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OC Media
4 days ago
- OC Media
Moscow warns Baku over reports Azerbaijan will lift arms embargo for Ukraine
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article The Caucasus is changing — so are we. The future of journalism in the region is grim. Independent voices are under threat — and we're responding by building a newsroom powered by our readers. Join our community and help push back against the hardliners. Become a member Russian Foreign Ministry official Aleksei Fadeev has warned Baku over rumours Azerbaijan might deliver military aid to Ukraine, saying that 'if Baku will lift the arms embargo for selling to Ukraine it will only worsen the situation'. The Russian state-run media outlet TASS reported that Aleksei Fadeev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a briefing with the journalists that 'Russia's position on supplying weapons to [Ukraine] is well known to Azerbaijan', emphasising that 'such actions will only worsen the situation on the ground'. During the briefing, Fadeev also commented on information that was published in domestic Azerbaijani media on Monday. In particular, the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet Caliber cited anonymous sources as saying that Baku will 'begin considering' lifting an arms embargo on Ukraine following a Russian attack on an Azerbaijani petrol depot in Odesa Oblast. Caliber cited 'reliable sources' as saying that Baku might come to this decision 'if Russia continues its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan's interests'. Fadeev stressed that the Foreign Ministry 'has paid attention' to these reports. 'I can say that our Azerbaijani partners are well aware of our position on supplying weapons or dual-use humanitarian aid to the 'neo-Nazi regime' in Kyiv. We believe that such actions do not contribute to a peaceful settlement of the conflict and will only worsen the situation on the ground', Fadeev said, referencing repeated unsubstantiated claims that the government in Kyiv is overrun with neo-Nazis. Advertisement On Monday, Aliyev issued a decree providing $2 million in aid to the Ukrainian energy sector, which is intended to be used to purchase and ship electrical equipment produced in Azerbaijan. The funds will be provided from the President's Reserve Fund, provided for in the state budget of Azerbaijan for 2025. Aliyev's decision sparked another wave of anger from the Russian side. In response, Russian MP Andrei Gurulyov stated on his Telegram channel that 'Russia may impose a ban on imports of Azerbaijani goods in response to Baku's decision to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine'. 'If there are no goods from Azerbaijan on the shelves in Russia, then nothing will change for us, but for them it will change a lot', he said in a video. Gurulyov noted that it is also possible to 'pinch' Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in Russia, hinting that Russia could detain Azerbaijani businesspersons. To conclude his speech, he emphasised that 'the SVO [special military operation] is a flexible concept, including along the entire [Russian] border'. Russia has been using the term special military operation to describe its bloody, now almost four-year-long full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The comment was viewed by Azerbaijani media as an open Russian military threat. On Wednesday, Gurulyov told the Russian media outlet RTVI that he did not 'threaten' Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabayov responded to Gurulyov by saying that the geographic conditions in the Caucasus 'make military actions against Azerbaijan practically impossible'. 'The border between Russia and Azerbaijan is the Great Caucasus Mountains. How are you going to climb through them?', Musabayov asked. In response, Gurulyov stated that 'I remind everyone, my friends, about Chechnya. There are no fewer mountains there'. Gurulyov was just the latest Russian official or propagandist to threaten Azerbaijan following the news it would send increased aid to Ukraine. Top Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov separately claimed that a new 'special military operation' may be necessary to prevent a NATO base from being created on the Caspian Sea. 'It is necessary to understand that what is happening in the South Caucasus is a very big problem. And soon, the Caspian Sea could end up in a situation where NATO bases might appear there. This is so dangerous that, from a geopolitical perspective, it could lead to consequences where this might not be the last special military operation of our generation', Solovyov said on his television show on Sunday.
OC Media
4 days ago
- OC Media
Pashinyan to sit out EAEU summit citing ‘holiday'
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article The Caucasus is changing — so are we. The future of journalism in the region is grim. Independent voices are under threat — and we're responding by building a newsroom powered by our readers. Join our community and help push back against the hardliners. Become a member Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not be attending an upcoming Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit, citing an overlap with his holiday. Citing Armenia's public TV, state-run media outlet Armenpress wrote that Pashinyan will not be attending the 15 August summit as it would clash with his holiday, which runs between 12–15 August. Armenia's public broadcaster, which cited Pashinyan's office, reported that the session will focus on 'approaches to regulating' the climate agenda, the implementation of the EAEU's coordinated transport policy for 2024–2026, in addition to a discussion on the development of common pharmaceutical markets. Armenpress added that Pashinyan's deputy, Mher Grigoryan, would participate in the session in his stead. Armenia has for years now been boycotting or sending lower-ranking delegations to summits and meetings held by organisations fronted by Russia, including the EAEU and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Yerevan and Pashinyan have openly stated that Armenia's membership in the CSTO was 'frozen', citing the security alliance's failure to come to Armenia's defence in the face of Azerbaijani attacks on the border in September 2022. However, the summit comes at the heels of a major agreement reached by Armenia and Azerbaijan brokered by US President Donald Trump, which saw the three countries initial a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku and the announcement of a road connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory. Advertisement Russia has been critical of US involvement in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, effectively accusing Washington of hijacking the peace negotiations and co-opting plans to establish the road, which has been a major sticking point in the peace talks.
OC Media
4 days ago
- OC Media
Thursday, 14 August 2025
Regional * Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have arrived in Washington, DC for respective talks with US President Donald Trump, which will be followed by a joint press conference. The talks are expected to be centered on the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the creation of a road connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, which will reportedly be created under the management of a US company and tentatively called th
