Vedant Patel
Washington D.C./17.05.23/Turan: The United States may take 'additional steps' in response to potential resumption of flights between Georgia and Russia, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we’ll take additional steps, as needed," Vedant Patel, State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, said on Tuesday in response to TURAN's questions about Georgian Airways's decision to resume direct flights to Russia this week.
"If direct flights take place between Russia and Georgia, that would be of increasing concern – not just to the United States and other Western countries but as well as companies that may be operating out of Georgian airports, if they service aircrafts that are subject to import and exports and other matters," Patel said.
He went on to add, "The entire Western community has distanced itself from the Russian Federation, and we believe that now is not the time to increase engagement with Russia."
Washington has "been very clear" about its concerns, as Patel put it: "... We’ve been very clear about the fact that we also have taken steps to prohibit Russian aircraft from entering our airspace, as have many Western countries."
The Kremlin last week lifted the ban on flights to Georgia and canceled the visa regime for Georgian citizens. Dozens in Tbilisi on Tuesday staged a protest against the move.
Alex Raufoglu
Politics
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On Septebmer 17-th the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is starting its quarterly meeting to examine how CoE member states, including Azerbaijan, implement judgments of the European Court. Among the cases that have been proposed for detailed examination are those concerning Azerbaijan.
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A criminal case has been initiated against former officials of Azerbaijan’s Seaside Boulevard Department following an investigation by the Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which uncovered significant illegal activities. The case, now under the control of the Anti-Corruption Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, involves allegations of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power between 2021 and 2023.
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Rostam Khalilov, the head of the Executive Authority of Gadzhikabul District, has been relieved of his position by a decree from Ilham Aliyev and appointed as the head of Salyan District.
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The Azerbaijani citizens detained in Chechnya with the intention of sending them to fight in Ukraine are labor migrants, Tapdyg Rzayev, the father of Nihad Rzayev ( one of the detained) told Turan. According to him, in addition to his son, two close relatives—Vugar Maharramov and Elkhan Shirynov - were also detained. All three went to Chechnya in May this year and worked as plasterers on a construction site. A month ago, they were detained on the pretext of lacking registration. Maharramov and Shirynov were forced to sign contracts to be sent to fight in Ukraine. They are currently in the military unit “Northern Akhmat” in Grozny, where they are undergoing training. Rzayev’s son remains in a temporary detention center for migrants, where two other Azerbaijanis are also held.
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