Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense presented an overview of the events of last week in the form of an informational video.

Rescuers race to find survivors in the rubble after Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey.

The rescue forces of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) have pulled out 26 people, including 5 children alive, as well as 47 dead bodies from rubble in Turkiye’s Kahramanmaras province hit by a massive earthquakes, the Ministry of Emergency Situations told AZERTAC.

Report informs via AZERTAC that the dead bodies were handed over to the Turkish authorities.

Under President Ilham Aliyev’s instructions, a group of rescue forces of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) arrived in Turkiye to eliminate the consequences of the strong earthquake, launching search and rescue operations in the quake-hit areas. The specially trained dogs of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are also involved in the search-and-rescue operations in the quake-hit areas.

The First Deputy Minister of Defense – Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev, inspected the service and combat activities, the organization of the troops’ service and combat duty in several military units.

Report informs citing the Ministry of Defense that thanks to the attention and care of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, all the necessary infrastructure was created here to maintain the combat capability of military units at a high level.

The operational situation was reported to the Chief of the General Staff who visited the combat positions. It was emphasized that combat duty in the Karabakh economic region is conducted by on-duty forces and means provided with modern technical equipment, and that continuous observation of the opposing side is maintained. The Chief of the General Staff set the relevant tasks for the command staff in regard to more qualitative organization and conduct of combat duty.

The Rapid Response Forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) of Azerbaijan, sent to Turkiye on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev to eliminate the consequences of a strong earthquake in the brotherly country and support search and rescue operations, continue uninterrupted activities in the disaster zone, Report informs referring to the press service of the ministry.

The rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as part of search and rescue operations in the Kahramanmaras district, which was significantly affected by the natural disaster, rescued 16 people from the rubble, including three children, also removed and transferred the bodies of 29 people to their destination.

The public will be provided with additional information on the progress of operations.

According to the combat training plan for 2023 approved by the Minister of Defense, practical classes related to the new training period were conducted in the types of troops and military units of the Azerbaijan Army.

Report informs, citing the Ministry of Defense, that in accordance with the plan, the units were trained on withdrawal from the points of permanent deployment on alert.

During the training held with consideration of modern combat experience, units of the Land Forces, Air Force, Naval Forces, Rocket and Artillery Troops interoperably accomplished various tasks.

The main focus of the classes is to further develop the troops’ combat readiness capability in order to immediately suppress possible threats, as well as to ensure durable, uninterrupted, and prompt management of the units.

In accordance with the combat training plan for 2023, sessions on the training of commanders and operators of the section of the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) complex have been held in the Azerbaijani army, Report informs referring to the Defense Ministry.

The crews performed actions on bringing the complex into the firing and marching positions, target marking, aiming and conducting firing.

Practical shooting tasks were successfully fulfilled in order to assess the knowledge and skills of the military personnel, as well as to improve their abilities.

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) gives a thank you speech during the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkiye on March 29, 2022. ©  Cem Ozdel / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Both Moscow and Kiev appeared to have been ready for a ceasefire, Naftali Bennett says FILE PHOTO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) gives a thank you speech during the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkiye on March 29, 2022. © Cem Ozdel / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Peace might’ve been agreed between Russia and Ukraine shortly after the start of the conflict, but Kiev’s Western backers blocked the negotiations between the two neighbors, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who mediated those contacts, has said.

Bennet, who gave an almost five-hour-long video interview to Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday, claimed that his efforts as a middleman came close to succeeding as both Moscow and Kiev appeared to be ready to make concessions and agree to a truce.

It didn’t happen because “I think there was a legitimate decision by the West to keep striking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin… I mean the more aggressive approach,” he said.

When asked by the host if the US and its allies “blocked” the peace process between Moscow and Kiev, the former PM replied: “Basically, yes. They blocked it.”

“I claim there was a good chance of reaching a ceasefire. But I’m not claiming it was the right thing,” he clarified.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted to the revelations by the Israeli politician on Telegram, saying that they were “yet another confession” that the West wasn’t interested in peace in Ukraine.

According to Bennett, his mediation “was coordinated down to the last detail with the US, France and Germany.” After the conflict broke out last February, there was no unified approach on how to deal with it among Western leaders as “[British PM] Boris Johnson adopted the aggressive line; [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz and [French President Emmanuel] Macron were more pragmatic, and [US President Joe] Biden was both,” he said.

Some 17 or 18 drafts of the peace deal between Moscow and Kiev had been prepared with his involvement, the former PM said. Bennet claimed that, among other things, he managed to secure a pledge from Putin that he was “not going to kill [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky,” who feared for his life. The Russian leader was also ready to retract his demand for the demilitarization of Ukraine, while Zelensky promised to give up on his aspirations to join NATO, he added.

All discussion about peace ended on April 1, 2022 when the Ukrainian authorities accused the Russian military of killing civilians in the Kiev suburb of Bucha, Bennet pointed out.

The claim by Kiev – which Moscow rejected and described as being fabricated – came shortly after the two sides held a high-profile meeting in Istanbul and appeared to have been making progress towards an agreement.

Russian and Ukrainian representatives haven’t met at the negotiating table since then. Moscow maintains that it’s ready to resolve the crisis through diplomatic means but says that the peace proposals being voiced by Kiev and its Western backers have so far been unacceptable. (RT)

Fourteen passengers were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in a self-involved fatal road traffic accident that occurred on Saturday at around 10 PM in the Kakwamunyen area in Turkana, Kenya, Report informs via NTV Kenya.

In the incident, an Isuzu truck carrying 26 people overturned and ended up in a culvert on the right side of the road.

The National Police Service claims that the motorist veered to the right to avoid hitting a camel when it crossed the road as he was traveling in the direction of Kakuma.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the motor vehicle was being driven towards Kakuma general direction, and upon reaching the location of the accident, there was a camel that was crossing the road from left to right and the driver swarved to the right to avoid hitting it,” the statement reads in part.

“As a result, the vehicle overturned and landed in a culvert on the right side of the road occasioning the injuries to the passengers and the vehicle extensively damaged,” the statement adds.

The driver lost control of the vehicle as a result of the excessive weight of the vehicle and the passengers inside.

The fatal accident resulted in the immediate deaths of 14 passengers, while 12 passengers sustained various injuries and were taken to the Lodwar County and Referral Hospital for treatment.

Bodies of the deceased were taken to the facility’s mortuary for preservation awaiting autopsy.

In accordance with the combat training plan of Azerbaijan’s Land Forces for 2023, practical shooting exercises were performed with the use of small arms and sniper rifles, Report informs referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The military personnel was informed about the safety rules and classes on improving their theoretical knowledge were held before the shooting.

At the training grounds, the servicemen, having familiarized themselves with the shooting conditions, successfully fulfilled the tasks of bringing weapons into the state of combat readiness, as well as detecting and destroying the targets of an imaginary enemy.

During practical shooting exercises conducted in field conditions, the main attention was paid to improving the ability of military personnel to destroy targets with accurate fire by properly observing the rules of aiming.

In accordance with the combat training plan for 2023, theoretical training classes of the new training period are held in the types of troops, Army Corps, formations, and military units, as well as special educational institutions of the Azerbaijan Army, Report informs, citing MoD.

During the training classes, servicemen are informed about their duties and tasks, the features of weapons and equipment, as well as the rules for their effective use, and safety regulations.

Activities on inspecting the state of combat readiness will be carried out in the military units of the Azerbaijan Army to maintain the troops’ combat readiness at a constant high level during the new training period. After being put on alert, the units will withdraw from the points of permanent deployment and move to the training centers and combined arms ranges.

The 9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting are underway at Gulustan Palace in Baku.

An Azerbaijani was injured in a road accident in Turkiye.

Report informs, citing Anadolu, that a bus crashed into people standing in the parking lot and then into a minibus.

As a result of the accident, 51-year-old Hikmet Kaya died, and Azerbaijani Ahmed Rzayev and several others were seriously injured.

The driver of the bus was detained.

Armenia, having refused Russia to host the CSTO mission, rushed to Europe for help to increase the composition and possible coverage of the temporary EU mission, which is located on the provisional border with Azerbaijan, Director of the Report News Agency Fuad Huseynaliyev told Baku TV, commenting on the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a possible plan to deploy a mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on the provisional Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Report informs.

“Lavrov wants to show that Russia remains committed to protecting Armenia both in allied relations and within the CSTO. Here, it is not about Armenia or its consent, but about the consent of the EU,” Fuad Huseynaliyev said.

He stressed that Lavrov’s proposal to deploy a CSTO mission on the provisional Armenia-Azerbaijan border, in fact, lost any possibility of implementation, because the EU “will not allow Russian observers or the CSTO mission to be nearby, in which there would actually be no representatives of other countries except Russia itself.”

“At maximum, for every 50 observers, there would be 1-2 representatives from other CSTO member countries,” Huseynaliyev said, adding that Lavrov’s proposal was not feasible due to Russia’s complicated relationship with the West.

In order to organize service and combat activities in any weather condition, the necessary activities are being carried out in the military units of the Azerbaijani Army stationed in difficult and mountainous areas, Report informs, citing the Defense Ministry.

As a result of the interaction of the Engineering Troops with other state structures, a total of up to 3,600 km of roads in the direction of Kalbajar, Lachin, and Dashkasan districts were cleared from snow cover throughout January 2023 to maintain the evacuation roads in constant working order, as well as ensure the safe and uninterrupted movement of military vehicle convoys.

Engineering support measures continue in the liberated territories according to the plan.

In accordance with the combat training plan of the Land Forces for 2023, tactical-special training continues in the Operations Commando units, Report informs, citing the Defense Ministry.

In conditions close to real combat, commandos work out by laying a scout trail, overcoming an obstacle course, and other actions.

The tasks of surrounding and neutralizing an imaginary enemy’s sabotage group, resisting in shelters and human settlements, are also successfully fulfilled.

During the training held with the operations commando units, the main attention is paid to the further improvement of the servicemen’s individual abilities and combat skills.