Moody's took rating actions on five banks in Azerbaijan, affirming their short-term ratings and assessments.

Kazakhstan plans to make changes to the Central Asian country's electoral legislation, easing requirements for political parties and introducing direct voting at the local municipal election, in a move to liberalise its political system.

President Joe Biden told Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin the US stood by its “unwavering” support for Ukraine in defending its territory against a build-up by Russian troops, as tension between the superpowers skyrockets.

Though officials cite their reasoning based on reducing greenhouse emissions - and Azerbaijan is a signatory to the Paris accords - a slow but gradual decline in oil and gas export revenues makes the transition a necessity.