UK Lifts Arms Embargo on Armenia and Azerbaijan - The Armenian Mirror-Spectator The UK has lifted its long-standing arms embargo on Armenia and Azerbaijan, citing progress in relations between the two countries and ongoing efforts to support regional peace. In a statement […]

The UK has scrapped its long-term arms restrictions on Armenia and Azerbaijan in light of improving diplomatic relations and peacebuilding measures.

Alla Pugacheva's recent interview has garnered widespread praise in Azerbaijan. Many Azerbaijani social media users lauded her anti-war stance, sincerity, and even her brief mention of Azerbaijani geologist Farman Salmanov in Surgut.

Kazakh authorities are courting Chinese companies to help build a futuristic city, dubbed #Alatau, just outside the nation’s current commercial hub, Almaty.

Launched by President Tokayev in January 2024, AlatauCity aims to become Central Asia’s answer to Dubai and Singapore.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has criticized India, accusing it of targeting Azerbaijan in international organizations due to Baku’s close ties with Pakistan. “For us, brotherhood stands above all,” he said.

Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been blocked by India, despite China’s support for the move.

Armenia and Pakistan have officially established diplomatic relations, ending more than three decades of non-recognition by Islamabad.

Azerbaijani media reports that Islamabad consulted with Baku prior to taking this step.

Saw some posts claiming mountaineering is “safe.”

Truth is, nearly 150,000+ people die in mountains every year. This includes climbers, hikers, skiers, and locals affected by avalanches, landslides, or altitude sickness.

According to the publication, the Armenian National Security Service conducted a search of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building afterward, examining documents and checking computers. The decision was made not to publicise the arrest to avoid causing a scandal.

«Հրապարակ». Սկանդալային ձերբակալություն

Armenian newspaper Hraparak also reports that Aleksanyan was arrested at Yerevan Airport and that the arrest took place two months ago.

Armenian consul arrested over alleged espionage for Azerbaijan About two months ago, a high-profile arrest shook Armenia’s diplomatic corps, though officials sought to keep the matter out of the public eye, Azernews reports via Hraparak.

Love is in the air:

According to Azerbaijani media, the Armenian consul in Austria, Ashkhen Aleksanyan, was arrested for allegedly working for Azerbaijan, and Pashinyan's cabinet apparently tried to keep it quiet.

A golden moment for Central Asian football: Uzbekistan have secured their place at the World Cup, while Kazakhstan’s Kairat have reached the Champions League.

Azerbaijan is in early talks with Syrian authorities to relocate the grave of 14th-century poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi from Aleppo to Azerbaijan.

State media report that preliminary discussions are already underway.

Azerbaijan sounds the alarm over shallowing of Caspian Sea Rapid falls in the level of the Caspian Sea are affecting ports and oil shipments and threatening to inflict catastrophic damage on sturgeon and seal populations, according to Azerbaijani officials.

Azerbaijan sounds the alarm over shallowing of Caspian Sea reut.rs/41Mm7Q8

I don’t think some European and American politicians fully grasp what a grinding war really means or why it’s so bad for Ukraine.

Expecting that a few talks and handshakes will make it all disappear is pure fantasy.

The Kremlin has been betting on driving wedges between the US and Europe, and between the US and Ukraine.

Putin scored a partial win with the proposal he handed Steve Witkoff two weeks ago, which left Washington and Europe in a shaky new balance over who carries the main burden of backing Ukraine.

If Putin’s bottom line is total control of Ukraine, this war could drag on for years.

Another option is a puppet government in Kyiv - one cut off from Western military and intelligence ties.

Shifting his mindset isn’t possible with today’s Western resolve.

It all comes down to how far the US and Europe are willing to go.

One thing hasn’t changed across administrations: Washington won’t put boots on the ground in Ukraine.

That leaves only messy, half-measure solutions.

If Zelensky accepted today’s frontlines, with promises of no more Russian land grabs, a strong Western security package, and backup troops if Moscow strikes again then maybe that’s the deal that Trump often talks about. But Ukraine is nowhere close to that.

Baku has also made countermoves:

* Azerbaijan has withdrawn from Intervision 2025.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russian drones deliberately targeted an oil depot owned by SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company.

Sabail footballer Elnur Huseynov confirmed that his father, Aslan Huseynov, was killed in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

According to him, his father was coerced into mobilization by Russian authorities, and the family only learned of his death a month later.

Short 🧵 Russian-Azerbaijani relations continue to deteriorate.

* The Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation has shut down the company of popular blogger Huseyn Hasanov.

* The FSB has arrested an Azerbaijani citizen in Dagestan, alleging he was working for Ukraine.

For the first time in 17 years, the US skipped a UN statement backing Georgia.

The UN Security Council draft, signed by the EU and UK, reaffirms Georgia’s sovereignty and calls out Russia’s 2008 invasion as the start of its aggressive moves, now seen in Ukraine.

The Zangezur Corridor is moving full speed ahead.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu says it’ll make the Beijing-London route smoother, boost freight on the Middle Corridor, expand Turkey’s logistics, and strengthen its role as a security hub on Asian trade routes.

In 2014, Russian troops in Crimea seized and annexed the peninsula. Today, Putin claims all of Ukraine is “historical Russia.”

That history of broken promises means Kyiv will demand far stronger guarantees now.

As part of the deal, Kyiv handed most of its navy to Moscow and leased Sevastopol in Crimea to Russia for 20 years.

None of it stopped aggression.

Even then, many Ukrainian politicians feared disarming would leave the country exposed to Russia.

But Washington pushed hard, and in 1997 Yeltsin signed a friendship treaty with President Kuchma, recognising Ukraine’s borders.

Back in 1994, Kyiv gave up its nuclear weapons in return for security promises.

Under the Budapest Memorandum, the US, Russia, the UK, China and France pledged to respect Ukraine’s borders and independence, and not to use force against it.

Recent diplomacy might look like movement, but Russia’s stance is the same.

The Kremlin still shows no respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty, and the bombing goes on, making talk of security guarantees feel pointless.

The Kremlin's war aims haven’t shifted. It wants all of Donetsk and Luhansk, even areas Russia hasn’t taken since 2014.

Putin is also pushing for Ukraine’s “demilitarisation and denazification” — in practice, cutting its army down and removing Zelensky.

Trump hasn’t said clearly how much the US would back Ukraine’s security. He’s ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv, which Ukraine sees as its best shield against Russia. And it looks unlikely the US would ever send troops for peacekeeping.