Azerbaijan to establish information system for renewable energy … Trend News Agency
Day: October 10, 2023
The Yerevan City Council voted 32 to 5 today to elect Tigran Avinyan nominated by Civil Contract faction as Mayor of Yerevan.
A total of 37 members of the Council of Elders of the from Civil Contract, Republic and Public Voice parties were present at the meeting.
The session was boycotted by National Progress party and Mother Armenia alliance.
Tigran Avinyan was the only candidate for the post.
Fateh’s Reformist Democratic Faction exposes the deepening humanitarian catastrophe within the besieged Gaza Strip, a direct consequence of Israel’s relentless war crimes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent brazen exhibition on social media, flaunting footage of his warplanes mercilessly targeting civilian dwellings and snuffing out innocent lives, is nothing short of abhorrent. It unearths profound concerns regarding the glaring lack of accountability and the international community’s biased approach to the military occupation state of Israel.
Furthermore, the inflammatory remarks spewed by Israeli Army Minister Yoav Gallant today, proclaiming, “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting animals, and we will act accordingly,” starkly expose the supremacist ethos entrenched within the Israeli government, bolstered by unwavering support from the United States and the European Union, perpetrating unrelenting terror.
Dimitri Diliani, the Spokesperson for Fateh’s Reformist Democratic Faction, underscores, “The supremacist inclinations of Israeli politicians, embroiled in a bloodthirsty pursuit to mend their bruised egos, evoke profound apprehension.” This assertion underscores the perilous mindset encapsulated within Netanyahu’s social media spectacles and Gallant’s incendiary rhetoric, a testament to a dangerous and vindictive mindset ruling this nuclear power state.
The ceaseless Israeli bombardment of Gaza has yielded a staggering death toll, claiming the lives of 576 Palestinians, among them 20% are innocent children. Moreover, over 3,000 individuals lie wounded, including 320 children. This indiscriminate brutality has also reduced homes, residential structures, and vital infrastructure to rubble. Such actions constitute a grievous affront to humanity, necessitating immediate and resolute action from the international community.
Diliani implores the global community to take swift and unyielding measures to address this crisis and terminate the ongoing tragedy befalling innocent civilians. “We beseech nations across the world to unite in their unwavering commitment to justice and the preservation of human dignity.”
Fateh’s Reformist Democratic Faction reaffirms its steadfast dedication to a just resolution to the Israeli-imposed conflict on the Palestinian people.
The West seeks to destabilize the situation in the South Caucasus, trying to mediate in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, writes about this in his article published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.”Now Brussels, taking care of its geopolitical ambitions, is imposing its “mediation services” on Azerbaijan and Armenia, bringing destabilization to the South Caucasus …
The Baku branch of the National Bank of Iran has published its financial indice for January-September 2023.For 9 months, the credit institution made a profit of 2.8 million manats, which is up by 2.1 times from the same period of the last year.As of the beginning of October this year, the assets of the Bank of Iran amounted to 12.8% less than at the beginning of October last year – 79.6 million manats, including a loan portfolio 42.5% less – 5.6 million …
What can the EU sanctions lead to
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan because of the counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh. Azerbaijani political analysts believe that such a turn of events may lead to unexpected consequences both for Europe itself and for Armenia, which the MEPs are trying to protect. But from the economic point of view, not everything is so rosy: almost two-thirds of Azerbaijan’s imports come from the European Union.
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What happened?
On October 5, MEPs adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan, a review of cooperation with Baku, and a reduction in dependence on Azerbaijani natural gas because of the recent fighting in Karabakh. The resolution is not legally binding, but European institutions can take it into account when making decisions.
491 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution, 9 against. Another 36 MEPs abstained. 169 members of the European Parliament did not take part in the voting.
The adopted document calls on the EU leadership to stop negotiations on partnership with Azerbaijan. It also recommended suspension of simplified visa regime with Azerbaijan, limitation of cooperation with this country in other areas. It is noted that in case of renewed tension between Baku and Yerevan, Europe should completely stop oil and gas imports from Azerbaijan.
Political side of the issue
According to experts of the Azerbaijani South Caucasus Analytical Center (CSSC), from the political point of view, the introduction of sanctions against Azerbaijan in order to protect Armenia and the Karabakh Armenians may turn out to be an unexpected result, both for Armenia itself and for its European defenders.
“If support for Armenia will be realized through pressure on Azerbaijan, then Baku in the current situation will be interested in overthrowing Pashinyan’s power. And this is not Azerbaijan’s pro-Russian line, it’s just that in this context the interests of Baku and Moscow actually coincide. Therefore, only in such a confluence of circumstances can Baku target Western interests in the region.
If the West takes a critical view of its regional policy and makes operational changes, Baku may be interested in preserving Pashinyan’s regime in Armenia.
Support for Pashinyan in Armenia is only realistic through reaching an agreement with Baku, and the West must realize this inevitability. Otherwise, another and much larger collapse of its regional policy awaits it,” Azerbaijani political analysts emphasize.
The Azerbaijani edition of Radio Liberty (Azadlıq radiosu) has analyzed the economic consequences of possible EU sanctions against Azerbaijan.
The publication notes that revenues from oil and gas sales are of vital importance for Azerbaijan, which has a traditional energy economy. From this point of view, the reduction of these revenues may cause serious risks for the country.
Europe’s share in Azerbaijan’s energy sector
According to the indicators of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan for the first 8 months of 2023, during this period, Azerbaijan’s import revenues amounted to $24.3 billion. The lion’s share of these revenues – $22.1 billion (91 percent) was formed by the sale of oil and gas.
Two of the three largest importers of crude oil from Azerbaijan are European countries. In the first eight months of 2023, Azerbaijan earned $11.1 billion from crude oil sales. 42 percent of this profit ($4.7 billion) came from Italy. overall, Italy is Azerbaijan’s largest trading partner. 46 percent of the country’s total exports come from Italy. In other words, Azerbaijan’s exports are almost half dependent on this country.
The second place among the most important importers of Azerbaijani oil is occupied by Israel (1.1 billion dollars), the third – by Spain (700 million dollars). The share of the European Union in Azerbaijan’s oil exports, both in terms of volume and money equivalent, exceeds 60 percent.
European Union countries also take the leading place in the sale of natural gas. According to the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan exported only 15.8 billion cubic meters of gas in the first eight months of 2023. 48 percent of this volume (7.6 billion cubic meters) was imported by European countries. Another 42 percent comes from Turkey and 10 percent from Georgia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the official opening ceremony of the Southern Gas Corridor. May 29, 2018. Photo: president.az
Two thirds of profits from exports
In January-August 2023, Azerbaijan exported a total of $16 billion worth of goods to the EU, i.e. 66 percent of the country’s total exports to the EU.
This means that any EU economic sanction against Azerbaijan puts two-thirds of the country’s export profits at risk. 35 percent of Azerbaijan’s state budget profit is directly generated through the sale of energy resources. From this point of view, potential risks in connection with the profits from the energy sector may put into question the realization of budgetary commitments.
The EU plays a less significant role in Azerbaijan’s imports compared to exports. In the first eight months of 2023, the share of EU countries in Azerbaijan’s imports was only 18.4 percent. For comparison, the share of CIS countries in Azerbaijan’s imports is equal to 29 percent. While the share of the former Soviet Union countries in Azerbaijan’s exports is only 4 percent.
The largest share among the EU countries in Azerbaijan’s imports belongs to Germany. In January-August 2023, Azerbaijan imported 639 million dollars worth of goods from Germany, which is equal to 5.7 percent of the country’s total imports. Germany is the fourth largest importer of Azerbaijan. Two other EU countries are among the top ten: France ranks sixth (3.1%) and Italy ninth (2.6%).
Oil Fund Assets
Economic sanctions may also put Azerbaijan’s foreign assets at risk. At the beginning of 2023, the State Oil Fund had 49 billion dollars under management. The share of Europe in the investment portfolio of the oil fund is 29.6 percent. According to this indicator, the European region is second only to North America.
20.4 percent of the Oil Fund’s investment portfolio is held in euros, the official currency of the EU. It is clear that potential sanctions put almost a quarter of the assets of the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan at risk.