Category: Azer News

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, attended an informal breakfast, AzerNEWS reports.

The publication was posted on President Ilham Aliyev’s Instagram page.

A suspicious envelope arrived at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Monday, Israeli news sources confirmed, AzerNEWS reports.

The envelope was examined by Israel Police forensic laboratory personnel on location, who eliminated the possibility of an explosive. It was then sent to a biological laboratory in Ness Ziona.

“Suspicious signs arose during tests of an envelope that was received,” the Security and Emergency Division in the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “It has been taken care of according to protocol, which has now concluded. It does not represent a danger to any of the workers.”

An unnamed source involved in the events told Maariv that within the envelope were ampoules containing an unknown substance.

Envelope sent to Prime Minister found to be harmless

Other suspicious envelopes have been sent to the Prime Minister before.

In November 2025, an envelope was found outside Netanyahu’s office. Paramedics and additional forces on the scene ruled out the suspicion that it contained a dangerous substance.

In a wide-ranging interview published Saturday, former President Barack Obama confirmed what many have been waiting for: aliens are, in fact, real. They’re aren’t being kept in Nevada’s Area 51, however, AzerNEWS reports.

Progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen asked Obama the question outright during ‘a little bit of a lightning round’ in an interview on Cohen’s ‘No Lie’ podcast published on Saturday.

‘They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,’ Obama responded before adding that they are not being kept in Area 51.

‘There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy, and they hid it from the president of the United States,’ he added.

When asked what question he wanted answered first when he became president, Obama told Cohen, ‘Where are the aliens?’

Aliens and whether they exist have long been an area of interest for Americans – so much so, that Congress has held hearings in 2024 regarding UFOs and whistleblower reports. A UFO whistleblower recently said President Donald Trump had been briefed on secret UFO programs and information about extraterrestrials.

A 2025 poll found that nearly half of Americans believe the federal government is hiding evidence related to UFOs.

There were no follow-up questions from Cohen, and Obama didn’t expand any further. Obama’s comments – much like those made by witnesses and lawmakers during Congressional hearings – remain unverified.

While the alien question came during a more light-hearted part of Obama’s conversation with Cohen, the former president also responded to the controversial video posted on Trump’s Truth Social account earlier this month.

‘I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,’ Obama told Cohen.

The open court hearing on the criminal case against Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan will continue on February 17, according to the Baku Military Court, AzerNEWS reports.

The court noted that during the previous hearing held on February 10, the judicial examination was completed and the panel of judges moved to deliberations. The upcoming session will mark the continuation of proceedings in the high-profile case.

Ruben Vardanyan is charged under multiple articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other grave offenses. The charges encompass allegations related to planning and waging a war of aggression, deportation and forced transfer of population, persecution, enforced disappearance, torture, mercenary activity, violations of international humanitarian law, intentional and attempted murder, illegal entrepreneurship, creation of criminal and armed groups not ??????????????? by law, acts threatening aviation safety, forcible seizure of power, and illegal crossing of Azerbaijan’s state border.

The proceedings are being conducted in an open format at the Baku Military Court, with the case drawing close public and international attention due to the scope and gravity of the charges involved.

It began not with a handshake in a grand hall, but with a crossing on foot. On a cold February morning, an Azerbaijani delegation passed through a newly delimited section of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, an act unthinkable not long ago, and one still heavy with memory.

That experience began even before the discussions. The Azerbaijani delegation entered Armenia by land, crossing through a delimited and demarcated section of the border near Voskepar and Ashaghi Askipara. All formal procedures were completed, yet what mattered more was the symbolism. For participants, the crossing was not merely logistical; it was a practical confidence-building measure, a visible sign that normalization can be enacted, not just negotiated.

The journey to Tsaghkadzor for a civil society roundtable under the ‘Peace Bridge’ initiative was, in itself, a message: that normalization is no longer confined to diplomatic communiqués, but is testing its footing on the ground. What followed over two days of discussion was less about slogans of peace and more about whether trust-fragile, uneven, and deeply contested, can be built through sustained human contact, candid dialogue, and shared responsibility for a post-conflict future in the South Caucasus.

Inside the roundtable, discussions turned to the broader political horizon. Participants assessed the current stage of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the future trajectories opened by the peace agenda endorsed at the Washington Summit in August. Regional security dynamics, shifting economic opportunities, and the prospects created by restored connectivity formed the backbone of the debate. Alongside formal sessions, informal cultural and social activities softened the atmosphere, allowing personal interaction to complement policy discussion.

As part of the visit, AzerNEWS spoke with Emin Aliyev, Editor-in-Chief of Trend International Information Agency, who was among the Azerbaijani representatives.

Atmosphere beyond the formal setting

Beyond the formal statements and panel discussions, the atmosphere of the meeting was marked less by emotional gestures and more by a deliberate sense of practicality. As Emin Aliyev put it, ‘our engagement with the Armenian delegation was constructive,’ a formulation that deliberately avoids sentimentality while underscoring functionality. Security, he stressed, was ensured ‘at a high level,’ and crucially, ‘there were no incidents or negative developments.’ In a context shaped by decades of hostility, the absence of friction itself became a signal: not of reconciliation, but of manageability.

Discussing difficult issues without rupture

That same pragmatism carried into the substance of the discussions. Rather than identifying a single taboo or collision point, Aliyev described the exchanges as ‘constructive and quite candid,’ including meetings with senior Armenian officials. Topics touched directly on issues sensitive for Azerbaijani society-‘the restoration of transport communications, the TRIPP project, confidence-building measures between the two societies, and related matters.’ The willingness to articulate concerns openly, without theatrical confrontation, suggested that the lines dividing the two sides are no longer entirely unspeakable, even if they remain firmly drawn.

Another question was about the discussion of a new regional security architecture initiated by civil societies during the meeting, and the extent to which local civil society initiatives were prioritised compared to the influence of external forces. Emin Aliyev said separate sessions widened the lens further, moving from bilateral grievances to the broader regional picture. According tohim, discussions addressed ‘the emerging regional security architecture, the benefits of peace, public perceptions of establishing interstate relations in both societies, prospects for economic cooperation, and the role of civil societies.’ His framing of this as ‘this long and challenging process’ was telling: peace, in this view, is not an event to be announced, but a structure to be assembled gradually, with civil society playing a supporting, if not yet decisive, role alongside state institutions.

Confidence-building as a process, not a moment

On its own, a roundtable does not dissolve borders or erase historical memory. Yet the combination of a physical border crossing, candid exchanges behind closed doors, and uneventful coexistence in informal settings points to something incremental but tangible. If normalization is to advance, it may do so less through dramatic breakthroughs than through repeated, controlled encounters like this, where former adversaries test not trust, but predictability, one step at a time, sometimes quite literally across the border.

A ceremony for the exchange of Azerbaijan-Serbia documents was held in Belgrade, with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, AzerNEWS reports.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev and Serbia’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan Glamocic exchanged the ‘Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Serbia on Cooperation in the Field of Food Security.’

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Ðedovic exchanged the ‘Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the Design, Construction and Operation of a Gas-Turbine Power Plant in the Republic of Serbia.’

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic exchanged the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia.’

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev and Serbia’s Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina exchanged the ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Media and Communications between the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia.’

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture Adil Karimli and Serbia’s Minister of Culture Nikola Selakovic exchanged the ‘Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Culture for 2026-2030 between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.’

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov and Serbia’s Minister of Sports Zoran Gajic exchanged the ‘Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Sports between the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Serbia.’

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Serbia Kamil Khasiyev and Director of Serbia’s National Health Insurance Fund Sanja Radojevic exchanged the ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Health Insurance Systems between the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Serbia.’

A one-on-one meeting between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic commenced in Belgrade, AzerNEWS reports.

Serbia marks its Statehood Day today with the usual mix of ceremony and symbolism. Flags line Belgrade’s boulevards, speeches dwell on sovereignty and continuity, and history is pressed into service for the present. Yet this year, the celebrations carry an added diplomatic undertone: the visit of Ilham Aliyev, timed deliberately to Serbia’s national holiday, a gesture Belgrade reads as respect, and Baku as strategy.

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia were formally established in the late 1990s, but it was only in the past decade that the relationship acquired real political weight. Since the signing of the declaration on friendship and strategic partnership in Baku in the early 2010s, the two countries have quietly constructed a dense web of ties: political, economic, energy-related and increasingly symbolic. That architecture has since been reinforced by joint action plans, a bilateral strategic partnership council, and a rhythm of regular high-level visits.

Personal diplomacy has mattered. President Aliyev has visited Serbia several times, while Aleksandar Vucic has made multiple trips to Azerbaijan in return. The two leaders were most recently seen together on a Davos stage, discussing Eurasia’s economic identity, a phrase that neatly captures how both countries see themselves: neither core nor periphery, but connective tissue.

That political alignment rests on a rare symmetry of positions. Serbia has consistently supported Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan, in turn, has refused to recognise Kosovo and has objected to its representation in international fora. In an international system where neutrality is often rhetorical, this has been a case of mutual clarity.

The dividends are increasingly material. Trade flows between the two countries remain modest by global standards, but they are broad-based and politically supported. Azerbaijani exports to Serbia range from natural gas and refined fuels to agricultural products and industrial goods. Serbian exports back include pharmaceuticals, machinery, plastics and foodstuffs, the kind of trade basket that signals complementarity rather than dependency. Intergovernmental economic cooperation mechanisms, in place for more than a decade, have provided a bureaucratic spine to these exchanges.

Energy has become the relationship’s strategic core. As Europe redraws its gas map, Azerbaijan has positioned itself as a reliable supplier, and Serbia, heavily dependent on imported energy, has emerged as a key partner in south-east Europe. Gas deliveries via the Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector, operational since the mid-2020s, have turned political declarations into physical flows. Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR has supplied Serbia not only with gas but also with refined fuels, while plans for a jointly built gas-fired power plant near Niš point to a longer-term energy compact.

The relationship is no longer confined to hydrocarbons. Serbian construction companies have expressed interest in working in Azerbaijan’s recently liberated territories, while Serbian-invested firms are already operating in the Azerbaijani market. Tourism, too, has moved from memoranda to timetables: from May, Air Serbia is expected to launch direct flights between Belgrade and Baku, reducing both distance and abstraction.

Soft power has followed. Cities such as Shusha and Novi Pazar have signed cooperation agreements spanning culture, urban planning and education. Azerbaijan has confirmed its participation in EXPO 2027, to be held in Belgrade, while Serbian military representatives have taken part in commemorations marking Azerbaijan’s wartime victory, a signal of trust in a sensitive domain.

What distinguishes this partnership is not scale, but coherence. Both states occupy geopolitical fault lines. Both place a premium on sovereignty. Both seek partners who treat them as actors rather than arenas. In that sense, today’s visit is less about ceremony than about calibration: aligning interests across energy security, connectivity and regional stability at a time when Europe’s old assumptions are fraying.

Serbia’s national day celebrates statehood. Azerbaijan’s presence underlines something subtler, that in a fragmented Europe, influence increasingly belongs to those who show up, stay consistent and build partnerships that endure beyond headlines.

European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Kaja Kallas underlined on Sunday that there is an “urgent need to reclaim European agency,” adding that strengthening its defense must be one of its main goals given the situation in Ukraine, AzerNEWS reports.

She said that while Russia has been attempting to fracture alliances and poses a nuclear threat to the continent, it is “no superpower.” “After more than a decade of conflict … Russia has barely advanced beyond the 2014 lines. And the cost? 1.2 million casualties,” Kallas commented at the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

She went on to say that at present, Moscow is “broken,” with its economy “in the shreds.” “It is disconnected from the European energy markets and its own citizens are fleeing,” Kallas remarked. She concluded by saying that the greatest threat for Europe right now is that Russia could “gain more at the negotiating table than at the battlefield.”

She stated at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Sunday that Europe decided to rearm as it “suspects Russia doesn’t want peace.”

Talking about negotiations that could bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Kallas underscored that Moscow’s “maximalist demands cannot be met with a minimalist response.” She noted that if Ukraine must limit the size of its military, Russia should have to do that as well, further adding that the latter should also pay for the damages it caused to Ukraine.

The EU diplomat said that no amnesty should be granted for war crimes. Kallas also mentioned that the EU should focus on enlargement in the south and the east of Europe, as that is “the antidote to Russian imperialism.”

Regarding Ukraine’s accession to EU, she commented on that her “feeling” is that the member states are “not ready to give a concrete date” for Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Kallas said that geopolitics are always at play when it comes to EU enlargement. Going back to Ukraine, she stressed that the bloc “needs to move fast.”

While the EU might not have a concrete date at the moment, “the priority and the urgent need to show that Ukraine is a part of Europe is there,” Kallas concluded.

A publication about the meetings held by President Ilham Aliyev within the framework of the Munich Security Conference was posted on his official social media accounts, AzerNEWS reports.

The post reads:

“Meetings of President Ilham Aliyev within the framework of the Munich Security Conference. Germany February 13-15, 2026.”