Military magazine: Azerbaijan is in the process of purchasing Israeli air defense systems

Defense Industry Europe magazine, which specializes in defense affairs, reported that Azerbaijan “is in the process of purchasing Israeli Barak MX air defense systems as part of a deal worth $1.2 billion.”

Europe magazine, where the Israeli Aerospace Industries Company (IAI) presented a presentation of the capabilities of the Barak MX system earlier, and the tests included multiple launches of interceptor missiles from different versions of this system.

Barak MX is a mobile air defense system capable of protecting against missiles of various modifications, as well as against airborne objects such as aircraft, helicopters and drones. The system includes 3 types of interceptor missiles with different ranges: up to 35 km, up to 70 km, and up to 150 km. The system can be installed on ship platforms.

According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in the years 2018-2022, Azerbaijan was one of the main importers of weapons from Israel (Azerbaijan’s share is 9.1% of Israeli arms exports).

Estonian Prime Minister Kallas is looking for a position and hopes to be Secretary General of NATO

Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas has expressed her desire to become the next Secretary General of NATO.

This came in an interview with a journalist from Politico newspaper on the sidelines of the Politico Defense Summit, where she said: “I heard a joke that the next Secretary General of NATO should be from a member state in the alliance, and it has been in the alliance for twenty years, and certainly "From a country that spends 2% of GDP on defence, it would be great if it were a woman. It makes sense, it can be sold."

The broadcaster replied: “How clear, how clear! Do you want your candidacy to be considered?”

Callas replied : “Yes.”

Regarding her alliance policy, Callas called on NATO “not to fall into Russia’s trap,” as she said that her presence in the position of Secretary-General of “NATO” would enable the West to confront Russia, and she stated that it was unlikely that the Ukrainian conflict had “reached the path of "Dead-ended." She pointed out that such statements were made "in defense of Russia's interests," and said: "Let us not fall into this trap."

Analysts believe that Callas has recently been trying to search for a fat position that would keep her at the forefront of the European and Western political scene in general, especially with her lack of chances to maintain her current position following the resounding scandal that revealed her husband’s economic relations with Russia despite the sanctions.

The Kremlin: The meeting between Biden and Xi is a sovereign right

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the upcoming meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, confirmed that such meetings are held between leaders of countries, and that they are the sovereign right of every country.

He said: “Countries build bilateral relations and this is their right, and every such meeting between the two largest economies in the world is important for everyone, and therefore we will monitor the meeting, and whether there are any expectations, and we will monitor the messages that the meeting will come out with.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and is expected to meet  US President Joe Biden .

APEC is an economic trade forum that includes 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region. This year’s forum summit will be held from November 11-17 in San Francisco, California.