EU says not competing with Russia in eastern neighbourhood
The European Commission assured Moscow that the EU's policy's towards its eastern neighbours is not a form of competition, with Brussels keeping the door open for "project-based" co-operation with Russia. READ MORE
Eastern Partnership Initiative Brings The EU And Its Eastern Neighbours Closer, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Says
The Eastern Partnership programme embodies a shift into a new stage of the European Union’s relations with its neighbours in the East and is an important tool for promoting reforms in these countries and their economic integration, and for helping them to facilitate the movement of persons, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis says on the occasion of a one-year anniversary of the Eastern Partnership programme. The programme was announced on 7 May last year in Prague. READ MORE
Caspian region is for Europe one with a preferential treatment - analyst
News.Az interviews Dr. Friedemann Müller, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Germany). READ MORE
AGRI: First Ever LNG Project In The Black Sea
Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romanian are jointly launching a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, designated as the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI). The three governments regard their project as an element in the EU-planned Southern Corridor for Caspian gas to Europe. READ MORE
Turkey cool to Armenia's decision to halt ratification of protocols
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Yerevan’s call to halt ratification of an accord on normalizing ties has Turkey evaluating the possible legal and political repercussions, and prompted the country’s leader to reiterate his commitment to the normalization process. READ MORE
Visits EU Commissioner for Energy
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation headed by EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger. READ MORE
Azerbaijan, Romania And Georgia Signed Memorandum On Gas Supplies
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania signed a memorandum on cooperation in gas sphere in Bucharest, SOCAR Representation in Romania said . READ MORE
Two Formats of Partnership
The Summit of the Visegrad Group, held in Budapest, with the participation of all engaged members with the EU program “Eastern Partnership” gave a good ground to compare the two formats of cooperation and the analysis of some results of European initiative development. READ MORE
Azerbaijan Arranges “Zurich-2” – Operation
Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan made an intriguing declaration in Brussels: "I was one of the authors of Zurich protocols signed with Armenia and there we reached a clear agreement that the Parties will discuss within historic committees the issues over the events of 1915. And we were ready to any results of these commissions activity". By this Babajan underlined, that Azerbaijan and other states were informed in details about Armenian-Turkish negotiations in Zurich: "I’ll say more, after we agreed with Armenia in Munich to sign protocols, I went not to Ankara, but to Baku, where I specified the position of Turkey on these issues to the President Ilham Aliyev". READ MORE
Collective Defense in Central Asia Contradicted by Rising National Spending
Despite the impact of the global economic crisis on all of the economies within the former Soviet Union, averaging a 7 percent decline in GDP in 2009, defense spending has increased in each state with the exception of Belarus (which remained unchanged in 2009 year-on-year at 1.5 percent of GDP). Defense spending, according to an extensive analysis in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, witnessed the sharpest increase in Georgia (4.56 percent of GDP), Armenia (4.07 percent) and Azerbaijan (3.95 percent). In the case of Armenia, this level of defense expenditure proved surprising in the context of its 15 percent decline in GDP in 2009. READ MORE
