NATO’s membership invitation to Montenegro may fuel tensions: Russia May 20, 2016 - 15:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Kremlin on Friday, May 20 condemned NATO's membership invitation to Montenegro, saying the step risked fuelling geopolitical tensions in Europe, Reuters reports. "In general, our stance is that NATO's further expansion is a negative process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "This process yields nothing from the point of view of European security." "On the contrary, this process risks further increasing tensions on the continent." NATO formally invited Montenegro to become its 29th member on Thursday, a decision that must still be approved by the U.S. Senate, as well as the military alliance’s other 27 parliaments and Montenegro’s own parliament.  Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims  Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed.Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham).Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |
