Category: 2023

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Air Traffic Control Department (ATC) of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZANS) have started joint work on the development and implementation of the National Airspace Strategy (NAS), the Azerbaijani media report with reference to AZAL.

According to IATA, Azerbaijan is expected to increase the demand for air passenger traffic by 80% within the next two decades. In accordance with this, the volume of air traffic will grow at the same pace. For example, even today there is a high growth rate of transit traffic in the airspace of Azerbaijan.

Meeting the growing demand for air transportation while ensuring flight safety, cost management, reducing CO2 emissions and costs requires Azerbaijan to further modernize its airspace structure and air traffic control system.

Today it became known that Armenia sent the second batch of humanitarian aid through the Margara bridge on the Armenian-Turkish border to Turkey, where there was a strong earthquake on February 6.

In parallel with this, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Turkey on February 15 and held a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, stating that they agreed to jointly repair the Ani Bridge and take care of the relevant infrastructure in anticipation of the full opening of the border.

It is normal that Yerevan displays sympathy towards Turkey, given the current situation, human losses and tragedy. Everyone must do so with respect to any country, but Armenia will gain nothing from a geopolitical point of view, political analyst Vladimir Lepekhin told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Lepekhin called not to pin hopes on the assistance and contacts to somehow improve the Armenian-Turkish relations or change the situation in the region.

The expert is sure that nothing will follow those processes, because Ankara is very pragmatic and rigid in its geopolitical policy.

He explained that Armenia's interests are not incorporated in this line and if they are, then only on Turkey's terms.

"Armenia is not an authority on any issue for Turkey, since the current leadership in Yerevan often bends to Turkey. Before the 44-day war, the Armenian authorities had no principled position on Ankara, despite forecasts of a possible outbreak of war and advice to get ready. Turkey's influence in the region, and hence that of Azerbaijan, will continue to grow. That factor will promote NATO's influence, and there will be attempts to squeeze Russia from South Caucasus," Lepekhin says.

He believes that this vector, which was outlined 2.5 years ago and led to the beginning of the 44-day war, can only change the result of the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

"If Russia emerges from it with dignity and achieves its goals, it will then try to regain its influence in the South Caucasus and prolong the presence of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and the military base in Gyumri. But if the military campaign fails for Russia and the terms of the peace agreement are dominated by Western conditions, Moscow is unlikely to regain its influence in the South Caucasus. On the contrary, Russia's policy of weakening in the region will continue. In that case there will be a question of how Armenia will become an absolute satellite of Turkey and its allies, at the price of Nagorno-Karabakh and some other territories," Lepekhin said.

The conditions formulated by Azerbaijan is a consistent line, from which Baku will not retreat, and this, according to the political analyst, threatens Armenia with new territorial losses.

"Therefore, it is necessary to show sympathy in the current situation, but there is no sense in flirting with Turkey. It is necessary to demonstrate a principled position. The striving of the Armenian authorities towards multi-vector policy will result in promises from the West. But as Turkey is a part of NATO, the West will not oppose to British interests in the region," the expert stated.

Aram Danielyan

Fifteen policemen from Germany will take part in an international mission to maintain the ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, unarmed law enforcers will patrol the border from the Armenian side, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said, Sputnik reported quoting RIA Novosti.

"The Federal Cabinet has decided that Germany will take part in the new EU mission in Armenia (EUMA) along the international border to Azerbaijan," he said at a briefing. He specified that "a maximum" of 15 German law enforcers will take part in the EUMA mission, and the total number of participating policemen from different European countries will be 100. "The new mission is necessary because the situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to be tense," he added.

The EUMA mission will begin next Monday. Its stated purpose is to monitor the ceasefire with unarmed patrols.

Earlier it was reported that the mission will include eight gendarmes from France.

Azerbaijan has again cut off the gas supply through the only gas pipeline from Armenia to Artsakh, the Artsakh Information Center reports.

"In the near future the gas filling stations will be provided with an extremely limited amount of gas, after which their work will stop. By such a behavior Azerbaijan, including and shutting off gas supply in cold winter weather and at night, aims to create problems and emergencies. Please be vigilant and follow safety rules," the statement says.