Vedant Patel
Washington D.C./10.11.23/Turan: The United States on Thursday rejected the notion that the Israel-Hamas war has been a distraction from Ukraine.
"Absolutely not! We continue to be able to keep focused on the varying challenges that exist around the planet," State Department's principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.
"That of course also includes Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine," he added.
Patel's comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early this week that the violence engulfing Israel and Gaza risked distracting international attention from the war in his own country.
"There is a risk that international attention will turn away from Ukraine, and that will have consequences", Zelensky was quoted as saying in an interview with the a French broadcaster.
The State Department disagrees: "It was just a number of weeks ago... where we announced yet another tranche of security assistance for our Ukrainian partners, and this is something that we’ll continue to be focused on," Patel explained.
In President Biden’s recent Oval Office address, he talked about the importance of "not just ensuring that Israel has what it needs to defend its security, but also that our Ukrainian partners continue the support that they have been getting so that they can continue to defend themselves against the infringement on their territorial integrity and sovereignty," Patel reminded.
Alex Raufoglu
Politics
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On January 7, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes began an investigation into the case of the activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Mehman Aliyev, who is accused of illegal drug trafficking.
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On January 7, the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, gave an interview to local TV channels. As of 18:00, the content of the interview had not been published.
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In late December, the Nakhchivan Court for Serious Crimes concluded the trial of former Minister of Finance of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), Rafael Aliyev, and former head of the Nakhchivan Customs Committee’s department, Mansur Askerov. Both were accused of embezzling state budget funds in collusion with others. In his testimony, Askerov revealed that illegal fees were being collected for cargo and from passengers. Sahat Habibbeyli, appointed head of Nakhchivan Customs in 2020, had instructed Askerov to include only a portion of the collected funds in the Transport and International Relations (TIR) program.
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The "Republican Alternative" Party (REAL) has proposed a program to reform local governance ahead of the municipal elections on January 29, aiming to expand opportunities for economic activity at the municipal level. The new program has been developed with consideration of the existing economic problems in the country. The government of Azerbaijan seeks to obtain external loans for its projects, the economic feasibility of which raises doubts.
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