Russia & CIS

A Russian court on Thursday upheld a decision to block the website of social networking company LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD.N), Interfax news agency reported, setting a precedent for the way foreign internet firms operate in the country, according to Reuters.

Azerbaijan has so far invested $7.9 billion in Turkey's economy, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said in a meeting with the Turkish Ambassador Erkan Ozoral, according to a message from the Economy Ministry.

President Barack Obama is hosting his successor Donald Trump at the White House for what could prove to be awkward transition talks, APA reports quoting BBC.

“The road, built by AzVirt in Serbia, is the first project implemented by an Azerbaijani company in Europe,” Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev told Azerbaijani journalists prior to the official inauguration of the road in Belgrade.

New deputy director general on business support at Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim has been appointed, according to a message posted on the website of the Public Disclosure Platform (Kamuoyunu Aydınlatma Platformu – KAP) Nov. 10.

The fierce anti-Russian propaganda based on the "Putin brand" produces an opposite effect in the West too. The propaganda against Putin creates Putin's supporters and fans. During the presidential election in the United States, Western media paid too much attention to the fictional "Moscow's hand

Baku is hosting a conference on investment opportunities in Azerbaijan and Iran, AzerTag reports.

The first Social Media Forum will be held in Ganja.

Aeroflot has postponed the Nov.10-11 flights from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport due to the adverse weather, according to Interfax.

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections denotes that a new era is underway both in world economy and world policy, Levente Kozma, the former Hungarian senior foreign policy advisor, told Trend Nov. 10.

Michael Kofman and I wrote a short piece for the Monkey Cage on the potential impact of the election on U.S.-Russian relations. Go read the whole thing, which also includes contributions from a number of other scholars.

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Donald Trump’s victory has the potential to fundamentally reshape U.S.-Russian relations, but whether such a realignment will actually take place will depend on how Trump chooses to learn and appreciate the past failures of several U.S. attempts to engage Russia. It remains to be seen whether he will be willing to follow the advice of professionals, or if he will strike off on his own. U.S.-Russian relations are founded on a complex history, with structural differences among national elites that will prove difficult to bridge through personal rapport among the national leaders. Trump’s first problem will be that other than a small number of close advisers who share his instincts to engage Putin, most of the policy establishment is likely to hold hardened views of Putin’s Russia, ranging from distrustful to confrontational. Rapid change is unlikely to come quickly, despite the personal attention of the president-elect, because the bureaucracy will initially take an obstructionist position.

Having said that, we can make a few predictions regarding policy initiatives that are likely to be undertaken by President Trump. First of all, he is likely to restore the full range of government contacts, including between the two countries’ military establishments. Second, he will pursue more extensive cooperation with Russia in Syria, against ISIS but also against other anti-Assad groups that could conceivably be described as Islamist. Most likely there will be a complete abandonment of the existing policy formulation that there is a moderate Syrian opposition and viable alternatives to Assad, which will closely bridge the U.S. position with that of Moscow’s. And finally, the active sanctions policy against Russia is likely to end, though existing sanctions will not be lifted without a quid pro quo.

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"It is hard for me to understand the Russian MPs, who applauded to the news about Trump's election. Trump is the US President, and he will act in the interests of his country first and foremost," an analyst told Pravda.Ru. Trump's victory is not a perfect occasion for applause on Russia's part, yet, Russia has two reasons for restrained optimism

The number of predictions about the state of affairs in the US-Russian relations after the presidential election in the United States continues to grow. Former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky did not stay aside and predicted that there would be nothing good in the US-Russian relations after the election, regardless of who wins the vote

The United States continues an extremely aggressive campaign to accuse Russia of cyberattacks that may undermine confidence in the results of the US presidential election. US top officials have released quite a number of statements about possible responses to Russia that would at least create a stir inside the Kremlin

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized the stance of EU on Turkey's fight against the PKK terrorist group, Anadolu reported.

The United States on Friday formally prohibited U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining accounts created on behalf of North Korean banks, extending sanctions imposed on the isolated Asian country over its nuclear and missile programs, Reuters reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has led ceremonies launching a monument to St Vladimir Duke of Kiev, who brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Kievan Rus in 988.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan points out that the bank deposits start falling again, Fineko/abc.az reports.

The mother of Armenian MP Vahe Enfiajyan owns a 50% share in a company that plans to build a small hydro-power plant along the Hrazdan River in the country’s Kotayk Province.

The 4th International Theatre Conference titled "Multiculturalism and the Theatre” will be held in Baku on November 6-10.