Category: Azer News

‘All the blame cannot be pinned solely on the previous leadership of Armenia. Even though the previous Armenian leaders are all war criminals and must face their punishment,’ President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at the 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP).

‘The current Armenian leadership used to make territorial claims against us, attempted to insult the Azerbaijani people, and offended the dignity of the Azerbaijani people with inappropriate and uncouth statements,’ the head of state noted, adding that ‘we must never forget any of this.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that talks with the European Union had produced “good results” in addressing Ukraine’s financial and defense needs for 2026 and 2027.

“We have agreed on the format, timeline, and steps needed to ensure full coverage. Going forward, we will coordinate this work and align our actions every month, ensuring continuous coordination,” he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier that EU and Ukrainian teams had identified means to cover Ukraine’s budget and defense needs for those years.

Azerbaijan and Georgia have discussed the expansion of joint military exercises and future areas of defense cooperation during talks between the two countries’ defense ministers in Shusha.

Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani arrived in Azerbaijan on an official visit to participate in the 13th trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Trkiye.

On October 2, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, met with his Georgian counterpart in Shusha.

During the meeting, the ministers highlighted the contribution of Azerbaijan-Georgia defense cooperation to strengthening peace, stability and security in the region.

The sides noted that meetings and reciprocal visits between officials of the two countries in various formats have contributed positively to the development of bilateral military ties.

Hasanov and Chikovani also exchanged views on future directions of military cooperation, including opportunities to expand joint military exercises.

Other issues of mutual interest in the defense sphere were also discussed during the meeting.

On October 2, the Communication Working Group operating under the Interagency Center of the Coordination Headquarters held a meeting with students of Karabakh University and influencers living in the liberated territories.

During the meeting, participants were briefed in detail on the activities of the Working Group. It was noted that following the liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories as a result of the bravery of the Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of President and Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, one of the Working Group’s main areas of activity has been to ensure regular information and awareness campaigns for local and international audiences about the large-scale work being carried out in the liberated territories.

The participants were informed about extensive communication efforts covering reconstruction and demining activities, economic revitalization in the region, employment and sustainable resettlement, educational opportunities, as well as everyday life taking shape in the liberated areas.

The social media activities of students and influencers covering the liberated territories were also praised during the meeting. It was emphasized that creative content highlighting the return of life to these areas, people’s success stories and daily experiences, new opportunities, and large-scale reconstruction projects carried out by the state has attracted considerable public interest and positive feedback.

It was noted that such content, based on the students’ and influencers’ own observations and impressions, not only helps communicate the work being carried out to the public more naturally and sincerely, but also creates positive emotions among people who have long been separated from their native lands and helps bring the new life emerging in the territories to a wider audience. In this regard, the importance of expanding activities in this area and developing new, creative content was highlighted.

During the meeting, students and influencers put forward a number of new initiatives and proposals, and views were exchanged on opportunities for their implementation.

The United States has deployed two additional Patriot missile batteries to protect oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

According to Axios, one of the batteries has been deployed in Saudi Arabia to protect a major oil facility, while the other has been stationed in Qatar to defend a gas facility. Washington is reportedly seeking to strengthen the security of its allies’ energy infrastructure through the deployment.

The United States sought to reassure both allies that it would protect their critical energy infrastructure if U.S. President Donald Trump decided to resume large-scale military operations against Iran.

In early August, when Trump was considering a major attack that could have included strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged him not to proceed. They expressed serious concern that Iran could retaliate by targeting their oil and gas facilities.

U.S. officials said these requests were a major factor in Trump’s decision not to strike Iran and instead pursue a campaign of economic pressure.

Meanwhile, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group have headed toward the Middle East. The carrier is expected to arrive in the region in mid-November.

This would allow the United States to have three aircraft carrier strike groups operating in the Middle East simultaneously.

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump discussed the situation in global energy markets during a phone call overnight.

According to French media, the discussion was confirmed in a statement issued by the Élysée Palace.

The French administration said France and the United States share a common interest in coordinated action ‘without export restrictions.’

Macron stressed the need for cooperation to prevent further increases in fuel prices. He said France was working with the International Energy Agency (IEA) on measures aimed at easing price pressures.

The French president also discussed the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. According to the Élysée Palace, the talks highlighted the need for joint efforts to counter rising fuel prices and ensure the global availability of petroleum products.

The Élysée Palace also provided details about an upcoming videoconference of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), which is currently chaired by France.

‘The objective is to coordinate measures aimed at easing price pressures and ensuring supplies of crude oil and petroleum products both among G7 countries and around the world,’ the statement said.

Fuel prices have risen significantly in France, Germany and the United States in recent weeks amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and developments in the Middle East.

Two developments that have attracted attention in Azerbaijan’s industrial policy in the autumn of 2026 are, in fact, separate parts of a broader picture. On September 23, the State Program for the Development of the Mining and Metallurgical Industry for 2027-2030 was approved. On October 1, Czech company CSG announced plans to establish a second joint venture in Azerbaijan and start production of self-propelled howitzers in the country from 2027. The key concept connecting these two areas is an industry that creates high added value.

Azerbaijan’s metallurgical program for 2027-2030 is expressed in substantial figures. The sector’s contribution to GDP is targeted to increase from ?700 million ($411.8 million) to ?1.8 billion ($1.06 billion) by 2030, while annual export potential is expected to rise from ?1.3 billion ($764.7 million) to ?3.4 billion ($2 billion). To achieve these objectives, ?5.3 billion ($3.12 billion) in investment is envisaged for 2027-2030. Of this amount, ?1.1 billion ($647.1 million) is expected to come from the state budget, ?2.2 billion ($1.29 billion) from state-owned enterprises, and ?2 billion ($1.18 billion) from the private sector. Thus, around 80 percent of the total ?5.3 billion ($3.12 billion) investment package is expected to be attracted from non-budget sources.

Behind these figures is the formation of a broad industrial chain covering the development of new mines, the processing of raw materials and the production of high value-added products. A key direction of the State Program is the development of the value chain from raw materials to finished products. The program envisages bringing copper, zinc and lead reserves at the Filizchay deposit into economic circulation, assessing the use of approximately 470,000 tons of additional copper reserves at the Demirli deposit, and developing the Zaylik alunite deposit as a raw material base for the aluminum value chain. At the same time, the possibility of establishing a new primary aluminum plant with an annual production capacity of approximately 200,000 tons is being examined.

The scale of the Filizchay project deserves particular attention. Over the deposit’s 34-year operating period, plans call for 363,000 tons of copper, 2.7 million tons of zinc and 1 million tons of lead resources to be brought into production. The project’s economic value is estimated at ?29.7 billion ($17.47 billion), while the required investment is estimated at approximately ?1 billion ($588.2 million). Initial production at the Ortakand gold deposit in Nakhchivan is scheduled to begin in 2029; the deposit has resources of 246,000 ounces, an economic value of ?1.8 billion ($1.06 billion), and an investment requirement of ?255 million ($150 million).

Adding CSG’s new project in Azerbaijan to this picture reveals another dimension of the country’s industrial policy. The Czech company plans to establish a second joint venture with a local partner in December 2026 and begin production of self-propelled howitzers in 2027. CSG envisages the gradual localization of production, along with the transfer of technology and manufacturing know-how to Azerbaijan. According to the company’s current medium-term plan, the project is expected to generate pound 1.8 billion in business over seven years.

Here, the structure of the project is more important than the figure itself. CSG’s first joint venture in Azerbaijan, VEXA DS, operates in the repair, maintenance and modernization of armored and other ground military equipment. The second venture adds production and technology transfer to this chain. In this way, servicing, modernization, manufacturing and technology become different stages of an industrial ecosystem.

This is precisely where the connection between metallurgy and the defense industry emerges. Modern defense industries rely on the combined activities of numerous sectors, including metal processing, mechanical engineering, electronics, optics, engineering, software and logistics. The expansion of metallurgy strengthens the raw-material and materials base of this industrial chain. The CSG project, meanwhile, represents a concrete example of foreign technology being combined with local production capabilities in Azerbaijan.

This process can create a broader industrial model for Azerbaijan: ore extraction, metal processing, materials production, mechanical engineering, defense manufacturing, technical services and exports. This is why it is interesting to consider the ?3.4 billion ($2 billion) annual metallurgical export potential targeted under the State Program alongside CSG’s pound 1.8 billion seven-year business opportunity. The first figure represents the 2030 target for the sector as a whole, while the second reflects the seven-year business potential of a specific international industrial project.

The next stage in Azerbaijan’s industrial history is defined by the amount of added value that can be generated from the country’s resources domestically, alongside the scale of those resources themselves. The ?5.3 billion ($3.12 billion) metallurgical investment program, projects such as Filizchay, Demirli, Zaylik and Ortakand, the potential 200,000-ton aluminum plant, and CSG’s planned howitzer production from 2027 represent different elements of this direction.

Thus, a new chain is taking shape on Azerbaijan’s industrial map: mineral resources, processing, metal, technology, manufacturing and exports. Each link strengthens the economic weight of the others. The ?1.8 billion ($1.06 billion) GDP contribution and ?3.4 billion ($2 billion) export potential targeted for 2030 demonstrate the scale of this process. CSG’s planned new production in 2027, meanwhile, represents a notable example of this industrial transformation moving toward more sophisticated and technology-oriented stages.

A theatrical concert titled “The Musical World of Bulgakov” has been held at the Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theatre.

The event was timed to the 135th anniversary of the birth of renowned Russian writer, playwright and theatre director Mikhail Bulgakov, as well as the 60th anniversary of the first publication of his most famous novel, “The Master and Margarita.”

Mikhail Bulgakov’s artistic world contains many mysteries and an inexhaustible range of colors, including the writer’s deep connection with music. His sensitive ear captured and preserved everything in his memory – the intonations of those around him, the timbre of voices, popular melodies he heard on the street, and nuances in opera singers’ performances.

The novels, stories and plays of Bulgakov reflect the entire musical and sonic landscape of his era, with each melody serving as a key to understanding the literary text.

The concert offered audiences musical interpretations of some of the mysteries hidden in Bulgakov’s works. The theatrical production featured familiar characters from his prose, including Professor Preobrazhensky, Major General Charnota, Margarita and Woland, as well as characters and scenes from famous operas such as “Faust,” “La Traviata,” “Demon,” “The Queen of Spades,” “Eugene Onegin” and “The Snow Maiden.”

The production also portrayed Mikhail Bulgakov himself, members of his family and prominent figures of his time, including Alexander Vertinsky and Fyodor Chaliapin.

The artistic director, stage director and presenter of the project, Alena Inyakina, PhD in Art Studies and associate professor at the Baku Music Academy, guided the audience through the role of music in Bulgakov’s works.

She explained how music functions in his writing as a parallel dramatic element, a commentary on the action, a foreshadowing device, a means of psychological characterisation, a musical depiction of scenery and, in some works, an expression of the underlying idea.

The audience enjoyed works from the world’s vocal and instrumental classical repertoire, as well as folk music, performed by international competition laureates, including Honored Artist Anton Fershtandt, theatre soloist Yulia Heydarova, Baku Music Academy accompanist Dilara Karimova, State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre artist Ruslan Persan, State Choral Chapel artists Kamilla Imanova and Elyar Aliyev, Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory student Teymur Kazimov, Baku Music Academy graduate Zeyna Jafarova and Baku Music Academy student Amin Heydarov.

Held to a full house, “The Musical World of Bulgakov” concluded with prolonged applause from the audience.

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

‘The New Azerbaijan Party is the largest political force not only in Azerbaijan, but in the entire South Caucasus,’ President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at the 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP).

Emphasizing that the party has been in power for more than thirty years, the head of state noted: ‘The activists of our party have a very large share and a great contribution to the successful and honorable path our country has traversed in recent years.’

The Pentagon is considering expanding the use of uncrewed boats for surveillance operations on the Rio Grande and in the Gulf of Mexico following successful tests of autonomous maritime systems.

The Pentagon is evaluating the wider deployment of Lightfish vessels developed by Seasats. The uncrewed boats have been used since January to detect illegal border crossings and drug trafficking activities.

Ten such vessels are currently involved in the testing program. The US Department of Defense is considering increasing the number by an additional 50 vessels.

According to Pentagon data, the drones have helped detect an average of 452 illegal border-crossing incidents per month, led to the detention of 350 people and helped prevent approximately 100 attempts to cross the border illegally.

The uncrewed boats are equipped with electro-optical, infrared and hydroacoustic sensors, allowing them to monitor their assigned patrol areas for extended periods.

The systems are designed to operate without onboard crews, potentially allowing US authorities to maintain persistent surveillance over border and maritime areas while reducing the need to deploy personnel directly on patrol vessels.

The Pentagon’s consideration of expanding the program comes as US authorities continue to explore autonomous technologies for border surveillance and maritime security operations.