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Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev visited Berlin on Tuesday, 21 July. He met German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the two signed a Joint Declaration on the Strategic Agenda for Bilateral Partnership. In the Joint Declaration, Azerbaijan and Germany confirm their mutual desire to deepen bilateral partnership and cooperation based on mutual trust and coincidence of interests in various fields. They recalled their respect for each other’s state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, reaffirm their common commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and other international legal instruments promoting peace and security. The two sides welcomed the historic progress in Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, in particular the outcomes of the Washington Summit of August 8, 2025, and the subsequent peaceful steps taken towards the normalization of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia. The Federal Republic of Germany reaffirms its full support for the efforts of the two countries aimed at achieving lasting peace in the region. The Parties underline the strategic importance of the Azerbaijan-European Union (EU) partnership and note the increased cooperation aimed at further deepening political dialogue and practical cooperation. They also underline the importance of adopting the updated Azerbaijan-EU Partnership Priorities and making full use of the existing dialogue mechanisms between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the EU. The Parties also highly appreciate the efforts to strengthen cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU Member States. (click image to read more).

A Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, carried out a live-fire artillery exercise just 46 miles (74km) south of Plymouth on Monday, as Andy Burnham was taking office as the new British prime minister. The Royal Navy monitored the exercise and is tracking "the vessel's activity closely", a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. The BBC has been told that, prior to opening fire, Russian frigate Neustrashimy (English: Dauntless) had informed the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Tyne, of its intention to conduct gunnery activity. Newly appointed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the exercise "performative and irresponsible". The Kremlin has signalled there was no link between the exercise and Andy Burnham taking office as prime minister. "All [military] exercises and all actions undertaken by our warships are carried out in strict compliance with international and maritime law," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told BBC News. "Therefore, there is no need to see any signals in this," he said. However, Peskov added that Burnham had sent signals to Russia, saying: "One of the first things the new British prime minister did as he took office was to declare his unconditional support for Ukraine and, accordingly, declare the UK's intention to continue doing everything it possibly can to continue the war."