Azerbaijan to Finish Church, Renovate Mosque in Serbia

The Azerbaijani government has committed to assisting in the completion of the construction of the Church of St. Parasceva in Novi Sad, Serbia, and the renovation of the Bajrakli Mosque in Belgrade as part of its efforts to promote closer political and economic ties between itself and Serbia. More here.

Bishop of Baku Praises Azerbaijani President

Bishop Alexander (Ishchyein) of Baku and the Orthodox Church in Azerbaijan has defended the religious policies of Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, saying in part that, "Today religion takes its rightful place in society." More here.

Armenian PM Calls on Turkey to Establish Diplomatic Relations with Armenia

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian has called on Turkey to proceed with the implementation of a 2009 agreement to establish full diplomatic relations with Armenia and open their shared border. The Turkish government has refused to formally establish relations with Armenia despite the 2009 agreement on the grounds that Armenia and Artsakh must first resolve their conflict with Azerbaijan. More here.

New Synagogue in Baku

A large new synagogue has opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, with state support. More here.

Azerbaijan Refuses to Allow Mosque, Church Reopenings

Efforts continue to reopen Georgian Orthodox and Evangelical Protestant churches and Sunni mosques that the Azerbaijani government has closed or left closed since the Soviet era. More here.

Artsakh Rejects Azerbaijani Claims of a Ceasefire Violation

The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh has issued a statement rejecting Azerbaijani claims that the Artsakh Defense Army violated the ceasefire between the two states, saying that Azerbaijan is trying to escalate already high tensions between itself and Artsakh. Azerbaijan claims that the Defense Army recently killed an Azerbaijani soldier near the ceasefire zone between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. More here.

Azerbaijan's claims come as relations between Turkey and Armenia move towards normalizing and as Russia renews a push for a long-term peace agreement between Armenia, Artsakh, and Azerbaijan. Should Turkey and Armenia establish normal diplomatic relations the economic situation of both Armenia and Artsakh, an ethnically Armenian republic on the territory of the former Azerbaijani autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, would improve significantly.

Azerbaijan Renews Call for Armenian Withdrawal

Azerbaijan has renewed its call for Armenia to withdraw from its occupation of Azerbaijani territory. Since the conflict over Artsakh (formerly Nagorno-Karabkah) in the late 1980s and early 1990s the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh have occupied roughly 20% of Azerbaijan's territory (that figure includes the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was an autonomous Armenian republic under Azerbaijan during the Soviet era). More here.

Armenia, Artsakh, and Abkhazia in the News

President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia has repeated Armenia's intention not to recognize the independence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Kosovo until the status of the Armenian Republic of Artsakh on the territory of what was Nagorno-Karabakh and southwestern Azerbaijan. Although the governments of Armenia and Artsakh are close the former does not formally recognize Artsakh's independence from Azerbaijan in the hope of resolving the dispute between Azerbaijan and its former region peacefully. More on President Sargsian's statements here.

In other news, representatives of Abkhazia's Armenian minority recently met with President Sergey Bagapsh of Abkhazia to discuss the role of the community in developing the country. More on that here. The Armenian government, despite its reluctance to recognize Abkhazian independence, is active in supporting that country's Armenian minority, as evidenced by its recent donation of Armenian-language books to Abkhazia's Armenian schools.

And lastly, the Russian government has given Abkhazia a loan of $67 million to rehabilitate its railway system, which was damaged during the country's war for independence with Georgia. More on that here.