Day: September 16, 2023

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with the US State Department Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, Louis Bono, Report informs.

“Fitch Ratings” international rating agency has affirmed Azerbaijan’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘BB+’ with a positive outlook, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Trend.

The data of the agency shows that the BB+ rating is supported by Azerbaijan’s very strong external balance sheet, low public debt and high financial flexibility due to the sovereign fund’s large assets.

The Agency forecasts that the net position of Azerbaijan’s sovereign assets will increase by 14 pp to 63 percent of GDP in 2023 and to 72 percent by 2025, which is the highest among comparable groups of countries.

Fitch said that despite the fall in oil prices, Azerbaijan is expected to have a double-digit surplus in 2024-2025. In addition, foreign currency assets will reach $68 billion in 2023, 82 percent of this amount will come to the share of SOFAZ.

The agency forecasts GDP growth of 1.8 percent in 2023, with growth averaging 2.3 percent in 2024-2025 due to the growing oil economy.

Fitch also expects further growth in natural gas production with potential prospects for increased exports to Europe if contracts are signed.

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Illegal Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, attempted to dig a trench in front of the positions of the Azerbaijani Army in Aghdam direction for engineering preparation on September 16 at about 13:00 (GMT+4), according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Trend, citing the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

“As a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani Army units, the ongoing work was immediately stopped,” the ministry said.

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Baku is aimed at a peaceful resolution of existing issues with Yerevan, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said in an interview with TASS, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting AzerTac.

When asked whether Azerbaijan could again resort to force, as it did in 2020, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan refrained from making hypothetical forecasts.

“I would not like to comment on hypothetical scenarios. Azerbaijan is a responsible member of the international community and always acts in accordance with the provisions of its constitution and international law. We are aimed at peaceful resolution of all existing issues,” he emphasized.

Commenting on the topic of possible compromises that Baku is ready to make in dialogue with Yerevan, Hajiyev noted that the Azerbaijani side will not discuss “either with Armenia or with any third country issues that call into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.”

“Attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of our state, including by pushing the topic of creating some kind of international mechanisms for dialogue between the central government of Azerbaijan and the ethnic Armenian minority in Karabakh, are doomed to failure,” he noted.

“Karabakh is an internal issue of Azerbaijan, and any attempt to challenge this is counterproductive from the perspective of achieving sustainable peace in the region,” Hajiyev said.

“We still hope for the signing of a peace treaty before the end of this year and call on the Armenian political leadership to take the main step – officially, with their signature under the peace treaty, to record recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh economic region of our republic, and to commit to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of our country in the future. Including through attempts to bring our internal issues, such as issues of our interaction with our citizens of Armenian ethnic origin in Karabakh, to international platforms under the pretext of ensuring the rights and security of this population group. These are our citizens, and their rights and security will be ensured by the Constitution of Azerbaijan,” he underlined.

According to the assistant to the President, it is important that Armenia abandons the policy of financing separatism in Azerbaijan. “As for the activities of international mediators, we highly appreciate their contribution to the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations,” he added.

Hajiyev highlighted the important role of Russia in this process, “whose active mediation ensured the signing of a trilateral agreement in November 2020, which put an end to large-scale hostilities.”

“The European Union and the United States also make their contribution to the negotiation process. In general, each of the negotiation tracks is unique in its own way and helps conduct a dialogue between Baku and Yerevan on the most problematic issues.”

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Türkiye prioritizes stability and peace in the Caucasus and supports its brotherly nation Azerbaijan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said Friday, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Daily Sabah.

“We place great importance on stability in the Caucasus. We are making significant efforts to establish lasting peace in the region and continue to support our brotherly nation Azerbaijan with the understanding of ‘one nation, two states,’” Güler said at a ceremony held at the Defense Ministry marking September 19, Veterans Day.

In a speech, he said that Türkiye will continue contributing to regional and global peace in many regions.

“We are continuing our constructive efforts to reactivate the Black Sea grain agreement,” he added, referring to a pact reached last summer to enable grain exports from Ukraine despite the ongoing war, which Russia withdrew from in July.

Güler also said Türkiye is continuing its endeavors to maintain the favorable atmosphere with Greece that it has been fostering in recent years.

“We will continue our fight against terrorism with the same determination and unwavering commitment as we have done so far, without making any concessions,” he stressed.

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