Russia & CIS

Today’s installment of MCIS slides comes courtesy of Sam Charap, who attended the breakout session on regional security in the MENA region. The panel was led off by Lt. General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, the Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff. Unfortunately, the Russian MOD has not made available speech texts or video of the breakout sessions. (I’ll have a report on Monday on the other breakout session on soft power, which I attended.)

Turkey could face US sanctions if it goes ahead with plans to purchase S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, and it can also affect Ankara’s participation in the F-35 program, Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, APA reports citing Sputnik.

The information spread by the Armenian media about Steven Seagal’s visit to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh is untrue, the actor posted on Instagram, Trend reports.

During the Great Patriotic War, Azerbaijan's oil industry provided almost three-quarters of the USSR's entire oil production, and Azerbaijan's oil industry was one of the key industries that determined the defense capability of the country during that time, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper reported.

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today urged the authorities in Armenia to protect and ensure the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in the country, as protests there continue, news.am reports.

“We have experts working on financial issues relating to Azerbaijan hosting World Expo 2025,” Azerbaijan’s acting Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov told a press conference on the results of the visit to Baku of the Enquiry Mission from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), APA reported.

Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan 1182nd Meeting of the Permanent Council, 19 April 2018 on presidential election in Azerbaijan

Armenia's current leadership is a political force that supports terrorism and that came to power through terror, Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend on April 19.

Roughly 95-100 million manats will be required to pay benefits to the heirs of Azerbaijani servicemen who died for the territorial integrity of the country and those who went missing during military operations before August 2, 1997, according to the preliminary data.

“Russia considers its relations with Azerbaijan as a foreign policy priority,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday, APA’s Moscow correspondent reported.

A conference of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) has commenced in Baku under the theme “Globalization and New Dimensions in Higher Education”.

Rocket and artillery units of the Azerbaijani Army conducted tactical exercises in various firing ranges, the Defense Ministry told APA on April 19.

NATO has released a statement about the Baku meeting between Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Command Operations.

The United States and Russia may sign a new commercial deal stipulating the delivery of US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The air ticket includes free baggage allowance (up to 23 kg) and a full range of cold and hot onboard meals.

Russian General Staff Chief General Valery Gerasimov and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Curtis Scaparrotti met in Baku on April 19, the press service of Russia’s Defense Ministry told APA.

Yerevan police have detained 100 people, as of Thursday at 1:30pm.

According to the rotation plan, a group of 50 military servicemen of the Azerbaijan Army returned from Afghanistan to Baku.

World-famous actor and film director Steven Seagal has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan’s Acting Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano.