Category: Azer News

An evening dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of Mobil Ahmadov, a prominent representative of Azerbaijan’s vocal school, People’s Artist and professor, has been held at the Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theatre.

The concert, titled “Following My Teacher’s Path. Operetta Pearls,” paid tribute to the artistic legacy of the distinguished master, whose name holds a special place in the history of Azerbaijan’s national musical art.

The event was initiated by Honored Artist and renowned opera singer Ramil Gasimov, a worthy successor to Mobil Ahmadov’s artistic traditions, together with the staff of the Musical Theatre.

The concert was directed by Honored Art Worker Hafiz Guliyev, with Honored Art Worker Fakhraddin Atayev as conductor and Honored Artist Vagif Mastanov as choirmaster.

Deputy Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament and academician Rafael Huseynov and Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Culture Committee, People’s Artist Polad Bulbuloglu, spoke about Mobil Ahmadov’s life and artistic career, his major contribution to the development of Azerbaijani culture, and shared personal memories of the distinguished singer and educator.

The programme featured performances by Honored Artists Nargiz Karimova, Saida Sharifaliyeva and Elbar Aliyev, vocalists Eleonora Mustafayeva and Aydan Hasanli, as well as the theatre’s choir.

The programme included arias and duets from works by prominent Azerbaijani composers, including Tofig Guliyev, Arif Melikov, Haji Khanmammadov, Vasif Adigozalov, Jahangir Jahangirov, Said Rustamov, Ramiz Mustafayev, Suleyman Alasgarov, Azer Rzayev, Ashraf Abbasov, Polad Bulbuloglu and other masters of national music.

Each performance served as a musical tribute to Mobil Ahmadov, an artist who, over decades, made a significant contribution to the development of vocal art in Azerbaijan through his voice, artistry and teaching.

The anniversary concert, which brought together representatives of different generations of Azerbaijan’s musical community on one stage, was warmly received by the audience and repeatedly met with applause.

At the end of the evening, Mobil Ahmadov’s daughter expressed her gratitude to the organizers and all the participants for honoring her father’s memory and helping preserve his rich artistic legacy.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az and Milli.Az.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday that the alliance has “all the response options we need” for Russia’s hybrid attacks, noting that not all reactions will be disclosed.

He also stressed that the response will not always be “tit for tat” and that supporting Ukraine also strengthens NATO against Russia.

“Putin knows very well that he will not be able to divide us,” Rutte said. He repeated that NATO’s reaction to Russia’s attacks will “always be more support for Ukraine.” Turning to spending targets, he defended the alliance’s increase from 3.5% to 5%, arguing that it will require both traditional defense elements and new technologies, including drones and artificial intelligence.

The Azerbaijan group of the ‘Peace Bridge’ Initiative expresses its deep disappointment at the biased attitude displayed by Armenian media and the unacceptable tone of public discussions surrounding the diplomatic corps’ visit to Azerbaijan’s Garabagh and East Zangezur regions on September 11-12, 2026.

First and foremost, the diplomatic corps’ visit to the sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan cannot, in itself, be a subject of dispute. Of particular concern are the hostile statements directed at ambassadors and states for participating in the visit. Such statements contradict Armenia’s commitment to recognise Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently in the post-conflict phase, and both countries face the important responsibility of addressing the consequences of decades of confrontation. As part of peace initiatives, we, as representatives of civil society, are taking steps with the support of the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia to support the peace process, promote dialogue and contribute to confidence-building measures.

The cultural heritage located on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan belongs to the Azerbaijani people and is protected by the state.

To ensure justice, cultural heritage should be discussed on the basis of the principles of reciprocity and open dialogue. To achieve these objectives, representatives of civil society have established a platform for professional discussions on issues that form an integral part of the peace agenda between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The peace process must not be allowed to come under pressure from revanchist forces, as this could seriously jeopardise progress towards peace. We call on Armenian society to demonstrate restraint for this purpose and not to give impetus to the malicious agendas of certain individuals in Armenia and beyond its borders.

Farhad Mammadov

Kamala Mammadova

Rusif Huseynov

Dilara Afandiyeva

Sweden’s left-wing political bloc has taken the lead in the country’s general election, according to exit polls, potentially paving the way for former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to return to office.

The four-party left-wing bloc was projected to win 51.3% of the vote, compared with 46.8% for the right-wing alliance, according to exit polls published by Swedish public broadcaster SVT and TV4.

If confirmed by the final results, the outcome would see Social Democratic leader Andersson become prime minister again, after previously holding the post from 2021 to 2022.

The result would also represent a potential setback for the Sweden Democrats (SD), the hard-right party that has played a key role in supporting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s conservative government.

Kristersson has pledged to offer cabinet positions to his right-wing allies if he remains in power. The Sweden Democrats, which have neo-Nazi roots, entered parliament in 2010 and became Sweden’s second-largest party in the 2022 election after campaigning heavily on immigration and violent crime.

Sunday’s exit polls suggested that the party could lose support for the first time since entering parliament.

Swedish politics is traditionally divided between two broad blocs, with four main parties on each side. Coalition and minority governments are therefore common, meaning the final balance of seats will be crucial in determining who can form the next government.

Andersson framed the election as a choice between continued cooperation under her leadership and a government in which the Sweden Democrats would have a much more powerful role.

‘Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of co-operation?’ she said after casting her ballot.

Kristersson, meanwhile, defended his record and urged voters to allow his alliance to continue governing.

‘I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work,’ he said after voting in his home municipality of Strängnäs.

National security, gang crime and welfare spending were among the dominant issues during the campaign.

A victory for Andersson would mark a significant political shift in Sweden, while a stronger-than-expected performance by the left would also challenge the growing influence of the Sweden Democrats in national politics.

However, the exit polls are not final results, and the composition of the next government will ultimately depend on the distribution of seats in parliament and the ability of the competing blocs to secure sufficient support to govern.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski has claimed that NATO could rapidly overwhelm Russia in the event of an attack, arguing that the alliance has a decisive advantage in air power even without the United States.

Speaking in what appeared to be a candid setting, Sikorski pointed to the scale of NATO’s air capabilities and compared them with Ukraine’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure.

He said NATO has around 2,500 aircraft and argued that the alliance would retain overwhelming air superiority over Russia even without US forces.

‘If Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly. We have overwhelming superiority over Russia in air power. General, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s something like 2,500 planes.

Without the US, it’s still overwhelming. And I haven’t checked recently how many JDAMs and JASMs and all the deep strike stuff that we have. But if the Ukrainians have knocked out half of Russia’s refining capacity in six months, we could do it in six weeks and take out the other half.’

Sikorski’s comparison refers to Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s oil-refining infrastructure, which have targeted facilities deep inside Russian territory and disrupted parts of the country’s fuel-processing capacity.

His remarks highlight the disparity he sees between Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian energy infrastructure with relatively limited resources and the potential capabilities of NATO’s combined air forces and long-range precision weapons.

The Polish foreign minister did not provide a detailed assessment of Russia’s current air fleet or NATO’s operational capacity, and his six-week estimate appeared to be a hypothetical comparison rather than a formal military assessment.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Azerbaijan on September 15-16, where he is scheduled to hold bilateral and delegation-level talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, as well as meet with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.

Hakan Fidan is also expected to be received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The discussions will focus on the progress of Trkiye-Azerbaijan relations, which have reached a strategic level. Fidan will underline the need to step up efforts to meet the $15 billion trade target set by the two countries’ presidents, while reviewing joint projects and cooperation in energy and transport, Anadolu Agency reported.

Defense industry, security and military cooperation will also be on the agenda, along with coordination within multilateral organizations, particularly the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

Hakan Fidan and Azerbaijani officials will also exchange views on the upcoming 13th OTS Summit and COP31, which Trkiye is preparing to host.

The talks will cover the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well. Fidan will stress that the two countries have a historic opportunity to establish lasting peace and reaffirm Ankara’s support for good-neighborly relations between Baku and Yerevan. He will also highlight Trkiye’s support for the reconstruction of infrastructure in Karabakh, the development of energy and trade routes, and stronger regional connectivity.

The normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia could strengthen regional stability, improve transport links and create new opportunities for trade across the Caucasus, international rating agency Moody’s said in a report.

‘The most significant positive geopolitical development is the ongoing normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A more durable settlement will contribute to regional stability, improved transport links, and the creation of new opportunities for the development of trade and transport connections in the Caucasus,’ the report said.

Azerbaijan has already taken steps to facilitate trade with Armenia. On October 21, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev announced the lifting of restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia that had been in place since the occupation period.

The first cargo transported through the new route was grain from Kazakhstan. Since then, various products from Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as supplies from Azerbaijan, have been regularly delivered to Armenia via Azerbaijani territory.

According to the report, around 17,000 tons of diesel fuel and nearly 5,000 tons of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline have so far been exported from Azerbaijan to Armenia.

In addition, around 60,000 tons of grain, more than 9,000 tons of fertilizer, 1,414 tons of propane, 133 tons of aluminum, 1,114 tons of coal and 608 tons of timber have been transported from Russia to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory.

Despite growing resilience across regional economies, Moody’s said political and geopolitical risks would remain a key factor affecting the creditworthiness of countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

‘The war in Ukraine remains the primary geopolitical risk. It has a direct impact on Ukraine and Belarus, and an indirect impact on the wider region through trade, migration, energy, and consumption channels,’ Moody’s analysts said.

At the same time, the rating agency noted that many countries in the region had strengthened their ability to withstand geopolitical shocks.

‘Central Asian economies continue to expand their economic ties with the European Union, China, Trkiye, and Gulf countries. Trade diversification, the strengthening of foreign reserves, and the expansion of regional cooperation have reduced vulnerability to external shocks and enhanced the flexibility of economic policy,’ the report said.

Moody’s also pointed to ongoing investments in transport, energy and digital infrastructure, saying they were creating alternative channels for trade and economic growth that bypass traditional routes through Russia.

The agency identified the conflict in the Middle East as another, though secondary, geopolitical risk for the region. Its impact on sovereign creditworthiness is expected to be felt mainly through energy, food and transport prices rather than direct trade or financial links.

‘Net importers of energy resources-particularly Moldova and certain Western Balkan countries – remain more vulnerable to these factors. At the same time, rising energy prices bolster the fiscal and external balances of exporters such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan,’ Moody’s said.

The agency added that stronger economic policy frameworks, increased resilience and continued diversification would help countries in the region mitigate geopolitical risks and support improvements in their credit profiles.

A small armed network allegedly operating directly under a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander carried out a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, according to three commanders from Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions.

The commanders told The New Region that three major Shiite factions operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq were not involved in Thursday’s attack, despite initial suspicions that the groups could have been responsible.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that several drones launched from Iraqi territory had targeted the East-West Pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions, causing injuries and limited material damage.

Riyadh said that, following a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Baghdad would be given an opportunity ‘to take measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the Kingdom and neighbouring countries’.

Zaidi subsequently ordered an urgent investigation into the launch site and those responsible for the attack.

Investigators determined within hours that the drones had been launched from the al-Tayeb border area, around 75 kilometres east of Amarah in Iraq’s southeastern Maysan province, according to Iraqi authorities.

The discovery prompted a major security response in Maysan.

Zaidi dismissed the province’s operations and police commanders and transferred the heads of its security agencies to their headquarters pending an investigation into what he described as ‘security breaches that occurred in the province’.

Iraq also ordered the closure of the Shib and Shalamcheh border crossings with Iran. The Mandali border crossing was also closed, according to Iraq’s Border Ports Authority.

Iraqi authorities said on Sunday that the border would be fully reopened by Thursday.

The attack initially drew suspicion towards factions of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which had threatened to target Saudi Arabia last month in retaliation for US-Saudi airstrikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions across seven Iraqi provinces. The strikes in late July reportedly killed and wounded dozens of people.

The Islamic Resistance denied responsibility on Saturday, saying that attacks on vital Saudi facilities were ‘an honour we do not claim’. The groups also offered to participate in any government investigation into the incident.

The Iraqi government has not publicly identified those responsible for the attack.

However, three commanders from Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions told The New Region that the operation was carried out by a separate armed network allegedly linked to a senior IRGC officer.

According to the commanders, the network was established around seven months ago and operates independently of Iraq’s established Iran-backed armed factions.

They identified its alleged commander as IRGC Colonel Hamed Abdollahi, known in Iraqi political and military circles as Haj Hamed.

The network reportedly operates through small cells in different parts of Iraq. Each cell consists of several experienced and highly trained fighters allegedly recruited from seven major Iran-backed armed factions.

The commanders said the cells report directly to Abdollahi and operate without the knowledge, coordination or authorisation of the commanders of their original factions.

One commander described the development as an increasingly serious internal rift within the Iran-backed armed network in Iraq.

‘Hamid is going behind our backs. He formed a group that has begun acting independently,’ the commander said.

Another commander alleged that the network’s members include defectors, dissidents and suspected double agents who no longer operate under the authority of their former factions.

‘The members of this group are a mixed bag of defectors, dissidents and double agents. They work directly with Hamid and are not under our command at all,’ the commander said.

If the allegations are confirmed, the attack could expose a new layer of fragmentation within Iraq’s Iran-backed armed groups, with elements operating through parallel structures outside the command of the factions that have traditionally controlled them.

It could also put additional pressure on Baghdad to prevent Iraqi territory from being used for attacks against Saudi Arabia and other regional states.

For now, however, Iraqi authorities have yet to publicly confirm the identity of the group or individual responsible for the drone strike.

The second day of the Open Azerbaijan Sailing Championship has concluded at the Sailing Center near Shikh Beach in Baku.

Organized jointly by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Azerbaijan Water Sports Federation, the championship features athletes from Azerbaijan and Turkiye competing in the Optimist and ILCA 4 classes.

On the second competition day, sailors took part in several races along the designated course, with the number of races depending on wind direction and speed. Each race was scored separately, while the overall standings are determined based on the points accumulated throughout the competition.

The final results will be calculated using the results from all races held during the championship. The final races are scheduled for today, after which the winners in each class will be determined.

The winners will receive medals and diplomas, while all participants will be presented with certificates by the Azerbaijan Water Sports Federation.

A 10-member team from Turkiye is also taking part in the championship alongside Azerbaijani sailors.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, on September 14.

Sheikh Tahnoun conveyed greetings from UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Azerbaijani head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked him for the greetings and asked Sheikh Tahnoun to convey his regards to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

During the meeting, the sides praised the successful development of the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the UAE, expressing satisfaction with the expansion of bilateral cooperation across various areas.

They emphasized that the personal friendship between the two leaders, alongside their reciprocal visits and meetings, plays a pivotal role in strengthening ties.

The significance of the visit of a large delegation from the United Arab Emirates to Azerbaijan for discussing cooperation in various areas was also highlighted.

Subsequently, a document-signing ceremony was held in the presence of President Ilham Aliyev and UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The following documents were signed at the ceremony: the “Cooperation Agreement between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar and AGEC for the development of renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan”, the “Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Azerbaijan Investment Holding and L’IMAD HOLDING COMPANY PJSC”, the “Agreement between AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company and Terra Mining Ltd on the joint assessment and exploration of mineral resource potential and mining fields in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and GROUP 42 Holding Ltd on cooperation in the development of Data Center, High-Performance Computing, and Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the “Shareholders’ Agreement regarding Southern Gas Corridor Closed Joint Stock Company between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan (acting on behalf of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and XRG SGC LIMITED”, as well as the document on “Confirmation of Financial Close for the Neftchala 315 MW Solar Photovoltaic Project” signed between the Ministry of Energy, SOCAR, and Masdar.