Western countries sought explanations from Russia on the buildup of its forces along the border with Ukraine after Moscow stayed away from a meeting hosted by the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting intended to ease tension in the area.

The assertiveness with which the government of President Ilham Aliyev is purging certain figures suggests a degree of post-war confidence that previous "untouchables" - once too thorny to confront on the backdrop of a war situation - are now fair game.

Fitch Ratings has revised JSC TBC Leasing's (TBCL) outlook to "stable" from "negative", while affirming the company's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' and Support Rating (SR) at '3'.

British oil major BP plans several maintenances on oil and gas platforms in Azerbaijan in 2021. A BP-led consortium produces oil at Azerbaijan's giant off-shore Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oilfields, which account for most of the country's oil production. Another international consortium that is also led by BP produces natural gas at the major Shah Deniz field.