Why did Russia cut off air communication with Azerbaijan?
Invader in Ukraine Russia At a time when the evacuation of Azerbaijanis under heavy bombardment by the army was one of the main concerns, problems arose for our compatriots living in Russia. Yesterday, all Russian airlines (Aeroflot, Ural Arilines) and s.) announced that it would suspend flights to most foreign countries indefinitely. Federal of Russia The weather Due to the risks arising during international flights on the recommendation of the Transport Agency Russia Airlines will not fly to Azerbaijan.
Shortly after this news, Azerbaijan The weather Yollari ”(AZAL) CJSC stated that, “Azerbaijan The weather Ways ” and Buta Airways will start operating on March 6 at 08:00 trustmost Russia It stops all flights to the cities of the Federation. “The situation, as well as international aviation insurance in connection with the sanctions imposed and due to recent changes in the reinsurance market. These changes are Azerbaijan’s national also affected the performance of the aircraft carrier. AZAL in the current situation and Insurance companies must analyze the situation in detail, all negative and evaluate the positive effects, investigate all possible changes in their policies “– is stated in the statement of AZAL.
Moscow Ismayil Hasanov, who is engaged in trade, told Pressklub.az that, The suspension of flights was unexpectedly bad news for Azerbaijanis. According to him according toTo Russia snowThe sanctions have created serious problems in the country, trade is about to stop, and the ruble has fallen sharply. As a result, many Azerbaijanis began to return to the country: “I had a ticket for March 14, the airline announced that, there will be no flight. We do not know how it will be, we are very worried. We do not know whether the tickets will be returned or changed to the date of the flight. It is also impossible to return to Azerbaijan by land, because of a pandemic according to land borders are closed.
I. Hasanov adds that, Our compatriots currently working in Russia are in a miserable situation: “Most foreign companies are leaving the country, jobs are closing fast, and markets are not getting goods from abroad,” he said. Sharp inflation Yes, the ruble is depreciating, there is no point in making money. Everyone is trying to leave. “
Political scientist commented on the situation to Pressklub.az Elxan Shahinoglu said that, Russia has cut off air communication with various countries, including flights to Azerbaijan:
“There is a mass exit from Russia, most likely, Putin of this flow snowwants to cut the tire. But this creates double problems for Azerbaijanis living in this country. First, our compatriots will have difficulty sending money to their families here. Because the Central Bank while informally banning interventions, it restricts the flow of money out of the country. Second, Novruz HolidayOn the eve of the holiday, our compatriots will not be able to visit their relatives, they will suffer. I assess this as indirect pressure on Azerbaijan. How can there be flights to Armenia, Russian authorities advise citizens to travel to this country as tourists. So, in a different attitude to Azerbaijan political We need to look for elements of pressure. “
Economist Togrul Mashalli says that, The Azerbaijani government must take a pragmatic approach. “It simply came to our notice then that, our economy is not that big and we are not able to influence the parties. But we can take advantage of the situation. Many people are now fleeing both Ukraine and Russia. If people in Ukraine are fleeing the effects of the war, in Russia the reasons are a bit different. This is not to support the war and That is why there is a fear of repression, but also a lack of conditions to work under the current sanctions. “– stressed the economist.
T. Mashalli notes that, At present, those who have a visa to Europe in Russia travel to Finland by train, while those who do not have a visa fly to Armenia, Turkey and Serbia. For example, the number of flights to Yerevan increased from 13-14 to 37-40 during the day. By the way, most of those who fly to Yerevan also use it as a transit route to either Georgia or Turkey:
“But Azerbaijan has been left out. It is true that there were flights to Azerbaijan, but most of the visitors used Baku as a transit point. In general, their number was much smaller than in Georgia. In my opinion, if our government was pragmatic, it would create conditions for the arrival of both Russians and Ukrainians in the country. For example, many of those fleeing Russia are members of the “creative class.” Among them, the share of IT professionals is high. There are some comfortable conditions for them in Baku. Because in terms of the Russian language, school for children, the opportunity to communicate and s. Taking advantage of the situation, it would be possible to invite them to Azerbaijan and create conditions. It is known that, There is not enough work for IT workers. But most of the people working in this market work “remotely”. The main reason for going to Georgia is the opportunity to work there remotely. You do not need a visa or a special document to stay there. At the same time, you can easily open an account in the bank. But this is not the case in Azerbaijan. ”
Says the economist that, If they come to Azerbaijan, they will both reduce prices in the relevant market and attract enough funds from abroad: “I’m not talking about the side effects yet. The same applies to culture and various service sectors. Most of these people are fleeing Russia. We, as a country, can use this to contribute to the non-oil sector. Or at least as a tourist. But it seems that Azerbaijan will not use this situation for the sake of “balanced foreign policy.”
Turqut