News

At the suggestion of Ramzan Kadyrov's entourage, the motto "Akhmat is Power" at the entrance to Grozny, became a republic's brand, but there is no semantic and value content in it, analysts believe.

The heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) of Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed on a ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict zone from October 10.

Two Georgian officials have been arrested on charges of using incorrect maps while delimiting the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. Their defence intends to appeal against the arrest; and public organizations have linked their persecution with the upcoming elections.

Under a far-fetched pretext, airline employees prevented the Azerbaijani journalist, Afghan Mukhtarly, from flying from Berlin to Tbilisi. Mukhtarly believes that Georgian authorities are afraid of exposing the circumstances of his kidnapping.

In Chechnya, law enforcers demanded from relatives of Grozny resident Movsar Umarov to stop complaining about his disappearance after the detention, says Musa, a brother of Movsar Umarov. Musa Umarov himself left Chechnya after officials had expressed their dissatisfaction with his claims against an advisor of Ramzan Kadyrov.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev announced the control of the Azerbaijani troops over the city of Hadrut and eight villages in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian side denies the statements of the Azerbaijani President and claims that the status of Hadrut has not changed.

At the entrance to Grozny, the slogan "Akhmat is Power" on a new arch replaces the Muslim phrase "Allahu Akbar", social networks users note. In Chechnya, so many facilities are named after the Ramzan Kadyrov's father that it is time to rename the republic to Akhmatia, users write in their ironic comments.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia cancelled the accreditation of Ilya Azar, a reporter of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", after a report from Shushi and Lachin, which caused a public outcry. This was reported by the journalist himself. The newspaper regarded the Armenian MFA's actions as interference in journalistic activities and interrupted the Ilya Azar's business trip.

The Russian authorities have obligations to Armenia, and they can benefit from statements in support of Azerbaijan as an excuse for non-interference in the Karabakh conflict, political analysts suggest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an end of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in order to exchange casualties' bodies and prisoners of war; he also invited the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to come to Moscow for consultations.

More than 500 people stay in the camp near the Dagestani village of Kullar after their departure to Azerbaijan was suspended due to the aggravation of the Karabakh conflict. The patrons decided to transport some of these people by air via Turkey.

Since the start of the conflict escalation, the Ombudsperson's office of Nagorno-Karabakh has recorded over 110 civilian victims. There are casualties in the cities of Stepanakert, Martuni, Martakert, Gadrut, in the dwelling settlements of Alashan and Aigestan, and in the village of Mets Shen.

The Chechen Adats (traditions) suggest a possibility of public reprimands, but leave the right to use them to perpetrators' relatives; however, the authorities have assumed this function, experts believe.

Residents of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NK), who moved to Armenia after the start of the fighting, have received, along with authorities' help, received support of local residents, who collected foodstuffs, clothes and medicines for them. They had to urgently escape from the shelling, by taking only documents with them, said the settlers from the conflict zone.

Salman Tepsurkaev's father can hope for security as long as he cooperates with the authorities, but the threat to him and other family members remains, human rights defenders believe. Shirvani Tepsurkaev (the father) wants to stop talks about Salman; therefore, he would not have recorded a new video of his own free will, Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, is sure.

On Thursday (September 8), after a short lull, the artillery shelling of Azerbaijani frontline settlements intensified, local residents have reported. A strong missile attack hit the city of Barda; there are also casualties and destructions there.

In the area of the Armenian city of Vardenis, militaries have shot down seven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) belonging to the Azerbaijani Army, the Armenian Ministry of Defence has informed.

The authorities of Chechnya will not help Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh without the approval of the Kremlin, expert Vasily Dandykin believes. Political analyst Ali Magomaev suggests that at most, natives of Chechnya may be included in the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation.

Today, while collecting the information about the damages inflicted to a cathedral in Shushi, reporters have come under a repeated shelling attack, the Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsman reported. Araik Arutyunyan, President of Nagorno-Karabakh, called the shelling attack on the cathedral a terror act and promised to restore it.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported about a detention of a Stepanakert resident, who called on soldiers of the Defence Army to leave their positions. Investigators suggest that the suspect was a member of a grouping which sought to demoralize the service personnel.