Media Review for June 19, 2020

The speech by President Ilham Aliyev at the Eastern Partnership Summit, calls for increased bans in the fight against coronavirus, and recommendations on what currency to keep money in are the topics of today's media.

One of the country's priorities is cooperation with the EU

On June 18, the Eastern Partnership countries summit took place in a video conference format, reports AZERTAC. In his speech at the summit, President Ilham Aliyev called Azerbaijan an active partner country. Aliyev called cooperation with the EU a priority of the country's foreign policy.

Azerbaijan has signed a strategic partnership document with 9 members of the Union. As for the partnership agreement with the EU, 90% of this document has already been agreed. The head of state also touched on the Karabakh conflict and its current situation. Ilham Aliyev also cited digital data regarding cooperation with the EU. The head of state also spoke about the fight against coronavirus in Azerbaijan.

Advice from Ilham Aliyev to Pashinyan to be silent

The agency reports that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan threw a replica in Armenian at an event, regarding the pardon by Ilham Aliyev of the Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, who killed an Armenian military officer in Budapest in 2004.

In 2012, Safarov was extradited to Baku and released; in Azerbaijan he was greeted as a hero. Pashinyan said that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are forced to defend themselves so as not to be killed with an ax.

In turn, President Aliyev cited the example of Karapetyan, who committed terror at Paris Orly Airport, and then was pardoned by the President of Armenia after Karapetyan’s extradition to Armenia. Therefore, Aliyev advised Pashinyan to sit quietly.

Is this a way out?

The website Moderator.az discusses the situation with coronavirus and the fight against it. Recently, more than 300 people have been infected with the virus daily, so strict quarantine measures are needed. The author notes that indifference of citizens and indifference to safety rules exacerbates the situation. While there is an opportunity to work distantly at home, people are required to come to work. Experts consider it necessary to declare a state of emergency in the country.

In what currency should money be stored, if any ...

The website Yenisabah.az provides expert opinion on the currency in which to store money. In Azerbaijan, the most popular currency is the euro and the dollar. They are also the leading currencies of the IMF and WB. And yet, it is the euro and the dollar that are the most used currencies.

In world trade, more than 60% of contracts are concluded in dollars. Azerbaijan also has most of the foreign exchange reserves in dollars, while in the Oil Fund this is more than 70%.