Russia & CIS

On May 13, 2019, The Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation turns 236 years old. The first squadron of military sailing vessels under St. Andrew's flags entered the Akhtiar Bay on May 13, 1783 - three weeks after the publication of the manifesto signed by Catherine II about the annexation of the Crimea to the Russian Empire. Over the years, the Black Sea Fleet had been divided and destroyed several times. Today, Russia's Black Sea Fleet serves as the country's main instrument of influence in the area of Black and Mediterranean seas.Over the past four years, the Black Sea Fleet has seen a major upgrade. It has received three artillery ships, six diesel submarines, two small missile ships, more than a dozen anti-sabotage and patrol boats, as well as several support vessels, including modular diving platforms and a floating crane. Before 2020, the Black Sea Fleet will get three guard ships, four missile ships and several patrol boats. A collection of new amphibious ships is being built for the fleet too. After the base in Syria's Tartus has been reconstructed and strengthened, the influence of the Black Sea Fleet embraced the Mediterranean basin. Russian navy men have learned to use Russia's state-of-the-art Caliber missiles that showed their effectiveness in Syria. Formally, Caliber cruise missiles do not belong to strategic armaments, but their appearance in the structure of the Black Sea Fleet considerably changed the regional balance of forces in Russia's favour. Almost all of Russia's new surface ships and submarines of the Black Sea Fleet are now armed with Caliber missiles. Naval aviation is reviving too. The air regiment of multifunctional Su-30SM fighters and Su-24MR bombers, formed in 2016 at Novofedorivka air base in the Crimea, has established control over the entire Black Sea area. Coastal forces have been reinforced with new Bal and Bastion systems. Several years ago, the state of affairs was a lot worse. Twenty years ago, the fleet found itself on foreign shores. The powerful Soviet strategic operational group tumbled down like a house of cards during the 1990s. It consisted of about 100,000 personnel, more than 800 warships and submarines. Naval bases and aviation airfields in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova had been sued for support. The 5th operational squadron was operating in the Mediterranean Sea, while a part of the Black Sea Fleet were patrolling the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. All that Soviet legacy was shared with Ukraine, but Russia got only a few dozen efficient ships.Due to chronic financial problems, the Black Sea Fleet was degrading and falling apart quickly. By mid-1990s, it had become inferior to its main potential rival in the region - the Turkish Navy. There were almost no submarines capable of going to sea. Warships were rusting at the docks, while their crews were losing their combat skills.The situation started improving in the beginning of the 2000s, when ships of the Black Sea Fleet would be periodically used in international anti-terrorism exercises and operations, including in the Mediterranean area. During that time, it was BLACKSEAFOR international naval operational group that was controlling the Black Sea. The group consisted of naval ships of coastal states: Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, and Turkey.The Americans did not like such a development, because the Black Sea was formally closed to their ships, and they could not clearly substantiate the need for the presence of US warships in the Black Sea. In 2008, after the Russian operation to force Georgia to peace, the interaction in the Black Sea had reached an impasse. The coup in Ukraine subsequently put and end to the practice. In 2014, the Crimea and Sevastopol returned to Russia. Already in 2015, the fleet started receiving new ships against the growing number of NATO military exercises in the region. Today, warships of the Black Sea Fleet can conduct high-precision missile attacks from places of their deployment to distances of up to 1,700 kilometres.Russia currently considers an opportunity to expand the influence of the fleet to the waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf, as well as to the western part of the Arabian Sea, for which the Pacific Fleet is now responsible.To accomplish this goal, Russia will need to solve plenty of problems, such as to restore the stationary system of surface and underwater surveillance on the Black Sea coast, deploy over-the-horizon detection systems, create a reliable anti-submarine, anti-ship and anti-aircraft defense of the areas where carriers of cruise missiles are based.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has arrived in the Kingdom of Belgium for a working visit

Mammadyarov made the remarks at the Eastern Partnership EaP Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on May 13

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov expressed hope that the democratic development of Armenia willmove it towards substantial talks with Azerbaijan which means that Azerbaijanis who were subject to brutal ethnic cleansing would manage to return back to the places of their origin

UEFAs Europa League final in Baku will be a memorable occasion UK ambassador to Azerbaijan Carole Crofts said according to the Facebook page of the UK embassy in Baku

Today Azerbaijan enjoys very good somewhere strategic relations with almost all of its neighbors said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov

Azerbaijan received observer status at the Pacific Alliance following the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on May 10 in Mexico City the countrys Foreign Ministry told NewsAz

There are few countries in the world that have an equally strong legislative base for ensuring womens rights like Azerbaijan Chairperson of the State Committee for Family Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova said Trend reports May 13

Pakistan stands for Azerbaijan in NagornoKarabakh conflict Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada said in an interview with Pakistan Observer

Azercell introducing a new generation of tariff plans and Digital Services for business customers called My Business It differs from the previous generation in particular by significantly bigger data allowances with 4G speeds unlimited inter company calls and a new Integrated Suite of Digital Services Control predict and reduce your mobile communications spend with tariffs that keep your staff connected wherever they are

Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan is trying to cover up the aggressive and occupation policy of Armenia by talks about democracy spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said Trend reports May 13

Azerbaijan and Pakistan are exploring further possibilities in the energy sector Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada said in an interview with Pakistan Observer

Helicopters of Azerbaijans Air Forces have arrived at Turkeys Konya air base to participate in the Anatolian Phoenix2019 international search and rescue exercises Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on Monday

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will arrive in the Russian city of Sochi to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday May 14 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Monday

Turkeys largest military exercise Sea Wolf Denizkurdu 2019 kicked off on Monday

Azercell Telecom LLC continues to hold training sessions on Internet safety and digital citizenship with the view to identify and eliminate the possible threats that children teenagers may have confront with as a result of the internet usage expansion

The ongoing aggressive policy of Armenia is the main reason why the ceasefire doesnt bring peace for 25 years Hikmet Hajiyev Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told reporters in Baku on May 12 Trend reports

Libyan navy said it rescued 147 illegal immigrants in two separate operations off the countrys western coast Xinhua reports

The City of Irvine in the US State of California has proclaimed May 28 2019 as Azerbaijan National Day in the city

The Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE ChairpersoninOffice under its mandate plans to conduct the next ceasefire monitoring on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on May 14 the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported