Day: May 6, 2026

“Azerbaijan has earned hundreds of billions of dollars from oil, yet they have not been able to solve even a sewage problem in Baku.”
This was stated by Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), who is currently being held in the detention facility of the State Security Service (SSS).
In a statement released to the public through his family, the party chairman said he is watching with great regret from the SSS detention center as Baku is flooded.
“Almost every day we hear news about rising oil prices. Azerbaijani oil is being sold at a price twice as high as what was planned in the budget. Logically, this should positively affect the lives of our people. However, unfortunately, from our bitter experience we know that rising oil prices do not improve the social condition of our citizens; on the contrary, prices continue to rise and social problems become more severe. The Azerbaijani people do not benefit from oil revenues but suffer from inflation and long-standing social issues.”, Karimli said.

Ali Karimli, chairman of the APFP, and party assembly member Mammad Ibrahim have been under arrest since November 29, 2025. They have been charged with actions aimed at forcibly changing the constitutional order of the state. Their arrests are linked to a broad investigation surrounding former head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev. The opposition and their supporters say the arrests are politically motivated. International human rights organizations and observers have described the arrests as an example of political repression.

In his statement, the party chairman said that the Azerbaijani people do not benefit from oil revenues, but instead suffer from inflation and long-standing social problems:
“Because Azerbaijan’s national resources, especially oil and gas, are used not for the welfare of its people but to enrich a small group. That is why, despite selling oil for decades and boasting of supplying gas to 16 countries, Azerbaijan’s authorities have still not managed to build even a proper sewage system in the capital. All this shows that the Azerbaijani people must first focus on building a state that serves them. Both social and political problems will remain unresolved until the people of Azerbaijan have a government that serves them, is accountable to them, and is formed by them.”
Continuous heavy rains over the past few days have caused serious consequences in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula. Streets, courtyards, and residential homes in several areas of the capital and Absheron district have been flooded. Similar problems have been recurring during heavy rains in recent years. In October 2024, two people died when a tunnel in the Sabunchu district was flooded.
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Algeria’s state-owned energy giant Sonatrach on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, paving the way for future contracts to supply crude oil and refined petroleum products from Algeria to Egypt, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media.

Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha spoke on the phone on May 6, with Tbilisi reporting the conversation was initiated by Kyiv and focused on the “importance of a dialogue,” while Sybiha said the parties agreed on interest in “normalising” relations.

The conversation follows a brief meeting between the top officials of the two countries in Yerevan, and comes as part of what appears to be attempts to restore ties after years of strained relations between erstwhile close allies.

“The discussion focused on Georgia-Ukraine bilateral relations, with emphasis placed on the importance of a dialogue and on further steps in this regard,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on May 6, noting that the conversation took place “at the initiative of the Ukrainian side.”

Sybiha separately wrote on X that the parties “noted the constructive dialogue between our countries and agreed on the mutual interest in normalising the Ukraine-Georgia relations” during the call.

“I was glad to continue our dialogue with my Georgian colleague [Maka Botchorishvili] following our recent contacts in Yerevan,” Sybiha said. “We discussed bilateral relations and interaction within international organizations. We also confirmed our openness to move forward in bilateral cooperation and maintain active contacts.”

Two days before the call, on May 4, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the EPC summit in Yerevan, with Botchorishvili and Sybiha also in attendance. Tbilisi said then that the meeting, lasting for several meetings, was initiated by Kyiv, with Kobakhidze describing the conversation as “friendly” and “interesting,” while Zelenskyy commented on X that “it is important to have dialogue at all levels.”

Relations between Tbilisi and Kyiv have been strained in recent years. What began as unease in Tbilisi over Kyiv’s appointment of Georgian opposition figures, including former President Mikheil Saakashvili, to positions in the Ukrainian government has since widened into a broader rift, deepened by the Georgian Dream government’s controversial stance toward Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine appointed an ambassador to Georgia in January 2026, nearly four years after recalling its diplomat over Tbilisi’s stance following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Also Read:

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• 16/12/2025 – Georgia to Sign Convention Launching Claims Commission for Ukraine
• 19/08/2024 – Ukraine Diplomat Says Kyiv Expects Tbilisi to Make First Step for Restoring Relations