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☆ World Court: Azerbaijan must let ethnic Armenians return to Nagorno-Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTHE HAGUE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Judges at the World Court on Friday ordered Azerbaijan to let ethnic Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh in September return, and to keep the Armenians remaining in the enclave safe, as part of a set of emergency measures. Azerbaijan in September recaptured the region, then controlled by its ethnic Armenian majority despite being internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. The lightning offensive, after decades of enmity between Baku and Yerevan and a nine-month blockade of essential supplies by Baku, prompted the mass exodus of most of the region's 120,000 ethnic Armenians to neighbouring Armenia. Yerevan accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing and asked the International Court of Justice, as the World Court is formally known, to issue emergency measures aimed at protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said it had already pledged to ensure all residents’ safety and security, regardless of national or ethnic origin, and that it had not forced the ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh.

Persons: Irakli, Joan Donoghue, Stephanie van den Berg, Nailia, Andrew Heavens, Hugh Lawson, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, HAGUE, International Court of Justice, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Yerevan

☆ Exclusive: Russia’s Lukoil lends Socar $1.5 billion in deal to supply its Turkish STAR refinery
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Dmitry Zhdannikov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A general view shows the oil refinery of the Lukoil company in Volgograd, Russia April 22, 2022. Turkey has not imposed sanctions on Russia and continues to import Russian oil and gas. The STAR refinery, however, had to cut Russian crude imports this summer due to complications arising from international financial restrictions on business with Moscow. Neither Lukoil, Socar nor STAR responded to requests for comment. Since cutting imports of Russian oil, it has relied on Kazakh, West African and Iraqi oil grades, according to LSEG data.

Persons: Lukoil, Celeste, Ocean Faye, Socar, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Nailia Bagirova, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Turkish STAR, Moscow, STAR, Fidelity, Thomson Locations: Volgograd, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, Turkish, Turkey, Moscow, Urals, Primorsk, Bulgaria, Romania, Dubai, Geneva, Kirkuk, Kazakh, West African, LONDON

☆ More than 100,000 refugees arrive in Armenia as exodus swells
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region sit in a bus upon their arrival in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 29, 2023. "Many are hungry, exhausted and need immediate assistance," Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said on social media late on Friday. Italy said Armenia had asked the European Union for temporary shelters and medical supplies to help it deal with the refugees. "This exodus is already unbearable physically because we have already spent 16 hours on this road... Reporting by Emma Farge, Angelo Amante and Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Irakli, Filippo Grandi, Siranush Sargsyan, Sargsyan, Emma Farge, Angelo Amante, Giles Elgood, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNHCR, European Union, Armenia, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, Artsakh, Kalbajar

Summary Erdogan and Aliyev hold talks in Azerbaijani exclaveBoth leaders back a land corridor via ArmeniaYerevan, in turmoil over Karabakh, opposes the ideaAliyev has threatened to create corridor by forceSept 25 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at which he hinted at the prospect of creating a land corridor between their two countries via Armenia, which opposes the idea. Aliyev in 2021 threatened to create such a corridor - that would create a contiguous land bridge between close allies Turkey and Azerbaijan and deprive Armenia of a land border with Iran - "whether Armenia likes it or not." "The land link between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan (the exclave) was thus cut off," complained Aliyev. "The new target of Azerbaijan and Turkey is Syunik (a province in southern Armenia through which such a corridor would pass). "We expect a comprehensive peace agreement between the two countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) as soon as possible and for promises to be quickly fulfilled, especially on the opening of the Zangezur (land) corridor."

Persons: Erdogan, Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev, Tayyip Erdogan, Andrew Osborn, Nailia, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Reuters, General, Azerbaijan, Thomson Locations: Armenia Yerevan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Iran, Turkey, Ankara, Baku, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Azerbaijani Soviet, Armenian Soviet, Artsakh, Syunik, Russia, Yerevan, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Russian

☆ Azerbaijan says Armenians of Karabakh arrive for meeting after ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Armenian delegation from Karabakh arrived in the town of Yevlakh for talks, Azerbaijan's presidency said. Under the ceasefire agreement, as outlined by Azerbaijan, breakaway Armenian forces must disband and disarm, and the region will be integrated as part of Azerbaijan. Aliyev said that "war criminals" had tried to poison the brains of 120,000 Karabakh Armenians, who, he said, would now live in paradise and have their religious and cultural rights respected. But thousands of Armenians massed at the airport in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh known as Khankendi by Azeris. Known as Artsakh by Armenians, the territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, which is mainly Muslim, but its inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians, who are Christians.

Persons: Melkumyan, Stringer, Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan's, Ramin Mammadov, Ilham Aliyev, Aliyev, Nailia Bagirova, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: National Assembly of, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Yevlakh, Azerbaijan, Rights YEREVAN, Armenian Karabakh, Stepanakert, Russians, Ottomans, Artsakh

Karabakh Armenian authorities accused Azerbaijan of violating a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday after a lightning Azerbaijani offensive forced the separatists to agree to disarm. When asked about giving up weapons, Babayan said his people could not be left to die, so would security guarantees first. Talks took place on Thursday in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh between Azerbaijan and representatives of the Republic of Artsakh, as the Karabakh Armenians call themselves. He said the region's ethnic Armenians would enjoy full educational, cultural and religious rights. An aide to Aliyev said Baku had given Yerevan a new draft peace agreement, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

Persons: Pashinyan, GORIS, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Babayan, Ilham Aliyev, Melkumyan, Stringer, Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Khankendi, Gayane Sargsyan, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Azerbaijan reclaims, Protesters, Reuters, National Assembly of, REUTERS, Karabakh, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh's, Azerbaijani, Yevlakh, Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA, Caucasus, Baku, Yerevan, Russia, Moscow, Stepanakert, Goris

☆ Azerbaijani leader sends Karabakh Armenians and Armenia message of cooperation and peace
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Nailia Bagirova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 20 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday offered the ethnic Armenians of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and also neighbouring Armenia prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development after his forces took control of the enclave. He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh's Armenian people - "they are our citizens" - but only against their "criminal" separatist leadership. A separatist Armenian human rights official said on Wednesday that at least 200 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in the fighting. The Kremlin denied this, saying Russia was "not going anywhere" and would remain the guarantor of security. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev, Mikhail Metzel, Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Nailia Bagirova, Kevin Liffey, Grant McCool Organizations: Armenia's, Eurasian, Sputnik, Wednesday, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Yerevan, Nagorno, Soviet Union, Stepanakert, Karabakh's, South Caucasus, Georgia, Armenian, Ukraine

REUTERS/Artem Mikryukov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTBILISI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Hikmet Hajiev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday denied that Baku had reached a deal with the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh to simultaneously reopen roads to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Hajiev said that Azerbaijan would maintain "border and customs" control on the Lachin corridor, which links Karabakh to Armenia. He said that the road to Azerbaijan would open for aid shipments for the first time since 1988, a key demand of Baku's. In December 2022, Azerbaijani civilians began blockading the last road linking Karabakh to Armenia, causing acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported on Saturday that Karabakh officials had bowed to Baku's demands to reopen the long-closed road to Azerbaijan in return for lifting the blockade on the Lachin corridor.

Persons: Artem Mikryukov, Ilham Aliyev, Hajiev, Armenpress, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Saturday, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Taghavard, Nagorno, Karabakh, Rights TBILISI, Baku, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Baku's, Soviet Union, Tbilisi, Nailia

Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal. Both Ukraine and Baku's traditional ally Turkey condemned the election, and expressed support for Azerbaijan's claim to Karabakh. In the capitals of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, residents told Reuters they feared a new war between the two countries. In Armenia's capital Yerevan, a local resident who gave his name as Hayk accused Azerbaijan of wanting to start another war.

Persons: Artem Mikryukov, Baku, Armenia's, Armenpress, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Yuri Kim, Pashinyan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Shahramanyan, Mansura Lahicova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Felix Light, Ros Russell, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, International Committee, Reuters, Karabakh, U.S, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Taghavard, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia TBILISI, Baku, Armenia, Askeran, Russian, Soviet Union, Yerevan, France, Germany, Iran, Georgia, U.S, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, Reuters Baku, Ukraine, Armenia's, Tbilisi

☆ Azerbaijan says Armenian forces fired on its troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Azerbaijan reports exchange of fire, no word of casualtiesArmenian PM calls Blinken, Macron, Scholz and RaisiAzerbaijan condemns vote in Karabakh, calls it puppet regimeSept 9 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's defence ministry said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". It said Armenian units opened small arms fire on Azerbaijani soldiers in Sadarak in the north of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. Reuters could not independently verify the reported incident, which came against the background of rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days. The government said Pashinyan told Blinken and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that tensions were rising on the border and Azerbaijan was concentrating troops around the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal.

Persons: Blinken, Macron, Scholz, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Pashinyan, Ebrahim Raisi, Ilham Aliyev, Armenpress, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Peter Graff Organizations: Raisi, Armenian, U.S, Karabakh, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Raisi Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Sadarak, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, France, Germany, Nagorno, Baku, State, Soviet Union, Republic of Azerbaijan

☆ EU tries to push Azerbaijan-Armenia peace as Russia offers more talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Armenia says the proposed peace treaty should provide special rights for them and guarantee their security. As a matter of priority, violence and harsh rhetoric should stop in order to provide the proper environment for peace and normalisation talks," Michel said. He told reporters: "The population on the ground needs reassurances, first and foremost regarding their rights and security." Besides the EU, the United States has also been pushing the sides to reach a peace deal. This could be followed up with a Moscow summit to sign a peace treaty, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Persons: Charles Michel, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Jeyhun Bayramov, normalisation, Michel, Aliyev, Pashinyan, Nailia Bagirova, Philip Blenkinsop, Mark Trevelyan, Frances Kerry Organizations: European Union, EU, Armenian, Azberbaijani, Reuters, Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Brussels, Soviet Union, Nagorno, Karabakh, United States, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Exclusive: Kazakhstan has ramped up oil exports bypassing Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevMOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan ramped up oil exports bypassing Russia in the first quarter of 2023 as it seeks to reduce its dependency on its vast neighbour, data from industry sources and Refinitiv showed. While Kazakh oil exports through the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus are relatively small, they have risen sharply since Moscow began what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February last year. Last year, Kazakhstan's oil exports via routes other than Russia reached 1.8 million tonnes (36,000 barrels per day), up by 638,000 tonnes from 2021. The main, and most profitable, route for oil exports from Kazakhstan remains the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which supplies the global market via a Russian Black Sea terminal. Supplies via CPC dipped 1% last year to 51.99 million tonnes, but they still represented more than 80% of total oil exports from Kazakhstan.

☆ Azerbaijan protests 'barbaric' flag-burning at weightlifting championship in Armenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAKU, April 15 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan lodged a strong protest on Saturday after its national flag was grabbed and set on fire during the opening ceremony of a weightlifting championship in neighbouring Armenia. Azerbaijan said it had become impossible for its athletes to take part in the championships and they had already left Armenia to travel home via Georgia. They condemned it as a "barbaric act" and as evidence of ethnic hatred and racism, saying Armenia was unfit to ensure the safety of athletes and host international sporting events. Armenia rejected that criticism, saying the incident had been resolved quickly and without any danger to competitors at the European Weightlifting Championships. Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted a lawyer for the man allegedly involved in the flag incident as saying he had been released without charge.

Companies Bp Azerbaijan FollowBp Plc FollowLONDON/BAKU, Feb 8 (Reuters) - BP Azerbaijan has declared force majeure on loadings of Azeri crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, after a series of earthquakes on Monday, the company said on Wednesday. The notice was issued to oil shippers following a temporary suspension of loading operations from the Ceyhan Marine Terminal (CMT), BP Azerbaijan spokeswoman Tamam Bayatly told Reuters by email. BP Azerbaijan operates the Azerbaijan and Georgia sections of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Azerbaijan uses the Turkish port of Ceyhan as its main crude export hub, with a flow of about 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Iraqi crude pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan oil export hub resumed flows on Tuesday evening and a tanker docked to load Iraqi crude at Ceyhan earlier in the day.

A massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday had halted operations at Ceyhan and stopped key crude oil flows from Iraq and Azerbaijan. A trading source said the vessel was given the all clear to load Iraqi oil from storage. While Iraqi crude flows and exports have resumed, exports of Azeri crude were still stopped. The Azeri BTC pipeline was however still working and sending oil to storage in Ceyhan, two sources said. The Alfa Baltica and the Nordlotus tankers were waiting in the area for the Azeri crude BTC terminal at Ceyhan to reopen.

☆ Azerbaijan to evacuate embassy in Iran on Sunday after fatal shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAKU, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan will evacuate embassy staff and family members from Iran on Sunday, the foreign ministry said, two days after a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people in an attack Baku branded an "act of terrorism". After the attack, the Azeri foreign ministry said it summoned Iran's ambassador in Baku to demand justice and would evacuate embassy staff from Tehran. Earlier, the ministry said the shooting was the result of Tehran failing to heed its calls for better security. CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed the attacker forcing his way into the embassy building and shooting at two men before a third embassy employee grapples him away. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for "a comprehensive investigation" of the incident and sent his condolences to Azerbaijan and the dead man's family, state media said.

☆ Azerbaijan strongly protests to Iran after fatal embassy shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Nailia Bagirova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Necessary security measures have been taken to continue normal activities at the embassy and diplomats of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tehran," he said. [1/5] A general view of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. It said an "anti-Azerbaijani campaign" in Iran had contributed to the attack, without elaborating, and accused Tehran of long ignoring its appeals to boost embassy security. Iran's Amirabdollahian later told Azeri Foreign Minister Jayran Bairamov in a phone call that he hoped the attack would not damage bilateral ties. Israel has had an embassy in Baku since the early 1990s and has been a significant military backer of Azerbaijan in recent years.

☆ BP produced 20.4 mln tonnes of oil in Azerbaijan in 2022 - ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Bp Plc FollowBAKU, Jan 13 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) produced 20.4 million tonnes of oil in Azerbaijan in 2022, the energy ministry said on Friday. Gas production from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field totalled 13.4 billion cubic metres (bcm), the energy ministry said, while 25.2 bcm was produced from the Shah Deniz gas project. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BAKU, Oct 27 (Reuters) - One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, oil chief Igor Sechin, on Thursday heaped praise on China's leadership, quipping that Taiwan would return to its "native harbour" on time. Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM), also said that Saudi Arabia's position on the global oil market was "reasonable" and based on analysis of oil supply and demand. Russia has moved to forge closer ties with Asia, especially energy-hungry China, to offset Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine. Sechin said U.S. attempts to create its own complex microchip industry showed that "Taiwan's return to its native harbour" was "on schedule". Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rosneft's Sechin says EU proposals to cap Russian gas prices 'unthinkable'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BAKU, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM), said on Thursday that proposals by the European Commission to introduce cap prices for Russian gas were "unthinkable". Speaking at an international forum in Baku, Sechin said that Western sanctions were destroying corporate law while the refusal to buy Russian hydrocarbons is leading to an "acute energy deficit", boosting global inflation. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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