Russia & CIS

Former US President Jimmy Carter collapsed while working on a Habitat for Humanity home in Winnipeg, Canada and was taken to hospital, the Carter Center said in a press release on Thursday, BBC reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow does not support Syrian President Bashar Assad, but is committed to the UN Security Council resolution, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

Azerbaijan is considering purchasing more weapons from Russia, Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, APA reported.

France and Germany agreed Thursday to begin work on a joint fighter jet, a major advance in their relations designed to underline their united front in the face of fracturing Western relations, Daily Sabah reports.

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta has visited Baku branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University to meet its Head, Academician Nargiz Pashayeva.

A delegation of Azerbaijan`s Ombudsman Office led by head of the Administration Aydin Safikhanli is visiting Germany under a EU-funded twinning project.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has approved the amendments to the law on education, APA reported.

According to the instructions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, works are being continued to develop the capabilities of the Armed Forces’ communication means, which are one of the elements of the modern and mobile army management.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Emmanuel Macron on the national holiday of his country, APA reports.

SOCAR Methanol LLC and SOCAR Polymer LLC signed a memorandum of cooperation in summer practice programs, SOCAR Methanol said in a message July 13.

Georgia is not considering the opening of roads for transit, special representative of the Georgian PM on Russia relations Zurab Abashidze said.

Being a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Armenia also makes other countries become hostages to its provocations, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, APA reported.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces had anti-missile weapons capable of shooting down Iskander missiles systems deployed in Armenia, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, APA reported.

Russian online service Yandex.Taxi and Uber have agreed to combine their businesses in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan, according to the report from Yandex.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has announced USD/AZN rate for July 14.

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Romania had an exchange of congratulatory letters on the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On July 13, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov has met with the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan Robert Sekuta.

The Russian economy remains at the beginning of a new cycle of growth, Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation said. Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Russian economy was expected to reach the dynamics of the eurozone in 2017. Afterwards, Russia will aspire to world GDP growth

American lawyer Jerome Skinner stated that Russian President should personally atone for the death of the passengers of the Malaysian Boeing that crashed above Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Even before the court decision, the lawyer has found the culprit, even though many Russian and Western experts point out Ukraine's guilt in the tragedy

Every two years, St. Petersburg hosts a major naval salon, where Russian and foreign shipbuilders come to show off their latest products. Representatives of the Russian Navy also attend, and often take the opportunity to discuss their procurement plans (and dreams). The 2017 salon was held from June 28 to July 2. Mike Kofman has laid out the outline of the surface ship construction plans, highlighting the sheer number of different classes of corvettes being planned. The key takeaway is that the Russian Navy is looking to increase the size of its smaller ships in order to increase their armament and endurance. This is the main reason for the development of the 3,400 ton Project 20386 corvette, which is significantly larger than the 2,500 ton Project 20385 variant and is considered by the Russian Navy to be a blue water ship. Larger ship projects are being scaled down, with the 8000 ton Super Gorshkov likely to be the largest ship built for the Russian Navy in the next 10 years, despite regular claims by various design bureaus that their giant projects are ready for construction.

In fact, these types of salons are usually a prime opportunity for design bureaus to promote various completely unrealistic projects that they hope to have funded by the Ministry of Defense. At the 2017 salon, the Krylov design bureau cemented its position as the leader in such self-promotion. In announcing the Briz corvette class, it has completed a full set of unlikely to be built surface ship projects. Here’s the complete list, from smallest to largest. First, there’s the Briz, a 2000 ton corvette that has enough armaments to fill a 3000 or even 4000 ton vessel. Next, the Lider destroyer, a 14,000 ton nuclear powered monstrosity that was once supposed to be under construction beginning in 2019. I have grave doubts that we will see construction start this decade, and there’s a decent chance that these ships won’t be built at all, given their high cost and the reduced priority the Navy will receive in the new State Armament Program that is expected to be approved later this year. Then there’s the Priboi, a 23,000 ton amphibious assault ship that is meant to be Russia’s answer to the French Mistral. Again, cost makes construction of these ships unlikely. And finally, and least likely of all, is the Shtorm aircraft carrier design. While Russian shipbuilding companies and navy admirals make regular statements about plans to build an aircraft carrier in the next decade, the reality is that Russia has neither the need nor the resources to devote to such a project.

What we will see in the near future, other than the various corvettes and missile ships, is an extension of the Project 11356 (Admiral Grigorovich class) frigates, with three new ones expected to be built for the Russian Navy with Russian-made propulsion systems while the two hulls whose construction was frozen in 2015 will be sold to India and equipped with Ukrainian turbines. The Project 22350 (Admiral Gorshkov) line of frigates is also expected to be completed, with significant progress being made in the development of Russian turbines. However, the first ship of the class is still in sea trials, pending the completion of the long-delayed Poliment Redut naval air defense system.

Though Redut is still not ready, another prominent defensive weapons system did have its debut at the salon. The Pantsir-M integrated CIWS has a range of 20km, compared to its predecessor’s 8-10km, and can simultaneously target 4 objects. It will be placed on most new Russian ships, including the Project 22800 Karakurt patrol ships, two of which are being built in Zelenodolsk. There is also talk that Pantsir-M systems will replace existing Kortik systems on existing Russian combat ships, though no specifics have been announced in that regard.

The Navy also announced a full-scale renewal of its minesweeper fleet, with Admiral Bursuk stating that 40 Project 12700 (Alexandrit class) fiberglass minesweepers will be procured, with two a year being build in St. Petersburg starting in 2018 and additional ships at plants in the Far East. One ship of the class is already active in the Baltic Fleet and three others currently under construction. According to Admiral Bursuk, the Ivan Khurs, the second of the Project 18280 (Yuri Ivanov class) intelligence ships, is expected to be commissioned by the end of the current year, as is the long-delayed Project 11711 Ivan Gren amphibious ship. The second ship of that class is officially still on track to be commissioned next year, though given the track record of delays on this class, dates for both ships could certainly slip again.

There was relatively little news regarding submarines at the salon. Admiral Bursuk did announce that two more Project 677 (Lada class) diesel submarines would be built after the current series of three is completed, though there was no information on progress on air-independent propulsion systems and nothing on the status of the Kalina submarine project that is supposed to be equipped with AIP. Bursuk also announced that construction of the first two of the six Project 636.3 (Improved Kilo class) diesel submarines for the Pacific Fleet would start in July, with all six scheduled to be completed by 2021. Finally, the sixth Yasen-M nuclear submarine is to be laid down in July, with construction expected to take at least six years. Five Yasen-M class submarines are already in various stages of construction, with the Severdvinsk Yasen class in active service.

To conclude, there was another sign of the gradual reactivation of Russian shipbuilding in the Far East, with the announcement that starting next year, Russia will hold a Far East version of its naval salon, to be held biannually in even numbered years.