The Azerbaijani opposition Musavat Party stated that the unity of the real opposition parties, which refused to participate in the presidential elections, would be established soon.
“Real opposition’s cooperation will take place by the elections and will continue after the elections. It will be in the form of coalition or another form, depending on the consultations to be held on the issue,” Isa Gambar, the chairman of the Musavat Party, said to Trend News on 15 August.
According to Gambar, different political forces sounded initiatives and claims to create cooperation of the forces, which refused to participate in the elections. Musavat party’s position has been sounded on this issue as well.

The Azerbaijani political scientists believe that Georgia and Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will not cause collapse and inefficiency of the organization. “Georgia and Ukraine’s activity at the CIS was of formal character and these countries did not seriously approach the organization,” Hikmat Hajizade, a political scientist, said to Trend News on 15 August.
The CIS was established in 1991 with the participation of 12 former Soviet countries. The Blatic countries, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, refused to join the CIS.
The Georgian Parliament made a decision to withdraw from the CIS on 14 August. A draft law on Ukraine’s withdrawal from the organization was included in the Ukrainian Parliament’s agenda. The Ukrainian legislative body will discuss the draft law on 1 September after return from holidays.

Azerbaijani opposition Umid Party considers that non-participation of most opposition parties in the presidential elections cannot cause negative response amongst international organizations.
“I dare say that international organizations will not state that the elections took place in non-alternative conditions,” Igbal Agazade, presidential contender from Umid party, told Trend News.
So far, 12 contenders have submitted their documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to participate in the presidential elections.
Parties consider that non-participation in the elections will cause an opinion that the process was held in non-alternative conditions.
Agazade said that international organizations hold consultations with Umid regarding the elections. “Perhaps, international organizations will clear their positions regarding the most Azerbaijani opposition parties took a decision not to participate in the elections.

On 15 August, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris.
Effective development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States was mentioned at the meeting, the U.S. Jewish community’s important role in further development and strengthening of the relations was stressed.
At the meeting underscored was creation of all conditions for free operation of the Jewish community residing in Azerbaijan. /Trend/
Azerbaijani opposition presidential contender fulfils registration conditions.

Pardoning Commission reviewed about 100 requests at its meeting on Friday. The commission sources told APA half of the requests had been positively evaluated. It was decided to hold several meetings more because of huge number of the requests.
There are hundreds of requests to be reviewed. The commission will report to the president about the results of investigation. The next pardoning decree is expected to be signed in the near future.
Last pardoning decree was issued on March 18 this year.

One more man has been nominated for Presidency. APA reports that Editor-in-Chief of Varlig newspaper, one of the founders of Varlig Organization, head of Center for Legal Economics and Social Researches Agaevli Ali Isa (Ali Haji) has today appealed to the Central Election Commission. Thus, the number of the persons, who put forward their candidacy for presidency, reached 15.
Ali Haji told APA that he did not represent any political organization.

Taking into account shortage of medicines as a result of the conflict in Georgia, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev gave instructions to the Health Ministry to give humanitarian aid to this country.
Spokesman for Health Ministry Anar Gedirli told APA that five vehicles loaded with 400 kinds of medicines and medical supplies had been sent to Georgian Health Ministry. 25-ton humanitarian aid worth AZN 400,000 mainly includes medicines used in intensive care, traumatology and surgery. Necessary high-quality medications used in other spheres have also been sent to Georgia, which has faced shortage of medicines.

Azerfon LLC (Nar Mobile trade mark) has recently discovered a false information on its roaming partnership in one of the web sites related to mobile communications: www.gsmworld.com, said Azerbaijan’s mobile operator in a press release.
An Armenian mobile operator has announced a roaming agreement with Nar Mobile, which do not reflect the actual facts. Azerfon LLC has appealed with an official complain letter to the web site management based in UK and the USA.
In the response from the site management it says that the information will be changed within in the shortest time.

Azerbaijan has sent a statement to the Universal Postal Union about the state of postal services in the occupied territories of the country.
Mushfig Amirov, Press Secretary of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, said the statement was presented during the 24th Universal Postal Congress will be held from 23 July to 12 August 2008 in Geneva (Switzerland).
The statement highlights a challenge to prevention of the issue of illegal postage stamps in Nagorno Karabakh.

“Georgia’s territorial integrity should be respected while determining the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint press conference with Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev in Sochi, APA reports. Dmitriy Medvedev said status of these territories should be determined by the peoples living there and Russia had to agree with that decision as a guarantee of security in the Caucasus. He added that Russian peacekeepers would be a guarantee of status chosen by the Abkhazian and South Ossetian peoples.