Annual inflation in Kyrgyzstan reached 11.2 percent in 2021. The bank said that consumer prices rose by 0.9 percent from the beginning of this year.

VTB Azerbaijan reported a net profit of 4.213 million manats ($2.5 million) in 2021, 9.1 percent up from a year earlier.

U.S. President Joe Biden said last week just such an invasion was “a distinct possibility” sometime in February. NATO and Washington have rejected Moscow’s demands outright but have offered further talks on issues such as disarmament pacts and establishing rules for staging military exercises.