Category: Azer News

The world’s eyes are currently on US Vice President J D Vance’s visit to the South Caucasus and his talks with Yerevan and Baku, the parties that have been at war for more than 30 years. The visit also comes against a backdrop of Russia’s weakening presence in the region and rising tensions between Iran and the US.

Therefore, JD Vance’s expected visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan is more than a routine diplomatic stop. It reflects Washington’s renewed attention to the South Caucasus at a moment when the region’s strategic weight is quietly but decisively increasing. For a region long treated as peripheral, the symbolism alone is significant. Yet the visit also fits into a broader American recalibration that links security, energy and geopolitical balance at a time of shifting power dynamics.

At its core, the visit is about influence. The United States is seeking to reinforce its political footprint in the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation process and to reassert itself as a relevant mediator. In recent years, peace talks were largely shaped by Brussels and Moscow. Under Donald Trump, however, Washington moved more assertively to reclaim a leading role, and that impulse appears to persist. Vance’s presence would signal that the US does not intend to be sidelined in decisions that will shape the post-war order in the South Caucasus.

Timing matters. The visit comes as Russia’s grip on the region weakens, Iran’s regional posture grows more assertive, and Europe’s energy security is being fundamentally redesigned. Against this backdrop, Azerbaijan occupies a dual role in Washington’s thinking: not only as a party to a conflict, but as a strategic partner in energy supply chains and east-west connectivity. This distinction explains why Baku features so prominently in American calculations, even as Washington balances its engagement with Yerevan.

The substance of Vance’s discussions is likely to centre first on the prospects for a peace agreement. Issues such as border delimitation and demarcation, the opening of regional communications, including the TRIPP framework, and mutual recognition of territorial integrity will be unavoidable. For the United States, peace is not simply a moral objective but a security guarantee. A stable South Caucasus reduces the risk of renewed violence that could draw in external powers and complicate American interests.

Security, however, goes beyond the peace table. Washington remains keen to prevent another military escalation and to shape the region’s evolving security architecture. In Armenia, this may involve discussions about recalibrating security dependence, reducing reliance on Russia and deepening cooperation with Western institutions. Such shifts are politically sensitive but increasingly unavoidable as Moscow’s credibility as a security guarantor erodes.

In Baku, the emphasis will almost certainly tilt towards energy and connectivity. The Southern Gas Corridor, green energy projects and the Middle Corridor linking Asia to Europe are all of strategic importance to the US and its allies. Vance is expected to underline Azerbaijan’s growing role in Europe’s energy diversification, a role that has gained urgency amid global supply disruptions and geopolitical fragmentation.

Regional dynamics will also hover over the talks. Iran’s policies and Russia’s declining influence are unlikely to be addressed head-on, but they will shape the tone and priorities of the discussions. Washington’s overriding objective is to prevent the South Caucasus from drifting into an anti-Western alignment. In this context, engagement with Azerbaijan is likely to remain pragmatic and balanced rather than ideological.

Taken as a whole, Vance’s visit appears less about transforming the status quo than about preserving it. The United States currently lacks the leverage to dictate a final settlement or reclaim a dominant mediating role. Yet the visit carries political weight. It is a signal to rivals, particularly Russia and Iran, that Washington remains present and attentive.

There is also a domestic dimension. Vance is widely viewed as a potential presidential contender, and outreach to influential constituencies matters. The Armenian lobby, Christian networks and Congress continue to wield considerable influence in US politics. Building goodwill in Yerevan may therefore serve both foreign policy and personal political calculations.

Ultimately, the visit should be read as a message rather than a breakthrough. It says less about imminent change and more about intent: the United States is reminding the region, and its competitors, that it still has a stake in how the South Caucasus evolves.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly condemned a series of policy changes approved earlier by Israel’s security cabinet, which aim to overhaul land registration and property acquisition in the occupied West Bank, moves that would significantly deepen Israeli control over the territory, including sensitive religious sites, AzerNEWS reports.

According to a report published by the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA, Abbas’s office described the decisions as ‘dangerous’ and framed them as part of a broader campaign by the current Israeli government against the Palestinian people. The statement stressed that the measures are considered ‘null and void,’ carry no legal legitimacy, and will have no legal consequences from the Palestinian perspective.

The PA also called on the United States and the UN Security Council to urgently intervene and halt the implementation of these decisions, warning that they risk further destabilizing the situation on the ground.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the cabinet had approved steps to declassify and publicize land registries in the West Bank, which are currently restricted. The move is widely seen as facilitating land claims and property acquisitions by Israeli entities.

In addition, Israeli agencies were granted authority over maintenance and construction at several highly sensitive religious sites, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem-both long-standing flashpoints due to their religious and political significance to Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

WAFA reported that Abbas’s office warned of the serious risks of infringing on Islamic and Christian holy sites, emphasizing that any transfer of authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque is ‘unacceptable.’ The Hebron compound is traditionally believed to be the burial place of the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.

The Israeli ministers also said the cabinet voted to overturn a Jordanian-era law-dating back to the period when Jordan controlled the West Bank between 1948 and 1967-that restricted land purchases in the territory to Muslims.

Furthermore, new decisions were announced to expand Israeli oversight over infrastructure, environmental regulation, and archaeological affairs in Areas A and B of the West Bank. Under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, these areas fall under the civil authority of the Palestinian Authority, making the move particularly contentious.

Palestinian officials and analysts warn that the latest steps could further undermine the Oslo framework, intensify tensions in the West Bank, and complicate already stalled prospects for a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Every industry has its stories, but few are as visually striking or as personally transformative as the world of oil.

For Nigar Manafli, years spent on offshore platforms were a source of memory, rhythm, and unexpected beauty. The shapes of machinery, the movement of workers, and the interplay of light and shadow on steel became imprinted in her mind, waiting to be translated into art.

This intimate perspective forms the heart of “The Heritage of Oil”, Nigar Manafli’s solo exhibition, recently opened at Baku’s D’Art Gallery.

Nigar Manafli graduated in 2013 from the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry with a degree in Geological Exploration. That same year, she began her professional career as one of the first Azerbaijani women well-logging specialists, working in geophysical well surveys on offshore platforms.

For seven years, the engineer-geologist worked directly on offshore platforms, participating in high-risk field operations that demanded exceptional responsibility and technical expertise under real oil production conditions.

In 2023, she was appointed Maintenance Superintendent at Central Azeri, becoming the first woman to hold this position.

In an interview with AZERNEWS, the artist shares how years spent working in the oil industry became the foundation for an unexpected artistic journey.

Drawing inspiration from one of Azerbaijan’s most vital and demanding sectors, her exhibition “The Heritage of Oil” pays tribute to the people behind the industry, those whose daily work combines technical precision, responsibility, and resilience.

The project features 29 artworks that reveal the hidden aspects of offshore life: the scale of operations, the rhythm of metal structures, silent responsibility alongside high risk, the power of storms, the quiet of night shifts, and the unspoken dialogue between humans and the sea.

“The Heritage of Oil” combines technical knowledge with personal memory, translating industrial heritage into a contemporary visual language and inviting viewers to reflect on the boundaries between technology and human experience.

The project represents one of the first public presentations of AI-based art in Azerbaijan, reinterpreting the country’s rich oil history through a personal and artistic lens.

Q: How did the idea for an exhibition inspired by the oil industry come about?

A: The idea grew out of my many years of experience working in the oil industry, directly on offshore drilling platforms. In essence, this project is a visualization of my personal memory. I spent many years working on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil field, carrying out highly complex technical operations.

My work involved radioactive sources, irradiated materials, and high-pressure equipment, and I was responsible for supervising these processes. It is an extremely demanding and high-responsibility field, yet over time, I began to perceive a certain kind of beauty within this industry.

I felt a strong desire to capture fragments of my memories on canvas, transforming them into paintings. Today, the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence made this achievable. I used a digital art program for this purpose, as creativity has always been very important to me.

Unfortunately, our profession leaves very little free time, and traditional painting is a long and complex process. However, visualization is possible. I am genuinely happy that when my colleagues from the oil industry look at these works, they recognize themselves in them. One colleague recently said to me, “I see myself in these paintings.”

I believe that every oil worker can see a part of themselves in these works. In that sense, I feel my mission has been fulfilled, because creating precisely this kind of personified collection was my original intention.

Q: How do you see the role of artificial intelligence in contemporary art?

A: In this context, artificial intelligence is simply a tool. You tell it what you want to see in the final result. It does not dictate ideas, nor can it independently know what needs to be depicted.

The idea belongs entirely to the human being. Artificial intelligence is merely a means through which that idea can be realized, presented, and preserved as a form of memory.

Q: What projects are you planning to pursue in the near future?

A: To be honest, this project began as something deeply personal. I created several artworks for myself and displayed them in my office. My colleagues showed great interest, and over time, I began to expand the collection.

Last month, the management asked me to present my work at our staff party. At that time, the exhibition included only a small number of pieces. I brought them along and witnessed a strong response not only from colleagues, but also from their family members.

The event brought together people from very different professional backgrounds: for example, a husband working in the oil industry and a wife from a completely different field. Even they felt an emotional connection to the artworks. That moment sparked the idea of involving more oil workers and sharing this project with a wider audience.

These works speak volumes. And that is precisely why I decided to create a full-scale exhibition.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed two decrees enforcing decisions by the National Security and Defence Council to impose sanctions on 66 individuals and 62 legal entities, including citizens and companies linked to Russia, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates, AzerNEWS reports via Ukraine’s Presidential website.

According to official statements, the measures are designed to undermine Russia’s military-industrial and financial infrastructure, particularly networks involved in supplying components for missile and drone production and in helping Moscow bypass international sanctions.

The first decree targets 24 individuals and 27 companies connected to Russia’s defence industry. These entities are accused of supplying goods used in the manufacture of Russian missiles and drones, weapons that Ukraine says were deployed during overnight attacks into Saturday. Ukrainian officials stressed that such weapons systems rely heavily on foreign components, making external supply chains a critical vulnerability.

The second decree focuses on 42 individuals and 35 legal entities involved in Russia’s financial ecosystem, including those facilitating sanctions evasion imposed by Ukraine, the European Union and the United States.

Among those sanctioned is the A7 cryptocurrency network, which Ukrainian authorities say has been used to process payments for components used in Russian missile production. Measures were also imposed on organisations supporting Russia’s crypto market and industrial cryptocurrency mining, as well as on payment service providers, crypto exchanges and digital asset holders.

Ukrainian officials said parts of the measures are expected to be incorporated into the European Union’s upcoming 20th sanctions package, which is currently in its final stages and could be adopted by the end of the month.

‘Our approach is systematic and practical,’ said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Advisor and Commissioner to the President of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy. ‘By targeting those who manufacture weapons for Russia and finance component supplies, we directly limit the capacity of Russia’s military-industrial complex.’

The Gabala Festival, widely recognised not only as a music event but also as a platform for intercultural dialogue, continued on 7 February with a chamber music evening titled ‘Baku-Naples: A Musical Bridge’ as part of the 2nd Winter Tale International Music Festival.

AzerNEWS reports that the concert took place at the Heydar Aliyev Congress Center in Gabala and brought together representatives of the festival’s organising bodies, local music enthusiasts and visiting guests. The programme symbolised the long-standing cultural friendship between Azerbaijan and Italy.

Before the concert, Zahra Guliyeva, Professor at the Uzeyir Hajibeyli Baku Academy of Music and People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, addressed the audience. She noted that the evening’s repertoire focused on the romance genre, featuring works by both Azerbaijani and Italian composers, and outlined the stylistic characteristics of this musical form.

The programme included Vincenzo Bellini’s Melancholia, Said Rustamov’s Intizar and Hardasan, Sevda Ibrahimova’s Wake Up, Bulbul, as well as several works by Tofig Guliyev, including I Am from Baku, Lyric Song, I Became Lucky, and Golden Ring. Also performed were Vasif Adigozalov’s Carnation and Song about Baku, Polad Bulbuloglu’s Happy Azerbaijan, alongside Italian classics such as Rodolfo Falvo’s Dicitencello vuje, Salvatore Cardillo’s Neapolitan song Katari, two romances by Francesco Paolo Tosti, and Cesare Andrea Bixio’s Parlami d’amore Mariù.

The concert featured performances by People’s Artists Farhad Badalbeyli, Murad Adigozelzade, and Honoured Artist Emil Afrasiyab on piano, alongside vocal soloists Afag Abbasova (soprano), Aytaj Shikhalizade (mezzo-soprano), Azer Zade (tenor), Mahir Tagizade (baritone) and Aysun Mahmudzade (soprano). Their performances were warmly received by the audience.

The evening concluded with all soloists performing Tofig Guliyev’s ‘Friendship Song.’

The Winter Tale International Music Festival will close on 8 February with a gala concert at the Heydar Aliyev Congress Center. Artists and dancers from Spain will headline a flamenco-jazz programme titled ‘Azerbaijan-Spain: Two Countries, One Music.’

The premiere of the animated series ‘Isi and Piti’ took place at the Ganja State Drama Theater.

Leyla Aliyeva and Alena Aliyeva attended the event. The premiere was organized within the framework of the ‘ANIMAFILM in Ganja’ festival by the Azerbaijan Animation Association.

As part of the festival, alongside the premiere of two episodes of the educational children’s animated series ‘Isi and Piti,’ the short animated films ‘Bum-bum’ and ‘Earth and Moon’ were presented to the audience. Teachers from Ganja city’s preschool education institutions, as well as children attending these institutions, watched the animated films with great interest and enthusiasm.

The festival also featured the screening of the short animated film ‘Earth and Moon,’ a joint production by Azerbaijani and Uzbek animation specialists. The film explains to children the unity between humans and nature, highlights the impact of ecological problems on the planet, and calls on everyone to protect their homeland, Mother Nature, and the Earth.

Leyla Aliyeva and Alena Aliyeva visited the STEAM center operating at the Ganja Physics, Mathematics and Informatics Oriented Lyceum and Secondary School No. 37 in Ganja.

During their familiarization with the center, it was noted that the implementation of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) project in Azerbaijani schools began at the initiative of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva.

It was emphasized that the STEAM center has been operating within the lyceum since 2021. Designed for all age groups, the center includes sections in the areas of robotics, art, science, STEAM Kids, CNC and 3D printing, mechatronics, and drones.

It was also brought to attention that, in addition to the students and teachers of the lyceum, students and teachers from other schools in the region also benefit from the opportunities created at the center. Each academic year, more than 1,000 students participate in various modules offered by the STEAM center.

It was noted that the main goal of the STEAM project, which has been implemented since 2019, is to develop students’ critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and other skills; to create opportunities for learning through creative processes; and not to teach subjects separately, but to integrate them into a unified learning model based on real-world applications.

Later, Leyla Aliyeva and Alena Aliyeva familiarized themselves with the conditions created at Secondary School No. 37 in Ganja, which was thoroughly renovated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

It was reported that the building of Secondary School No. 37 in Ganja’s Kapaz district, constructed in 1969, had become unusable over time due to deterioration. Major renovation works for the 724-student school began in November 2024 at the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The educational institution consists of one three-story building and three two-story buildings.

The school is fully equipped with the necessary furniture and equipment, including subject classrooms and laboratories with visual aids.

The school building houses classrooms, physics, chemistry, and biology laboratories, informatics, military training, medical and music rooms, a library, a canteen, an assembly hall, gymnasiums, as well as an open sports ground.

Improvement and landscaping works have been carried out in the schoolyard, asphalt pavement has been laid, and decorative shrubs and trees have been planted.

During the visit, bicycles and safety equipment were gifted to 50 children of various age groups.

The main goal of the social campaign, organized with the support of the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation, is to create conditions for children living in the regions to spend their free time more effectively, to increase their interest in sports and a healthy lifestyle, to encourage schoolchildren to be physically active, as well as to promote the use of bicycles as an ecological means of transport.

Pakistani security forces have arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, in connection with a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad that killed 31 people, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday.

The arrests followed a series of raids on multiple locations as part of an investigation into Friday’s attack, which also wounded at least 169 people. Authorities said the bombing was the deadliest in the capital since a 2008 suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel that killed 63 people.

A regional affiliate of the Islamic State group, identifying itself as Isis in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried by its Amaq News Agency. According to the statement, the attacker opened fire on security guards at the mosque’s main gate before detonating an explosive vest after reaching the inner entrance.

The Isis group described Pakistani Shiites as legitimate targets, accusing them of supporting Shiite militias fighting Islamic State fighters in Syria.

Security officials said the bombing marked a significant escalation in militant violence in the capital. In November, a suicide bomber attacked near a court in Islamabad, killing 12 people, underscoring growing security concerns.

Pakistan has faced a resurgence of militant attacks in recent months, particularly targeting religious minorities and security forces. Authorities said investigations into the network behind the mosque bombing are continuing, and further arrests are possible.

Baku and Tehran are discussing the possibility of restoring passenger communication via the land border, Azernews reports.

The issue was raised by Reza Salehi Amiri, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, during a meeting with deputies from Ardabil province. According to him, consultations are underway on reviving cross-border passenger movement, which could give new momentum to people-to-people contacts and regional tourism.

The discussions come against the backdrop of broader Azerbaijan-Iran talks on transport and connectivity. Earlier, the sides addressed plans related to the railway connection from Ardabil, which has been presented by Iranian officials as a potential link to regional transport routes and a tool for boosting bilateral exchanges. In this context, the possible reopening of passenger movement via the land border is seen as complementary to rail initiatives, rather than a standalone step.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan’s land borders have remained closed since March 2020, a measure initially introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later extended for security and public health reasons. Any change in the current regime would therefore require a political decision at the highest level.

For now, officials frame the talks as exploratory, emphasizing that discussions are aimed at assessing technical, security, and logistical aspects, while keeping expectations cautious.

At moments of fragile peace, symbolism often matters as much as substance. Legal decisions are rarely just legal, timing is almost never accidental, and gestures aimed at domestic audiences tend to echo well beyond national borders. This is the context in which a recent ruling by an Armenian court, recognising claims that the dissolution of the former Armenian separatist entity in Garabagh was made ‘under pressure’, must be understood. The reaction of the Western Azerbaijan Community is therefore not a disruption of the peace process between Baku and Yerevan, but an early warning that selective legal revisionism, cloaked in judicial language, risks unsettling a carefully balanced diplomatic trajectory.

Since the August 2025 summit in Washington, held with the participation of US President Donald Trump, Azerbaijan-Armenia relations have entered their most constructive phase in decades. That meeting paved the way for the initial paraphing of a peace treaty, the expansion of mutual confidence-building measures, and renewed discussions on restoring economic and transport links across the South Caucasus. Subsequent talks in Abu Dhabi confirmed that this was not a one-off gesture but a sustained diplomatic course. It is precisely because of this momentum that the Armenian court’s decision has raised concern. At a time when the international community is focused on consolidating peace, any move that appears to cast doubt on Azerbaijan’s restoration of sovereignty in 2023 inevitably carries political significance.

The ruling centres on Samvel Shahramanyan, the last figure associated with the now-defunct separatist structure that once operated in Garabagh. By accepting claims that the decision to dissolve that entity was taken under coercion, the Armenian court has effectively introduced a narrative that retrospectively questions the legitimacy of the dissolution itself. This is not a technical legal issue. It indirectly challenges a sovereign process carried out within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised borders and risks reviving political constructs that the peace process was designed to put to rest. It is from this standpoint that the Western Azerbaijan Community has posed a fundamental question: on what legal or moral basis can a court in one state pass judgement on the internal sovereign actions of another?

The answer lies less in law than in politics. Armenia is entering an election year, and domestic political pressure is intensifying. Revanchist groups opposed to reconciliation, including hardline nationalist circles and influential diaspora networks, have increased their efforts to constrain the government’s room for manoeuvre. In such an environment, judicial institutions often become tools of political signalling. The court ruling serves as a gesture to sceptical voters, offering reassurance that concessions have not gone too far, while stopping short of an outright rejection of the peace process. When the Western Azerbaijan Community warns of revanchist activity, it is pointing precisely to this phenomenon: peace being gradually diluted by election-driven populism.

One of the most striking elements of the Community’s statement is its focus on legal selectivity. If Armenian courts are prepared to revisit decisions allegedly taken ‘under pressure’, then the absence of any legal reckoning with the mass deportation of Western Azerbaijanis between 1987 and 1991 becomes impossible to ignore. Entire communities were expelled, religious and cultural sites were destroyed, and a centuries-old presence was erased, yet no judicial process has addressed these events. The implication is clear: justice is being applied selectively, guided by political convenience rather than universal legal principles. This inconsistency does not merely affect bilateral relations; it undermines the credibility of legal institutions in the eyes of international mediators.

The immediate impact of the ruling should not be overstated. Armenia has not formally withdrawn from negotiations, nor has it abandoned the commitments made in Washington and Abu Dhabi. The risk is not strategic collapse but tactical erosion. Each such decision chips away at trust, introduces uncertainty, and provides ammunition to those who argue that reconciliation is inherently fragile. This matters particularly as US Vice-President JD Vance prepares to visit Yerevan and then Baku. At a moment when Washington’s diplomatic engagement is expected to reinforce stability, mixed signals from domestic institutions complicate the message.

It is also essential to clarify what the Western Azerbaijan Community is not doing. It is not advancing territorial claims, nor does it question Armenia’s sovereignty or internationally recognised borders. Its agenda focuses on the right of return, protection of rights, and historical justice, and most importantly, all these issues are grounded in international human rights norms. By issuing its statement now, the Community seeks to alert international actors to potentially destabilising developments, to protect the peace process from unexpected sabotage, and to ensure that reconciliation is not built on historical distortion.

Viewed in this light, the statement is less a provocation than a stabilising intervention. Peace processes rarely fail through dramatic reversals; more often, they are weakened by incremental steps that reopen settled questions under the guise of legality. If Azerbaijan and Armenia are to move from conflict management to durable peace, courts and politicians alike must resist the temptation to instrumentalise the past. As the Western Azerbaijan Community has made clear, peace cannot be sustained through selective memory or legal ambiguity. It requires consistency, accountability and a genuine commitment to move forward rather than sideways.