European Championship in Croatia

Azerbaijani table tennis players have reached the quarter-final of the European Championship in Croatia. The junior men’s team progressed to the quarter-final after beating Greece in playoff, and Romania in round of 16. The women’s team defeated Bulgaria in playoff and Germany in round of 16. The team will next face Spain.

On Palestine in the distance…

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic world “has been diverted away from the issue of Palestine” due to schism, terrorist presence in the region, and compromises. To achieve an ideal Palestine, there is no way but unity among Muslims and resistance against terrorist groups, Rouhani was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying July 1 at a Quds (Jerusalem) Day demonstration in Tehran. He added that security is one of the ideals for the region’s Muslims. “One of the best ways to secure the region is that Muslims live in their own lands,” said Rouhani. Iran marks the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan as Quds Day each year. On this day, people rally across the country and shout mottos in support of Palestine.

Sergey Lavrov will visit Azerbaijan in early July after his trip to Armenia

Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Azerbaijan in early July after his trip to Armenia, where he will take part in the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers. “Firstly, the minister will take part in the Collective Security Treaty Organization's Council of Foreign Ministers, to be held July 4, and then he will visit Azerbaijan,” RIA Novosti quoted Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin as saying June 30. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan-US ties…

On June 30, the United States Secretary of State John Kerry phoned President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. They discussed recent work on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They noted that the Vienna and Saint Petersburg meetings gave a new dynamics to the negotiations. The US Secretary of State and the Azerbaijani President discussed prospects of the talks to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Successful development of Azerbaijani-US ties was hailed during the phone conversation. They also exchanged views over future cooperation prospects.

Before G20 summit

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ready to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia before the G20 summit, RIA Novosti quoted Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying July 1. Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone conversation June 29. Putin informed his country’s Cabinet of Ministers that after receiving a letter from Erdogan June 27, it was decided to start the process of normalization of relations with Ankara. Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to Putin June 27 over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident. Erdogan said Turkey "shares the pain of the downed Su-24 pilot's death with his family" and "sees it as Turkey's pain". The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the Su-24 bomber incident. Following the incident, Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on taking measures for ensuring the country's national security and special economic measures against Turkey.

İn Sochi to normalize ties

Mevlut Cavusoglu became the first Turkish minister to visit Russia since the November 24 crisis began when Turkey downed a Russian plane that violated its airspace, according to Anadolu Agency. Cavusoglu held a private meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Rus Hotel, where the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting is taking place. In remarks made to the media before the meeting, Cavusoglu highlighted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's letter and phone call to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, moves which he termed as "positive". "We have been ordered to follow topics discussed during conversations between the two presidents in order to take the relations on a desired level," he said. The two top diplomats, who last met on Dec. 3 in Belgrade during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting, later held their private talks, which lasted 36 minutes.

“İn France some still support Armenians”…

“After I visited the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex and a mass cemetery here, I regret that in France some still support Armenians,” said French researcher Yves Benard as he visited the complex with other participants of the round table “Armenian terror and Azerbaijani multiculturalism” in Baku. The French researcher said that he was shoked by what he saw at the cemetery. “A terrible picture. I will study the evidence that I saw here and do my utmost to make the truth known to the world,” Benard added.

Nagorno-Karabakh that remain unfilled…

As earlier reported, the 47th plenary session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) General Assembly was held in Moscow, Russian Federation. According to Jala Aliyeva, a member of Azerbaijan’s delegation to the PA BSEC General Assembly, the participants have discussed the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the question of refugees and IDPs in member countries. The Azerbaijani MP spoke of Armenian military aggression against Azerbaijan, as a result of which more than one million of Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons. She said she highlighted the four UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh that remain unfilled, adding that Azerbaijan will do everything possible to ensure the return of refugees and IDPs to their homelands. The Azerbaijani delegation comprises deputy chairman of Milli Majlis committees Eldar Guliyev, Musa Guliyev, Jala Aliyeva and MPs Chingiz Ganizade and Aflatun Amashov.

The price of oil fell in the world markets

The price of oil fell in the world markets. On the New York Stock Exchange NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) cost of the US Light crude oil decreased $0.93 to stand at $48.41. Price of the Brent crude oil at the London ICE (InterContinental Exchange Futures) fell $0.18 to trade at $49.84. The price of a barrel of Azeri Light crude oil decreased $0.42 to stand at $50.56 on the world markets.

The traditional international tournament started

Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers will compete in the traditional international tournament dedicated to the memory of five-time world champion Ali Aliyev to be held in Makhachkala, Dagestan from July 1-3. Azerbaijan`s squad will include 23 freestyle wrestlers.