moscow-Baku relations strained Without commenting on the reported deaths, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday that the raids formed part of an investigation into previously committed crimes. Zakharova said raids and detentions targeted Russian citizens of Azerbaijani descent. Ties between the two countries have been strained for months. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declined an invitation to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow in May. In contrast, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Baku later that month, signalling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv. Relations between Moscow and Baku cooled after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan in December, killing 38 of 67 people aboard. As exclusively reported by Euronews, investigations into the incident revealed that the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was shot at by Russian air defence over Russia's Grozny and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. Aliyev accused Russia of trying to "hush up" the incident for several days. Putin apologised to Aliyev for what he called a "tragic incident" but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store