Muslim-majority Azerbaijan bans Hijab in schools with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable news report with historical background!

(237) Muslim-majority Azerbaijan bans Hijab in schools | The Palki Sharma Show | IGR | India Global Review - YouTube

Why France and Azerbaijan Aren't Getting Along

Recommendable!

(171) Why France and Azerbaijan Aren't Getting Along - YouTube

Azerbaijan Confirms Secret German-Russian high level Talks Were Held in Baku

Disturbing news! Possibly a political bombshell revelation! Incredible, if confirmed!

Again how clueless and naive is the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz?

"... According to flight records cited by media reports, the clandestine meeting took place in the Azerbaijani capital from July 12 to 14. Aliyev’s remarks marked Azerbaijan’s first public acknowledgment of the reported visits, though he emphasized that Baku did not organize, host or participate in the talks.

Similar quiet channels of dialogue reportedly also took place in Baku last year. ...

Unofficial diplomatic channels

The confirmation follows a joint investigation by German media outlets Die Zeit and ARD, which reported that former senior German politicians have been holding back-channel discussions with Russian representatives in Baku since 2024.

Among those reportedly involved on the German side were former Chancellery chief Ronald Pofalla and former Brandenburg Minister-President Matthias Platzeck.

The Russian delegation reportedly included senior figures close to 4Vladimir Putin, including Gazprom chairman Viktor Zubkov and Valery Fadeyev, head of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. ..."

Azerbaijan Confirms Secret German-Russian Talks Were Held in Baku "In brief: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that former German and Russian officials held secret talks in Baku earlier this month to discuss possible ways to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, Aliyev said Azerbaijan was not officially informed by either side. Merz denied any German government involvement, while the reported talks raised concerns over unofficial diplomacy without Ukraine at the table."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev sign the Joint Declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Azebaijan on Bilateral Cooperation at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 21, 2026. 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Lauds Trump as ‘a Man of Peace,’ Credits Him with Armenia‑Azerbaijan Deal

President Trump, the peacemaker!

"... the Azerbaijani president credited Trump’s success to a fundamentally different approach to resolving long-running conflicts. ...

The Azerbaijani president argued that previous administrations spent nearly three decades pursuing policies that effectively froze the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rather than resolving it, while Trump approached the conflict from an entirely different perspective. ...

Describing Trump as “a person who loves peace” who “sees peace as an opportunity,” Aliyev said Trump’s role proved decisive as Azerbaijan and Armenia reached the final stage of negotiations on a peace agreement. According to Aliyev, Trump and his team understood Azerbaijan’s concerns, worked to persuade Armenia that peace served both countries’ interests and ultimately “created such a framework that peace became possible.” ..."

EXCLUSIVE: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Lauds Trump as ‘a Man of Peace,’ Credits Him with Armenia‑Azerbaijan Deal "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed President Donald Trump as a uniquely effective peacemaker whose fundamentally different approach to diplomacy proved decisive in securing the historic Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and ushered in what he described as an unprecedented new era of U.S.-Azerbaijani relations."

Connecting Azerbaijan, Protecting Armenia: Trump’s Quiet Caucasus Power Play Sidelines Russia

Good news!

"Washington has been quietly crafting a South Caucasus plan that turns diplomacy into steel, roads, and real leverage – a blueprint for reshaping the region.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan unveiled the Implementation Framework for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). ..."

Connecting Azerbaijan, Protecting Armenia: Trump’s Quiet Caucasus Power Play Sidelines Russia "A new US-Armenia framework aims to unlock transit through the South Caucasus, strengthen Armenia’s sovereignty, and sideline Russia and Iran – just as Yerevan heads into a volatile election year. ...

laying out how unimpeded, multimodal transit would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave while fully preserving Armenian sovereignty, jurisdiction, and border control. ...

In practical terms, TRIPP would insert Armenia into the Trans-Caspian “Middle Corridor,” linking Central Asia and the Caspian to Europe – and doing so with American capital, oversight, and commercial stakes built in.

A US-controlled development company, Armenian regulatory authority, and explicit guarantees on territorial integrity form the project’s backbone. ..."

US President Donald Trump meets with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the White House Cabinet Room on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.

From regional unity to global influence: Turkic nations set bold vision in Azerbaijan

Recommendable!

Aserbaidschan: Fossile Brennstoffe und Diktatur

Empfehlenswert!

Tulsi Gabbard on President Trump's New Peace Deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia (and about Hawaii)

Good news! Blessed are the peacemakers!

Why Azerbaijan belongs in the Abraham Accords

An interesting proposition!

"When US President Donald Trump posted a clip from Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev’s Shusha Global Media Forum speech on Truth Social he was not just boosting a friendly quote. He was signaling that Azerbaijan’s long partnership with Israel and Washington is now on his radar in a public way.

In that video, Aliyev calls Trump a leader who ends wars says they share core values including family values and wishes him success especially when draining the swamp. Trump rarely shares videos of foreign leaders so the post stands out and shows that people around him increasingly view Baku as central to the region’s next phase.

For more than three decades Israel and Azerbaijan have worked together on strategic issues. Shifts in Middle East politics and Israeli Palestinian flare ups have not derailed the relationship. ..."

Why Azerbaijan belongs in the Abraham Accords | The Jerusalem Post "Aliyev’s public praise of Trump is not just rhetoric. It reflects decades of quiet strategic ties with Israel and a rare opportunity to expand the Abraham Accords eastward."

How US Is Replacing Russia in Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict with Palki Sharma

Good news! Blessed are the peacemakers!

Azerbaijan's SOCAR completes acquisition of 10% Israel's Tamar natural gas field stake

Good news! West Asia invests in Israel during difficult times. 

"... The Tamar gas field, which is 90 kilometers west of Haifa in the Mediterranean, was discovered in 2009 and production began in 2013. The reservoir's current production capacity is 10.3 billion cubic meters (BCM) annually and its gas reserves are estimated at 291.5 BCM. ..."

Azerbaijan's SOCAR completes acquisition of 10% Tamar stake - Globes "SOCAR is paying Aaron Frenkel $1.25 billion for the stake in the Israeli offshore gas field."

Dozens of prominent rabbis appeal to Trump: Include Azerbaijan in Abraham Accords

Will President Trump try to extend the Abraham Accords? Hope and pray!

"Dozens of prominent rabbis with extensive diplomatic backgrounds sent letters to US President Donald Trump in recent days regarding the possible inclusion of the Muslim-majority country in the Abraham Accords framework. 

The group is led by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Rabbi Eli Abadi, a senior rabbi in the UAE and personal friend of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and architect of the Abraham Accords. ..."

Rabbis appeal to Trump to include Azerbaijan in Abraham Accords - The Jerusalem Post "The group is led by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Rabbi Eli Abadi."

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds and necropolises in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

Amazing stuff! Expect more to come in the near future!

"Spanning more than 1,000 kilometers in length and up to 5,600 meters in height, the mountain ranges of the Caucasus stretch between the Black and Caspian Seas. What appears to be a huge natural barrier was actually an important contact and exchange zone between the highlands of West Asia and the Southeast European steppes for thousands of years. Despite its importance, archaeological data from the Caucasus and neighboring regions remains fragmentary.

Researchers from the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University together with colleagues from the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan systematically surveyed and documented more than 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023. They have now published the results of their latest research campaign in the international journal Antiquity. The article is a follow-up of an overview of the results of the 2021 field campaign, which was published in the journal Archaeological Prospection earlier this year. ..."

From the abstract:

"This project documents the current archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin in western Azerbaijan. Integrating intensive pedestrian survey, satellite imagery analysis and topographic mapping, the study identified 85 kurgans, six necropolises and nine sites from the Chalcolithic or medieval periods. The authors believe this demonstrates the potential for further archaeological studies in the region."

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time (original news release)

The archaeological record of the Qaraçay River Basin along the northern piedmont of the Lesser Caucasus

Kurgans are a common feature of the landscape in many places in West Azerbaijan

Figure 1. Location of the sites recorded during the 2023 field season. Basemap imagery Landsat 9, 31 October 2022, available from the USGS

Figure 6. Examples of pottery sherds recovered during surface collection: A–C) Chalcolithic sherds from site WGP040; D) Kura-Arax sherd from site WGP036; E) Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age sherd from site WGP038 (figure by authors).

COP29 host Azerbaijan fails to report rising methane emissions from its fossil fuel production

This irony keeps on giving! Who ever chose Azerbaijan to be the host of COP29! A very good joke!

Just a few days ago the President of Azerbaijan praised fossil fuels as a gift of god.

COP29 host Azerbaijan fails to report rising methane emissions | Global Witness "Satellite data shows an increase in gas flaring since Azerbaijan last reported its emissions six years ago, calling into question BP and state oil company’s pledge to eliminate methane flaring by 2030."

Saving the bison: Threatened species return to Azerbaijan

What an irony! This oil and gas rich country just hosted the COP29 and it also wants to introduce bisons. Don't cattle and the like not contribute to climate change too?

Oil and gas ‘a gift of God’, says COP29 host Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev

Good news! Quite ironic! 90% Azerbaijan's exports are fossil fuels. 50% of the economy is based on fossil fuels. 

Taliban Attend UN COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Palki sums it up quite well!

Don't you feel the Climate already cooling off noticeably with the Taliban participating? 😊

Russia’s Axis of Sanctions Evasion by Michael Rubin

Recommendable! Explains why the Western sanctions against Russia were largely ineffective!

Turkey, a NATO member, is part of these sanctions evasion! Turkey's President Erdogan is acting like an Osman sultan! Very dubious!

"... The answer is Russia’s axis of evasion. Absent Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan’s assistance in laundering Russian oil and gas exports and facilitating the Kremlin’s sanctions circumvention, Russia’s economy might be a shadow of its current self. ..."

Russia’s Axis of Sanctions Evasion | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Russia, Azerbaijan And Congo Agree On Oil & Gas Refinery Projects, Economic Cooperation

Good news! How Africa begins to shape the future of the world! Exciting!

"Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has engaged in game-changing strategy, widening its search for reliable partner ready to explore it oil reserves, undoubtedly after Russia’s delay in acting on its bilateral agreements. Russia’s Vladimir Putin held an official meeting with Sassou-Nguesso, in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow during which both leaders assertively agreed on strengthening economic cooperation.

Several packages of documents that were signed that year included  intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and also on exploration of natural resources. Russia’s Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) was awarded the sole contract for building a major oil pipeline, running more than 1,300 km from the port city of Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo to the border with Cameroon.  ...

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held both tete-a-tete and expanded negotiations with Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso in early April 2024, a statement on the Azerbaijani leader’s website said.

The report monitored by this author, indicated that Azerbaijan and Congo signed a package of documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation following high-level negotiations in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

It therefore implies that the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the National Oil Company of the Congo, by the signed agreement, both will jointly on specified conditions develop and expand Congolaise de Raffinage oil refinery. Congolaise de Raffinage specializes in the processing of light oil, its website says. The refinery’s capacity is 1 million tonnes of oil per year. Production started in 1982. ..."

Azerbaijan And Congo Agree On Oil & Gas Refinery Projects, Economic Cooperation – OpEd – Eurasia Review

Azerbaijan, Republic of Congo open new horizons in economic cooperation

How Russia is Losing its Grip on the Caucasus

Very recommendable! Putin the Terrible must be gnashing his teeth! 😊