Day: December 10, 2023

Azerbaijan plays an important role in diversifying gas supplies to Southeast Europe, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told reporters, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Trend.

He spoke after the inauguration ceremony of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector in Nis, Serbia.

“We highly appreciate your role,” he said.

Speaking about the decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan, Radev noted that Russia vetoed the candidacies of all EU member states.

“Only Azerbaijan and Armenia were left and we are happy that this event will be held in Azerbaijan. We support you,” he said.

The inauguration ceremony of the Serbia-Bulgaria interconnector, which will provide access to Azerbaijani natural gas, was held in Nis, Serbia.

The project of building the gas interconnector Niš– Dimitrovgrad – Bulgaria is financed partly through EU grants, in the amount of 49.6 million euros, as well as 25 million euros of a favourable loan from the European Investment Bank that Serbia will pay for the part of the gas pipeline passing through Serbia. The Republic of Serbia has allocated 15 million euros and 7.5 million euro for preparatory work and the design.

Gas supply is important for citizens and economy. Gas secures partly the heating for homes as well as functioning of numerous industries. Currently, gas is responsible for 13 percent of Serbia’s primary energy consumption and Serbia can receive it only from two entry points – through the Balkan Stream pipeline and from Hungary. The gas interconnector, connecting gas networks of Serbia and Bulgaria, will boost the diversification of energy sources in Serbia and the Western Balkan region, allowing Serbia more secure and stable supply from different gas network systems, notably from Azerbaijan and to the future LNG Alexandroupoli terminal in Greece that can receive gas from all over the world.

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A draft text published on Sunday during this year’s U.N. climate summit in Dubai proposed next year’s COP29 climate summit be hosted by Azerbaijan between November 11 and November 22, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Daily Sabah.

The text will need to be adopted by the summit before it becomes official, but is in line with expectations after Azerbaijan won backing from other Eastern European nations on Saturday.

The text also proposed dates for COP30 in Brazil of November 10 to November 21, 2025.

“We’re very grateful to all countries, in particular to the Eastern European group and the (COP28 summit) host United Arab Emirates for their support,” Azerbaijan’s Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev said in an address from the main stage at COP28 on Saturday.

Holding the presidency of a U.N. climate summit gives a country huge influence on its agenda and outcomes.

The COP28 summit in the United Arab Emirates has been the biggest yet, with more than 90,000 delegates registered.

While the decision on who will host the event is usually made years in advance to allow countries time to prepare, Aykhan Hajizada, a spokesperson at Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters on Friday that Baku was well equipped to handle the event.

The post Draft COP28 text proposes Azerbaijan to be next summit host appeared first on Azerbaijan In Focus.

Israel helped Cyprus foil an Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews on the island, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday, saying such plots were on the rise since the Gaza war erupted.

Netanyahu’s office gave no details of the planned attack but said in the statement on behalf of the Mossad intelligence service that Israel was “troubled” by what it saw as Iranian use of Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus “both for terrorism objectives and as an operational and transit area.”

The breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey, which is sharply critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza since Oct. 7.

The internationally recognized government in the south of Cyprus has close relations with Israel.

Turkish Cypriot officials were not immediately available for comment. The Iranian embassy in Nicosia was closed.

Earlier Sunday, a Greek Cypriot newspaper in Cyprus’s government-controlled south reported authorities had detained two Iranians for questioning over suspected planning of attacks on Israeli citizens living in Cyprus.

The two individuals were believed to be in the early stages of gathering intelligence on potential Israeli targets, the Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper said without citing sources. Those individuals had crossed from the north, it said.

Reuters was unable to verify the details in the newspaper report.

A senior Cyprus official declined to comment, citing policy on issues concerning national security.

It is not the first time that Israel has warned of planned attacks on its citizens in Cyprus.

Netanyahu said in June that an Iranian attack against Israeli targets in Cyprus had been thwarted. Tehran denied being behind any alleged plot to attack Israelis in Cyprus.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Access between the north and south of Cyprus can be done through a number of crossing points straddling a United Nations-controlled ‘buffer zone”. But the 180km (115 mile) line is also known to be porous, with unauthorized crossings over poorly guarded terrain.

Barely a 40-minute flight from Israel, both sides of Cyprus are a popular holiday and investment destination for thousands of Israelis.