Category: Azer News

Azerbaijan is carrying out major electricity infrastructure upgrades across Khojaly and Khojavand districts as part of efforts to provide residents returning to their ancestral homes with reliable and uninterrupted power supplies.

AzerNEWS reports that Azerishiq OJSC is continuing reconstruction and modernisation works across Karabakh and East Zangezur, with electricity networks being rebuilt in nearly 30 villages and settlements across the two districts.

According to the company, internal and external electricity infrastructure is being renewed in the settlements, while nearly 100 35/0.4 kV complete transformer substations of various capacities have been installed.

The works also include the installation of 0.4 kV and 35 kV metal poles and the construction of insulated power lines to strengthen the electricity network.

In Khojaly city, 10 modern transformer substations of different capacities have been installed.

Reconstruction works have already been completed in the villages of Badara, Ballica, Dashbulag, T?z?bin?, Seyidb?yli and Khanurdu.

The installation of 35 kV self-supporting insulated wires is currently continuing in Shushakend and Khanobad villages.

In Khojavand district, families relocated to Hadrut and Girmizi Bazar settlements, as well as Sos village, have also been provided with stable and reliable electricity supplies.

Alongside the reconstruction of electricity networks in these settlements, repair and restoration works have been carried out on existing 10 kV and 35 kV overhead lines and power transformers. Smart electricity meters have also been installed.

Reconstruction and repair works are currently continuing in the district centre and in the villages of Chorekli, Guneykhirman, Garakend, Guzeykhirman and Khanoba.

Azerishiq said the ongoing works are aimed at ensuring stable and uninterrupted electricity supplies for residents while reducing power losses to a minimum.

The upgrades form part of broader infrastructure reconstruction efforts in Karabakh and East Zangezur, where electricity networks are being modernised alongside the return and resettlement of residents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said new intelligence assessments indicate that between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops could be deployed to Russia to fight alongside Russian forces.

The assessment represents a significant increase from previous estimates by Kyiv regarding the scale of North Korea’s military support for Moscow.

Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces had recovered remnants of North Korean missiles on Ukrainian territory, adding to concerns over Pyongyang’s growing involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have warned that North Korea is gaining valuable modern combat experience and access to advanced Russian military technologies in return for providing personnel and ammunition.

Kyiv seeks stronger defence ties with South Korea

Against the backdrop of deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, Zelenskyy has called on South Korea to strengthen defence cooperation with Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president has specifically sought air defence systems and unmanned aerial vehicle technologies from Seoul, as Kyiv continues efforts to bolster its defences against Russian missile and drone attacks.

Ukrainian officials are also pursuing diplomatic channels aimed at securing defence supply agreements with South Korea.

Russia and North Korea have significantly expanded military cooperation since Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in June 2024.

The agreement includes a mutual defence provision, further deepening the strategic relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Western and allied defence analysts have warned that the expanding partnership could have implications beyond the war in Ukraine, potentially affecting security dynamics in both Eastern Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

The latest developments underline growing concerns in Kyiv and among its allies over North Korea’s expanding military role in support of Russia.

Syrian security forces have dismantled a nine-member cell of the Daesh terrorist group in the southern province of Quneitra, the country’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry’s Internal Security Forces said the operation was carried out in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service in the city of Khan Arnabah.

The cell’s alleged leader, Musab Khalil al-Sheikh, also known as Al-Sini, was among those arrested, according to the ministry.

Authorities said al-Sheikh had previously operated within Daesh ranks in Damascus, its surrounding areas, the Syrian desert and villages across the southern Hauran region.

He had also worked with a terrorist group led by Abu Abdulrahman al-Iraqi, a Daesh leader who was killed in Syria’s southern Daraa province in 2022, the ministry said.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the cell had carried out field and logistical activities for Daesh, including collecting weapons and transporting explosive devices and their components.

The cell also allegedly supported the movement of Daesh members in the region, according to the ministry.

All nine suspects have been referred to the relevant judicial authorities for further investigation and legal proceedings.

Syria joined the US-led international coalition against Daesh in November 2025. Established in 2014, the coalition has conducted military operations against the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.

Russia and Pakistan are working to launch the first freight railway route between the two countries, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert Khorev said.

AzerNEWS reports Khorev said freight services are planned to operate in both directions along the Moscow-Faisalabad and Moscow-Karachi routes.

The two sides are also considering the possibility of involving Belarus in the project, the diplomat said.

Khorev noted that the launch of the project had been postponed several times amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region in 2025 and early 2026.

The parties are currently finalizing a contract for the provision of services and selecting companies interested in transporting cargo from countries located along the proposed railway routes, he said.

The planned routes are expected to strengthen direct trade and transport links between Russia and Pakistan while potentially opening a new freight corridor connecting markets along the route.

Pakistani security forces have killed 15 terrorists in a series of coordinated intelligence-based operations across Balochistan province, state media reported on Sunday.

Pakistan’s state television, citing official security sources, said search and clearance operations were conducted in eight key areas of Balochistan as part of the ongoing Radd-ul-Fitna 3 operation.

Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants during the operations, according to the report.

Pakistan’s state television said in an official statement that the operations had dealt a significant blow to what it described as the ‘Kharijite network’ and restricted the movement of its members.

The term ‘Kharijites’ is used by Pakistani authorities to refer to armed terrorist groups.

The latest operations come amid continued security efforts by Pakistani forces to target militant networks operating in Balochistan.

In the intricate geometry of modern finance, the true measure of a banking system’s strength lies in the quiet depth of the reserves it retains, as well as in the volume of capital it deploys. Like a vast, well-engineered reservoir holding pristine waters above a thriving valley, unencumbered liquidity serves as both an invisible shield against sudden economic storms and a boundless source of power for future cultivation. The latest operational insights from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan reveal a financial architecture that operates from a position of profound structural security. Beyond the impressive 12.5 per cent annual expansion that brought total real-sector credit allocations to 34.600 billion manats as of July 1, the deeper story resides in the extraordinary fortitude of the banking sector’s balance sheets. Behind the active movement of commercial lending lies a massive, uncommitted capital cushion that is a testament to a system that balances aggressive economic participation with meticulous institutional prudence and regulatory discipline.

According to official statements delivered by Central Bank Governor Taleh Kazimov during the monetary policy assessments, the banking sector maintains an excess liquidity pool of 6 billion manats prior to accounting for mandatory reserves. Once all stringent regulatory requirements, risk-weighted asset buffers, liquidity coverage ratios, and mandatory reserve mandates are fully satisfied, commercial banks retain an extraordinary 4.6 billion manats in completely free, unencumbered funds. This substantial figure represents an exceptionally high level of capital flexibility and financial freedom within the domestic banking landscape. Far from stretching their core resources to sustain the recent 3.8 billion manat growth in overall credit qoyuluslari, Azerbaijani financial institutions have expanded their balance sheets while preserving a deep reservoir of unallocated capital. This careful equilibrium demonstrates that the recent wave of financing across transport, construction, and commercial enterprise is anchored in genuine, organic solvency rather than overextended leverage or precarious short-term debt structures.

Especially in an era observed with global macroeconomic volatility, shifting interest rate environments, and complex geopolitical realignments, the presence of a 4.6 billion manat liquidity cushion provides an invaluable structural buffer for the entire national economy. This capital surge acts as an institutional shock absorber, ensuring that domestic credit markets remain entirely insulated from external liquidity squeezes, international market fluctuations, or unexpected financial turbulence. Commercial banks possess the strategic luxury and operational flexibility of allocating these free resources toward either further capital fortification, technological modernization, or direct real-sector lending, depending on shifting market demand and rigorous risk assessments. For private enterprise, industrial developers, and corporate borrowers, this deep liquidity provides an enduring guarantee of market stability and credit availability. It confirms that the financial system possesses the unyielding capacity to absorb potential economic shocks without contracting credit lines or disrupting ongoing multi-year project pipelines.

Crucially, this 4.6 billion manat capital reservoir delivers a profound long-term stimulus for real gross domestic product expansion and non-oil sector diversification. Free liquidity within the banking sector is never idle capital; it represents ready, actionable financial firepower waiting to underwrite the next phase of national industrial development. As large-scale infrastructure projects, regional trade initiatives, and non-oil commercial ventures demand sustained long-term funding, commercial lenders stand fully equipped to meet that credit demand without exhausting their operational margins or raising systemic risk profiles. This abundance of free funds effectively eliminates liquidity bottlenecks, ensuring that viable business initiatives, entrepreneurial endeavours, and capital-intensive development projects will not face financing shortages in an expanding economy. By maintaining such a robust capital cushion alongside active credit growth, the Azerbaijani banking sector successfully bridges present economic expansion with long-term financial resilience, guaranteeing that the vital engines of national progress remain fully funded, stable, and resilient for years to come.

Russia is once again talking about building the maritime infrastructure it needs to exploit the Northern Sea Route, but the scale of the task and the weakness of its domestic shipbuilding industry may leave Moscow with little choice but to turn to China for assistance, says Paul Goble, former Special Advisor to the Secretary of State and a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia, in his recent commentary on WindoonEurasia.

He says that would be an ironic outcome for the Kremlin. Moscow presents the Northern Sea Route as a strategic national asset and a critical component of Russia’s future economic and geopolitical position in the Arctic. Yet the effort to keep the route navigable may ultimately increase rather than reduce Russia’s dependence on Beijing.

The former US diplomat writes that Yury Trutnev, the Russian presidential plenipotentiary for the Far Eastern Federal District and one of Moscow’s leading officials responsible for Northern Sea Route policy, has said that Russia intends to establish a national ‘dredging fleet’ to deepen waterways and maintain access to ports along the route.

According to Trutnev, President Vladimir Putin is expected to approve the plans.

On paper, the proposal is straightforward. In practice, it presents Russia with a formidable engineering and financial challenge.

The Northern Sea Route is not simply a maritime highway that becomes available when Arctic ice retreats. Its effective operation requires a substantial supporting infrastructure, including ports, navigation systems, icebreakers and vessels capable of maintaining adequate depths in increasingly busy waterways.

Dredging is one of the less visible but essential parts of that infrastructure.

The scale of the challenge was highlighted by Rosatom earlier this year. The state corporation estimated that around 60 million cubic metres of sediment would have to be dredged and removed along the Northern Sea Route over the next five years.

Russia does not currently possess the domestic dredging capacity required to undertake a project of that magnitude.

That admission is particularly significant because Moscow has already encountered a similar problem elsewhere.

Global warming, changing water conditions and growing economic activity have increased the need to maintain navigable waterways in Russia. On the Caspian and along major Russian rivers, Moscow has increasingly had to look beyond its own borders for dredging capabilities, including to China and Iran.

The Northern Sea Route could therefore become the next area in which Russia’s ambitions run ahead of its capabilities.

There is an additional complication. Dredging in the Arctic is not equivalent to ordinary dredging in warmer waters. Vessels operating in or near the Northern Sea Route would need to function in extremely difficult conditions. Some would have to be ice-capable, while others could require protection and assistance from Russia’s already heavily utilised icebreaker fleet.

That makes the construction of a Russian dredging fleet a much more expensive and technically demanding undertaking than simply ordering conventional vessels.

And Russia’s shipbuilding industry is already under pressure.

The Kremlin has made repeated efforts to revive domestic shipbuilding and reduce dependence on foreign technology and equipment. But sanctions, technological constraints, financing problems and the broader difficulties facing the Russian industrial sector have complicated those ambitions.

The question, therefore, is not whether Moscow wants to build a national dredging fleet. It clearly does.

The more important question is whether Russia can build one quickly enough, cheaply enough and at the necessary technical level to meet the demands of the Northern Sea Route.

If it cannot, China is likely to emerge as the obvious alternative.

That would not be without precedent. Russia has increasingly turned to China when it has needed equipment, technology or industrial capacity that it cannot readily produce itself. The same pattern has already appeared in the management and development of waterways outside the Arctic.

Beijing would consequently have another opportunity to translate Russia’s infrastructural weaknesses into political leverage.

This is particularly important in the Arctic because the Northern Sea Route is not simply an economic project. Moscow regards it as a strategic corridor connecting Russia’s European and Asian territories and as a means of increasing the country’s role in global shipping.

The Kremlin also sees the route as a symbol of Russian sovereignty and technological capability in the Arctic.

Dependence on Chinese dredging vessels would complicate that narrative.

It could also create a relationship in which Russia depends on China not only for trade and investment, but for maintaining one of the most strategically important transport corridors under Moscow’s control.

The more the Arctic warms and the more heavily the Northern Sea Route is used, the greater the need for regular maintenance is likely to become. Sedimentation does not respect geopolitical boundaries, and commercial vessels cannot operate efficiently on a route whose channels are inadequately maintained.

That creates a potentially long-term structural dependence.

Moscow may therefore be right to seek a national dredging fleet. From the standpoint of Russian sovereignty and strategic planning, it would make sense.

But announcing such a fleet and possessing one are two very different things.

The 60 million cubic metres of sediment that Rosatom says must be removed over the next five years offer a useful measure of the gap between Russia’s Arctic ambitions and its existing capabilities.

If Russian shipyards can close that gap, Moscow will have strengthened its ability to control and develop the Northern Sea Route on its own terms.

If they cannot, Russia may once again turn to China.

And if that happens, the Northern Sea Route could become another example of a broader transformation already under way: Russia seeking greater strategic independence while, in practice, becoming increasingly dependent on Chinese economic and technological capacity.

That may prove to be one of the most consequential unintended consequences of Moscow’s Arctic strategy.

The number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 has risen to 328 following the confirmed death of a detainee from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Sunday.

As reported by AzerNEWS, citing ThePeninsular, the commission said Israeli prison authorities had confirmed the death of Ihab Mohammad Abdul Qader Diab, 36, who had been detained since 12 December 2023.

According to the commission, the Israeli Prison Service attributed Diab’s death to a health condition. His family rejected the explanation, saying he had been in good health and had no known illnesses when he was detained.

The commission said Diab is believed to have died on 18 September 2024.

His death brings the number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since 1967 to 328, including 91 since 7 October 2023. Of those 91 deaths, 53 involved detainees from the Gaza Strip, according to the commission.

The commission called for urgent international intervention to end what it described as torture and ill-treatment in Israeli prisons and detention centres.

It said it had collected numerous testimonies concerning detainees who allegedly died under torture, while claiming that Israeli authorities had not acknowledged many of those deaths.

The commission also accused Israeli authorities of maintaining a policy of enforced disappearance and withholding information about detainees.

The figures and allegations were issued by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and have not been independently verified.

Civilian facilities at Yemen’s Mocha port were targeted by drones on Sunday in an attack attributed to the Houthi group, according to the port’s director, as tensions continue to rise along Yemen’s western coast and in the Red Sea region, AzerNEWS reports via Voiceofemirates.

The port director said civilian infrastructure within the port had come under attack, according to remarks carried by Al-Araby TV.

The extent of the damage remains unclear, while there is no confirmed information on possible casualties.

The attack marks the latest reported strike on the port, which is located on Yemen’s western coast and has become an important point of concern amid heightened tensions affecting maritime security in the Red Sea.

In a later development, media reports indicated that another attack had occurred in the vicinity of Mocha.

Details surrounding the reported second incident, including the target, method of attack and possible damage, were still being verified.

Local authorities were monitoring the situation, while the Houthi group had not issued a detailed statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding the reported attacks or identifying the targets it claimed to have struck.

The latest incidents come amid continued security concerns along Yemen’s western coastline and growing uncertainty over maritime traffic through the wider Red Sea area.

The European Union has welcomed what it described as positive and constructive steps by Armenia and Azerbaijan to advance the peace process, one year after the historic Washington summit involving the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States.

Magdalena Grono, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, made the remarks in a post on X marking the anniversary of the summit.

‘Today marks one year since the historic Washington summit of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States and the leaders’ meeting on 8 August 2025,’ Grono said.

She added that the EU welcomed a series of ‘positive and constructive steps’ taken by the parties over the past year to further institutionalise and advance the peace process.

The Washington summit, held on 8 August 2025, marked a significant milestone in efforts to establish lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Grono’s remarks come as the two countries continue efforts to consolidate the progress made in the peace process and move towards the institutionalisation of their peace agenda.