NEWTIMES

As the world is globalizing, even countries that are far away from each other are striving to ensure visa-free movement of their citizens. There is the Schengen Area in Europe. CIS countries also introduced a visa-free regime. Many states around the globe apply visa-free travel on a mutual basis. And the process is expanding. A couple of days ago the Azerbaijani leadership made a historic decision to grant Turkish citizens the right to stay in the country for a month without getting a visa. The news was welcomed positively by all normal people. But the Armenian media and experts interpreted the event in a biased and silly manner. A deeper look at the situation reveals real reasons behind Armenians` ridiculous and uncivil attitude. This article will analyze the Armenian media`s position visa-free regime between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

It is a well-known fact that settlement of ethnic and local conflicts in different parts of the world remains the main global geopolitical challenge. Particularly, finding a fair and peaceful solution to conflicts in the South Caucasus is high on the agenda. The OSCE Minsk Group, which is dealing with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, is working ineffectively. In some cases, international organizations` documents on the issue do not reflect the reality. From this point of view, the document adopted at the annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) in Luxembourg is of great interest. The document features important views. It provoked inadequate reaction from Armenians because it reflects the reality. This article will analyze the provisions of the document from a geopolitical perspective.

The meeting between generals Tod Wolters and Valery Gerasimov in Baku has grabbed experts` interest from a number of perspectives. The two global military superpowers` discussing critical issues in Baku is not a regular occasion. Experts analyze the reasons why the USA and Russia chose Baku as the venue of the meetings of their military leaders. A number of factors obviously play a role here. As a young state, Azerbaijan is making great strides. Its international influence is rising quickly. As the host of high-profile international events, Azerbaijan is recognized as a stable and reliable partner. So it looks normal that Washington and Moscow chose exactly Baku to discuss key military matters. This article will look at the geopolitical impact of the two generals` Baku meeting.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk`s visiting Armenia and Georgia after Azerbaijan brought several geopolitical issues to spotlight. Experts say a number of factors of particular importance to the post-Soviet region have now acquired topicality. In this context, Donald Tusk`s statements in Armenia provoked much interest. The president of the European Council openly said that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had to be solved in accordance with international law and provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. This is the recognition of Armenia`s aggression. The European Union supports Azerbaijan`s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. This position was reiterated at an international conference marking the 10thanniversary of the Eastern Partnership initiative. This article will focus on the geopolitical aspects of the aforementioned processes.

Some experts are alleging that Azerbaijan-European Union relations experience tough times and that Brussels even hesitates to recognize Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity. But Donald Tusk`s visit to the region clarified the situation. His remarks refuted the provocative allegations. Donald Tusk described the EU`s relations with Azerbaijan as strategic and very important. Brussels recognizes Azerbaijan as a powerful state and the leader of the South Caucasus. This shows that the relationship with Baku influences greatly the geopolitical picture of the region. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed this following his meeting with Donald Tusk. This article will highlight the geopolitical importance of Donald Tusk`s visit to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Turkey maintain a special relationship defined by a long history of events and cultural and ethnic connections. Azerbaijanis and Turks belong to the same Turkic identity and share a common ancestor - the Seljuk Empire made up of Oghuz Turks, which represents the foundation to the present-day Turkey and Azerbaijan. Both nations are geographically close, and Azerbaijan is the only Turkic state sharing a small border with Turkey through Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region. All this has contributed to the build-up of special ties between modern-day Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The confusion that existed in the aftermath of WWI at the global and regional level made a new world order necessary. Tsarist Russia having come to an end led to the statism of Azerbaijan, which had been covered up by the Russian Empire to blossom once more. Azerbaijani étatism surfaced once more on May 28th 1918 under the name Azer­baijan People's Republic. Although the history of Azerbaijani diplo­macy, in keeping with that of the states mentioned above, stretches back centuries, in the modern sense considered as a nation state, its history begins with the founding of the Azerbaijan People's Republic. At the time, Azerbaijani diplomacy faced many tough tasks and numerous problems it had to solve.

July 4 marked the 243rd anniversary of independence of the United States of America. Donald Trump became the first U.S. President in 70 years to address the nation on this occasion and hold a military parade. Heads of state of many countries sent congratulatory messages to the U.S. leader. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev`s letter to his American counterpart grabbed much interest. The U.S. leader earlier sent a letter to President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day. Experts were anticipating the Azerbaijani President`s message. Against a backdrop of President Ilham Aliyev`s letter, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan`s message of congratulation to Donald Trump looks very unnatural. The Armenian leader, in fact, failed to highlight any specific fact. He used general and empty words. This article will therefore provide a deep analysis of President Ilham Aliyev`s views that he expressed in the letter to his American counterpart.

Information warfare refers to attempts to influence public opinion for certain purposes. It may also involve absurd allegations against superpowers. But under current volatile geopolitical conditions, manipulation of public opinion may trigger very unpleasant processes. In this context, allegations made by Armenian experts contain dangerous nuances. In order to make their information warfare persuasive, Armenians make allegations against other countries` officials. But sooner or later the truth comes out. However, in many cases public opinion may be misled. This article will analyze primitive aspects of Armenians` information warfare.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenian held another meeting in Washington, mediated by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The meeting grabbed the media spotlight. But the Armenian side distorted some details of the meeting. Yerevan appears to be losing the sense of logic behind its position. It ether distorts the Azerbaijani side`s views, or invents different lies. Armenia is trying to perpetuate the status quo rather than withdrawing from Azerbaijan`s occupied lands. All these efforts, of course, are doomed to failure. Sooner or later the occupying forces will be expelled from the Azerbaijani lands. This article will highlight the Washington meeting from this perspective.