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BAKU. July 3, 2009: Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) issued a statement condemning the visit of Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloghlu to Mountainous Garabagh.
Bulbuloghlu “fulfills Russia’s order, while Russia wants to demonstrate its control over the Garabagh conflict,” reads the statement from GLO.

KHANKENDI. July 3, 2009: Armenian and Azeri people have a large potential for creation of a single South Caucasus, MP Asim Mollazadeh said on Friday in Khankendi. He visited Mountainous Garabagh together with other representatives of Azerbaijan led by Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloghlu.
“My presence here testifies that not only authorities, but also the opposition of Azerbaijan is interested in the establishment of peace in the region.  We hope there are opportunities for both sides of the conflict, and it is necessary to work effectively in this direction. Bad peace is better than good war,” he said.

ANKARA. July 3, 2009: Turkey's Energy & Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said there was no definite date for the signature ceremony of Nabucco intergovernmental agreement.
"The Energy & Natural Resources Ministry has not set a definite date for the agreement, but there is an ongoing negotiation process," Yildiz told a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

ANKARA/BUCHAREST. July 3, 2009: An intergovernmental transit agreement for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline will be signed in Ankara on July 13, the European Union said on Friday, confirming statements from Romania and Turkish sources. The pipeline, intended to relieve European dependence on Russian gas, is expected to bring Caspian and Middle East gas to Europe as early as 2014, but the project has been delayed by lack of supplies and infighting among stakeholders.

BAKU. July 2, 2009: President of Poland Lech Kaczynski has started his official visit to Azerbaijan. The Polish president’s office reported to the RFE/RL that LOTOS firm of Poland was expected to sign an agreement with State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on extracting and refining oil.  The parties are also expected to discuss the possible arrangement of oil supplies from Azerbaijan to Poland through Odessa-Brody pipeline (Azerireport).

BAKU. July 2, 2009: The joint statement of Azeri and Russian Presidents signed in Baku on June 29 says that the parameters of the compromise for division of the Samur river water resources have been determined. “The basis of the compromise is a very flexible and constructive position of Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan’s proposals on joint use of the Samur river water resources and joint operation of the Samur-Absheron hydroelectric complex allow making mutually acceptable decisions,” Russian Ambassador Vladimir Dorokhin said at today’s press conference.

BAKU. July 2, 2009: On Thursday President Ilham Aliyev received Foreign Minister of Greece, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dora Bakoyannis. The parties expressed satisfaction with political, economic and other relations between Greece and Azerbaijan.  The parties also discussed the perspectives of cooperation with OSCE, settlement of the Garabagh conflict, press-service of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan reported (Turan).

BAKU. July 1, 2009: From July 1, the price for the natural gas supplied to population will be increased from 47.2 ($56.6) to 100 AZN (about $120) per 1000 cub.m. The Tariff Council took this decision on June 30 on the basis of proposal of Azerigas closed-type JSC.
The official motive behind this decision is “to prevent unpractical gas consumption and to ensure reliable and qualitative gas supply”, especially as gas has been supplied to the population at the price below cost, as the Azeri government officials claim.

By Gorkhmaz Asgarov

It looks like the United States’ foreign policy with respect to Azerbaijan is on hold since the American election campaign period of last year.  The new administration of the US president does not seem to act with a clear political line in the South Caucasus. Meanwhile, the Azeri government has been carrying out sweeping policies to transform the country, getting rid of all the checks and balances in the political and civic spheres.

BAKU. July 1, 2009: Freedom House international organization has released annual report Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores, which gives assessment to public and political processes, economic reforms and state of democracy.
According to Amnesty International, Azerbaijan is among eight authoritarian countries on the territory of the former USSR.  Other authoritarian countries are Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The section devoted to Azerbaijan says that a significant portion of energy revenues has gone into the military sector. Civil society institutions weakened, while presidential powers were exceedingly strengthened in 2008.

BAKU. July 1, 2009: The head of Dalga Youth Movement, Vafa Jafarova resigned. “I do not see myself among this youth organization, because it is a student’s movement, but I have my own methods of activity. I came to this decision after the referendum on March 18, regarding changes to Constitution. I think more energetic person is required to head this Movement,” Vafa Told Turan.
Dalga was an active youth organization famous for its unique actions of protest against the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan.

LONDON. June 30, 2009: Yesterday, Amnesty International held a powerful picketing in front of the Azeri embassy in London.click here for videoThe activists of this organizations called the action "Papers in Chains." Forming a live chain in front of the Azeri embassy the protesters demanded freedom for the journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and other imprisoned journalists and demanded that the Azeri government stopped putting pressures on press in Azerbaijan (Azerireport).

BAKU June 30, 2009: Turan Information Agency reports that at today’s session Milli Majlis did not adopt the earlier proposed reactionary amendments to the NGO and media laws.  Instead the parliament adopted another set of amendments to the laws on NGOs and media.  Those amendments were useless provisions aimed at saving the face in the light of the failed attempt to alter the existing legislations on NGOs and media.  The amendments related to prohibition of activities of NGOs without registration and limitation of their financing from foreign sources have been removed from the final variant of the amendments to the laws on NGOs and media.  The combination of international and local pressures on the Azeri government worked and the regime had to postpone its plans to strangle the local civic community and kick out the international organizations working in that sphere.

BAKU. June 30, 2009: The police prevented representatives of civil society from staging the picket in front of the Azerbaijan parliament building to protest against the amendments to the NGO law. click here for video
As Turan’s correspondent reported from the spot, about 50 people gathered in the public garden near the Azizbayov monument and planned to move towards the parliament. The police blocked their way and asked one protestor to hand the written resolution to the Milli Majlis. However, the NGO activists refused.

BAKU. June 30, 2009: The joint session of the Azeri parliamentary commissions for economic policy and international relations appealed to the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress. The appeal condemned the June 17 decision of the Committee for Foreign Affairs about the allocation of $10 million for the Mountainous Garabagh separatists in the 2010 fiscal year.
Authors of the appeal consider that support of separatism is an unfriendly step towards Azerbaijan, which is a strategic partner of America. "Such actions make doubtful the objectiveness of the USA, one of the mediators in the settlement of the Mountainous Garabagh conflict," the appeal reads.

BAKU. June 30, 2009: On the eve of her visit to Baku Dora Bakoyannis, Foreign Minister of Greece, the 2009 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, passed an article to Azeri press, in which she called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to fully implement the ceasefire agreement and to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, as proposed by the Co-Chairs. She called on official Baku to cooperation with the OSCE to improve the legal media environment and to ensure that the law on NGOs also meets international standards.

WASHINGTON. June 29, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Today, Amnesty International members across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey, take to the streets in support of independent media in Azerbaijan which is coming under increasing pressure from the authorities.

STOCKHOLM. June 29, 2009: The Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights appealed to the president of Azerbaijan regarding the proposed amendments to the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations. The organization expressed grave concerns about the nature of those amendments and their possible effect over the civic institutions in the country and called on the Azeri president to prevent the enforcement of those amendments. Below is the full text of the letter:

BAKU. June 29, 2009: This afternoon Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a working visit to Baku. click here for video  After arrival Medvedev headed for the president residence in Zagulba district. Here Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev held their first face-to-face meeting and then the meeting continued in presence of the delegations.  Two agreements were expected to be signed during the talks. SOCAR and Gazprom companies will sign the contract on Azerbaijani gas supplies to Russia from January 2010.

BAKU. June 29, 2009:  The Azeri service of RFE/RL reported that Iran recalled its ambassador from Azerbaijan.  RFE/RL, referring to the IRNA news agency and Abbas Isgandari, assistant of the Iranian ambassador, reported that Iranian government's decision to recall its ambassador came as a response to the visit of the Israeli president Shimon Peres to Baku and the press statements of Arthur Lenk, the Israeli ambassador in Azerbaijan.  The Iranian embassy refused to clarify which statements of Arthur Lenk caused indignation of the Iranian government.

BAKU, June 29, 2009: Development of cooperation between Azerbaijani and Israeli companies were discussed by Ilham Aliyev and Shimon Peres yesterday in Baku.
Israeli sources told Turan that the contracts on the two projects are close to signing. The contract with Shinkun u-binui company envisages construction of the highway in Baku to the sum of $350 million. The second contract with Aeronautics Ltd. company envisages construction of high-technological plant specializing in defense technologies.

BERLIN. June 29, 2009: Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has reportedly taken a job as a consultant for the Nabucco pipeline project, which will deliver natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe. His expertise at smoothing ruffled diplomatic feathers will come in handy.
Former top German politicians have developed a thing for pipelines.
First, it was his boss, ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who followed the path from politics into the natural gas business. Now, reports indicate that former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has signed a lucrative consulting contract with the Nabucco Pipeline, a European Union backed project designed to ease the EU's dependence on Russian natural gas.

BAKU. June 28, 2009: The Azeri service of RFE/RL reports that on June 28, the Israeli president Shimon Peres arrived in Baku. He was at the airport by the deputy prime minister of Azerbaijan Yagub Eyyubov and other senior officials of the Azeri government.
Israeli president held a face to face meeting with the Azeri president ilham Aliyev. During the meeting with Ilham Aliyev the Israeli president said: “We were told that the weather is going to be too hot in Baku, but we see the weather is not so hot. We thank you for the warm reception you showed us. We discussed a number of issues.”

BAKU. June 27, 2009: Israeli president Shimon Peres will pay an official visit to Baku on June 28. Azerbaijan and Israel established diplomatic relations on April 6, 1992. The Israeli embassy was opened in Azerbaijan in August 1993.
Considering Iran’s nervous reaction to any form of the Azerbaijani-Israeli cooperation, Baku refrained from closer ties with Israel.

YEREVAN. June 27, 2009: The meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Paris on June 26 was productive and constructive, reported the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s press office.
Edward Nalbandian also met with three OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen and Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

BAKU. June 26, 2009: The amendments to the NGO law will not be discussed in Milli Majlis on June 30 and this item is removed from the agenda of the parliament, Ilgar Mammadov, co-founder of Republican Alternative (REAL) organization, told Turan referring to David Kramer, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State. Kramer has recently left the state position and he is working at the German Marshall Fund.

BAKU. June 26, 2009: On July 2-3 Polish President Lech Kaczynski will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan.  The bilateral relations, Azerbaijan’s cooperation with EU and NATO, energy cooperation and construction of Odessa-Brody-Plotzk-Gdansk oil pipeline will be discussed during the visit (Turan).