DAVID KRAMER: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AZERBAIJAN WITHOUT POLITICAL LIBERALISATION IS IMPOSSIBLE

Following statements about Western plots against Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS), has started to warn Central Asian countries of similar threats. Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies of CIS countries in Astana, he claimed that "the West intends to use surviving terrorists from Ukraine to destabilize Eurasia."

The board meeting of the "Musavat" party took place on October 7. According to the party's press service, the participation of “Musavat” Chairman Isa Gambar and the head of the organization's assembly, Arif Hajili, at the congress of the European Liberal-Democratic Party (ALDE) in Lisbon, Portugal, was highly appreciated, along with their meetings there. The meeting also discussed the socio-political situation in the country. It was noted that the murder of political emigrant Vidadi Iskanderli in France has raised serious concerns within society, and the relevant French authorities were called upon to conduct an objective investigation and find the perpetrators.

On October 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold separate bilateral meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan before the start of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS,  Yuri Ushakov, an assistant to the Russian president, as reported by the media. According to him, a trilateral meeting has not been scheduled at this time.

From September 30 to October 6, a total of 73 anti-tank mines, 159 anti-personnel mines, and 415 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were reported by the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA). According to the agency, an area of 2,945.1 hectares was cleared of mines during the previous week.