Day: January 4, 2023

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Azerbaijan blasts Armenian statement on Lachin protests as baseless, provocative

Azerbaijan on Wednesday blasted a statement from Armenia on the ongoing protests on the Lachin road, which connects Armenia to the Karabakh region, as baseless and provocative.

“The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on Jan. 3, 2023 regarding the protests on the road to Lachin is completely groundless and aims to sow confusion among international partners and artificially escalate the situation,” a Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry statement said.

The statement said that the Armenian side is still interested in “the continuation of illegal economic and other activities on the territory of Azerbaijan,” adding that Yerevan continued to ignore appeals by Baku to prevent such actions.

“All these actions have caused the rightful protest of the Azerbaijani public, and a peaceful demonstration is being held with the demand to prevent abuse of the Lachin road, which is intended only for humanitarian purposes,” the statement noted.

The statement also denied claims that the protests have resulted in the road’s closure, noting that vehicles belonging to the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping contingent stationed in the region have used the Lachin road without hindrance.

“Despite the appeals of the Azerbaijani side to the Armenian residents that the road is open and can be used according to the purpose of the tripartite declaration, the fact that the provocateurs, who present themselves as representatives of the Armenian residents living in Karabakh, prevent the population from using the road proves once again that it is precisely such people who created a false impression of the protests,” it added.

The statement also called accusations by Armenia that Azerbaijan is conducting “deportations and ethnic cleansing” in the region “absurd,” adding that such accusations are meant to cover up “the systematic and consistent policy of ethnic cleansing committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis” in the 20th century.

“Azerbaijan once again calls on Armenia to comply with its obligations arising from international law and the (2021) Tripartite Declaration, to refrain from activities directed against Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to stop aggressive political and military provocations,” it added.

Since Dec. 12, Azerbaijani ecologists representing NGOs have been protesting Armenia’s illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Karabakh region, where Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the aftermath of the fall 2020 conflict in the region and a January 2021 pact with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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German lawmakers criticize gov’t silence on Nord Stream blasts

The German government is taking flak from legislators for its silence on undersea explosions last year that knocked out the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, along with the Russian natural gas they carried.

"I understand, especially in times of war, that these delicate investigations may also require secrecy," Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the parliamentary intelligence monitoring body, told the daily Tagesspiegel on Tuesday. But, the politician from the Green Party continued: "In a constitutional state, the public has a right to know what really happened."

The blasts took place on Sept. 26, causing major ruptures and gas leaks from the two pipelines that run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Officials from countries in the region have said sabotage was a likely cause of the incident.

Von Notz called for more openness in light of the "significance of this unprecedented terrorist attack" on the country's supply infrastructure.

"The federal government (Germany) must break its silence very soon, create transparency, or at least present a plausible narrative of the events of Sept. 26."

The deputy chairman of the parliamentary intelligence control committee, Roderich Kiesewetter of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told Tagesspiegel that lawmakers wanted to continue pressuring the government "because the wild speculations in this unclear situation are not harmless."

Kiesewetter also claimed to have gained the impression that "investigative authorities, and thus also the German government, are indeed still in the dark."

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Oil down as global economic downturn leads to weak demand fears

Oil prices slumped on Wednesday after diving more than 4% during the previous trading session as the global recession is expected to cool down oil consumption.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $81.74 per barrel at 09.56 a.m. local time (0656GMT), down 0.43% from the closing price of $82.10 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $76.50 per barrel at the same time, a 0.55% loss after the previous session closed at $76.93 a barrel.

Both benchmarks recorded rapid declines, with Brent losing almost $5 a barrel during Tuesday’s choppy trading session.

The weaker demand worries put downward pressure on prices, especially after the IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said one-third of the world’s economies are expected to go into recession in 2023.

“Even countries that are not in recession, it would feel like recession for hundreds of millions of people,” Georgieva told CBS news on Sunday.

The year ahead will be tougher than 2022 for most of the world economy as the US, EU, and China are slowing down, said Georgieva.

Noting that the EU was hit “very severely” by the ongoing war in Ukraine, Georgieva said half of the bloc would be in recession this year.

She added that the outlook for emerging markets in developing economies was even direr due to interest rate hikes and a strong US dollar.

Adding more to demand worries, the world’s second-largest economy China significantly increased its first batch of 2023 export quotas for refined oil products, which shows that the country is expecting less consumption.

The country is also struggling with rising COVID-19 cases when it decided to ease its strict mitigation measures.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Russian, Uzbek leaders discuss bilateral relations, energy cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed bilateral relations and cooperation, especially in the energy sector, with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev over the phone on Wednesday.

“The presidents reaffirmed mutual commitment to strengthening Russia-Uzbekistan relations of alliance and strategic partnership, boosting trade, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, including in energy,” read a statement by the Kremlin.

It said Mirziyoyev expressed his gratitude for Putin’s hospitality during the informal meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states in St. Petersburg on Dec. 26-27.

Also, a statement by the Uzbek presidency said the issues related to further deepening ties between Tashkent and Moscow were discussed by Mirziyoyev and Putin.

“Particular attention was paid to the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector,” the statement said, adding that Mirziyoyev highly appreciated the fruitful results of the informal CIS summit.

The CIS is a regional organization formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by its former members to encourage cooperation in economic, political and security affairs.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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New Zealand rejects COVID-19 restrictions on Chinese travelers

New Zealand on Wednesday announced that Wellington will not impose any COVID-19-related restrictions against travelers from China and called the imposition of any restrictions “not required or justified.”

In a statement, the country’s COVID-19 Response Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall said there is a minimal public health risk to New Zealand.

“In response, officials have done a public health risk assessment including working through scenarios of potential case numbers among travelers from China. This confirmed these visitors won’t contribute significantly to our Covid case numbers, meaning entry restrictions aren’t required or justified,” Verrall said.

Her statement came after several countries including the US, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Morocco, Qatar, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan announced requiring negative COVID-19 tests from travelers coming from China.

“There is a minimal public health risk to New Zealand. We know that BF7 is the prevalent variant in China and that it hasn’t caused significant outbreaks in other countries that, like New Zealand, have already been exposed to the BA5 variant. So public health measures are not required to protect New Zealanders,” Verrall added.

Australia also imposes curbs on China travelers

Meanwhile, Australian authorities dismissed China’s retaliation threats over mandatory COVID-19 testing.

“Now, there is a big wave of COVID in China at the moment, every country is still managing in one way or another this pandemic, and so they will take a decision based on their own considerations just as we have on our own considerations and a lot of countries around the world are imposing these kinds of tests,” ABC News quoted Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers as saying.

Canberra also joined other countries to impose mandatory testing on travelers flying from China into Australia despite the country’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly’s advice not to introduce it, according to the broadcaster.

Beijing on Tuesday slammed various COVID-19 measures taken by several nations against travelers from China and warned of “countermeasures” against such steps.

“We firmly reject using COVID measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations via the principle of reciprocity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing.

China is facing an explosive spike in infections after dumping its strict “zero-COVID” policy last month, following unrest and unprecedented protests in parts of the country.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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French government bans online sales of paracetamol due to drug shortages

Faced with drug supply shortages, the French government is banning online sales of paracetamol, a fever and painkiller widely present in French pharmacies.

“The sale over the internet of medicines consisting exclusively of paracetamol will be suspended until Jan. 31, 2023,” the government said in a decree published Wednesday on the official government website.

The decree stated that “tensions over paracetamol-based medicines have persisted for more than six months,” especially those forms intended for children.

The government further said: “The various measures taken by the health authorities, effective as they have been, have not yet made it possible to put an end to this.”

For several months now, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) has been asking pharmacists in France to ration the sale of paracetamol.

Last December, the Health Ministry already warned that despite these measures, the situation remained “complex” and could not be resolved for several weeks.

In its Wednesday decree, the government pointed in particular to the worsening health situation in China, where COVID-19 cases have exploded following the sudden lifting of strict health restrictions.

The Chinese government had banned exports of paracetamol, even though the country produces much of the active ingredient, which is used by laboratories worldwide.

Source: Anadolu Agency