NATO slams Russia's deployment of Iskander system in KaliningradOctober 10, 2016 - 13:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO on Sunday, October 9 harshly criticized Russia for placing a nuclear capable Iskander missile system in its exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies sandwiched between NATO members Poland and Lithuania, Europe Online said. "The deployment of missiles close to alliance borders that can carry nuclear warheads does not help to lower tensions," a NATO spokesman told dpa. "We need more - not less - transparency and predictability on military activities to avoid incidents and the risk of misunderstandings," he said. Russia admitted on Saturday that for training purposes it had placed Iskander missiles armed with nuclear warheads in Kaliningrad, which was known in Prussian times as Koenigsberg. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said that he suspected that the Russian move is a reaction to the beefing up of NATO defence capabilities in the region. The alliance decided in the summer to send large numbers of troops to the Baltic States and Poland, which feel increasingly under threat of attack by Russia since it annexed Ukraine‘s Crimean peninsula in 2014. 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 | Director General of Ucom takes part in recruiting conference Ralph Yirikian participated in the Recruit Days business and networking conference organized by Move2Career. Ameriabank named Best Bank in Armenia for 2024 by Global Finance Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 31st annual awards. Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. Lavrov rejects Armenia’s “defamation” of Russia, CSTO Lavrov decried the Armenian leaders’ “defamation” of Russian soldiers and border guards deployed in Armenia. |