NEWTIMES

On 10-11 September 2017, in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hold its first science and technology summit at the level of head of state and government. Astana Summit witnessed a historic milestone as it evolved a unified collective position at the highest levels of decision-making in OIC Member States with a view to advancing the different fields of science, technology and innovation, while emphasizing the Muslim world's resolve to promote scientific and technical development. The Summit was important as it underscored the Member States' support for scientific fields by demonstrating the Muslim world's knowledge contributions away from the negative stereotypes that have become widespread recently.

Here it goes again. Certain media outlets and pseudo-organizations have launched the next anti-Azerbaijan campaign. This time around their primary target is the President of Azerbaijan and his family. They have come up with bogus figures, alleging that some clandestine money transactions were made and act as if those allegations are backed by solid facts. But we all know that the song is old. They just added some new verses to it. Each time that Azerbaijan moves forward with an undertaking of international relevance, the envious ones resort to all sorts of fabrications. All of that is done against the backdrop of impotence and inaction of the Armenian authorities. While Azerbaijan has been very energetic on the international scene in the recent month Yerevan did nothing but complain and implore for help. To no avail by the way; those efforts cannot undermine Azerbaijan's posture. The rapid development and reforms across all areas will continue. The people of the country rally around the nation's leader. And given the enormous historical experience, the society cherishes the value of the independent statehood.

The Armenian media have recently been making attempts to explain official Yerevan`s policy by using a strange logic. This mainly manifests itself in exaggeration of Azerbaijan-related issues. On the one hand, they spread false information on the Azerbaijani army`s retaliation against the Armenian provocations, and on the other, try to accuse the Kremlin of selling arms to Baku. Failing to put forward any convincing argument, Armenia, as usual, resorts to slander. It is obvious that the Azerbaijani military is several times stronger than the Armenian armed forces. Azerbaijan retaliates strongly against each provocation of the Armenians. At the same time, Azerbaijan is continuously increasing its defense capabilities. Baku also continues to purchase weapons from Moscow. The leaders of Azerbaijan and Russia maintain regular contacts, discussing and searching for ways to address regional and global geopolitical problems. This irritates official Yerevan. But it is impossible to hide the reality – the social, political, economic, spiritual and moral crisis is deepening in Armenia.

The problems faced by the European Union in the past few years encouraged the emergence of several scenarios for the bloc`s future. Experts give different forecasts, with many of them being pessimistic. Leaders of the 27 states who gathered in Rome to celebrate the European Union`s 60th anniversary signed the Rome Declaration. The document features a number of interesting points relating to the future of the organization. A deeper look at the declaration reveals that the EU is, in fact, on the verge of new transformations. But the main point here is that there is considerable uncertainty about the essence of these changes. The reason is that the European Union is now facing serious problems.

The problems faced by the European Union in the past few years encouraged the emergence of several scenarios for the bloc`s future. Experts give different forecasts, with many of them being pessimistic. Leaders of the 27 states who gathered in Rome to celebrate the European Union`s 60th anniversary signed the Rome Declaration. The document features a number of interesting points relating to the future of the organization. A deeper look at the declaration reveals that the EU is, in fact, on the verge of new transformations. But the main point here is that there is considerable uncertainty about the essence of these changes. The reason is that the European Union is now facing serious problems.

National psychology plays a crucial role in building and shaping a foreign policy. A psychological aspect should be taken into account when assessing economic, political or security policy of countries. Developed by humans, foreign policy is inevitably affected by their psychology, mood, thinking, and world view. Armenia`s foreign policy has been shaped by President Serzh Sargsyan and his team for 10 years. Members of Sargsyan`s team have changed several times over these years, but his foreign policy remains unchanged. The reason is that it is his views that form the backbone of this policy.

As the entire world addresses the urgency of combating international terrorism Armenia's armed forces have resorted to yet another provocation against Azerbaijan. As a result of a mortar fire launched from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Alkhanli village of the Fizuli district was shelled, killing a woman in her fifties and her two year old granddaughter. This was a despicable incident. Even the most violence-prone people condemned this atrocity. The official Baku reacted fiercely and demanded the enemy to cease such provocations. Turkey's official circles were also swift to condemn, in the strongest terms, the killing of innocent civilians and demanded putting an end to incidents of this kind. That being said, we witnessed deafening silence on behalf of several big nations. Those quarters who constantly remind the world of the humanitarian tragedy in the Middle East choose not to speak out. They must know that it is the very attitude that emboldens Armenia and allows the latter to drag this region towards greater catastrophes. Preventing this process is a must.

The fates of Georgia and Azerbaijan have been closely linked for most of their histories, and now this is true more than ever. The past twenty-five years have demonstrated that without their close strategic partnership, neither country would be able to sustain its independence or achieve greater economic prosperity.

The Globalization and transformations on the international scene as well as within the societies in individual countries, provoked by such processes, are most certainly among the major challenges of our times. Ultimately, the globalization is about universal values, multicultural environment, tolerance towards the differences and astronomic speed of the processes and developments. Therefore, those aspects cannot but be reflected in the new world order.

25 years of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan as independent states is quiet a short historical period, but still it is marked by rich and fruitful experience.