Press Review 02/24/2017

Southern Gas Corridor and the role of Azerbaijan in this project, arrests of young political activists, the impact of galloping currency rates on the economy, and the high prices in the consumer market are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the February 23 Baku III meeting of the Advisory Board of the project Southern Gas Corridor. The author appreciates the role of Azerbaijan in the project, calling it a rare example of international cooperation.

The website of the Azadlig newspaper writes about the unacceptable violations during the arrest of the young activists Fouad Ahmadli and Amil Mammadzadeh. The lawyer Asabali Mustafayev noted that neither the judge nor the investigators bothered “to give at least a legitimate form to’ their actions during the arrest of the young activists. The real reason for the detention was their active opposition activity in social networks.

Echo has published an article entitled “The current plots with the manat rate are a blow to the economy of Azerbaijan.” Earlier this year it was announced that AZN was released to float freely, and the process is really underway. The AZN rate is gradually falling, trying to find the niche in the financial market. But now the process continues by artificial means. Businesses are most interested in the rate AZN / USD to be most predictable and stable.

Novoye Vremya has published an article about the rise in prices. In addition to all sorts of objective reasons for the growth of the tariffs (inflation, instability of the manat and weakening economy), there are a number of subjective reasons, one of which is the usual speculation.

Judging by the situation in the market today, the holiday table will cost at least 100-120 manat. However, by Novruz this amount will double, if the trend continues.