Plebiscite outcomes hardly to speed up Georgia's accession to NATOJanuary 12, 2008 - 15:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The plebiscite outcomes will hardly speed up the process of Georgia's accession to NATO, said Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs."Certainly, the opinion of the population is always taken into account but membership is first of all granted to states meeting NATO criteria. Fir his part, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said that Georgia's accession to NATO mostly depends on Pres. Saakashvili. "If he preserves the principles of a legal state and allows the opposition to appeal the results of the elections, the United States will support Georgia for NATO membership. If he keeps up the methods he used to apply during the recent months he will leave the Bucharest summit empty-handed," Mr Fried said. At a referendum on January 5, 72,5% of Georgian electors voted for joining NATO. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 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". Partner news | Politico: Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Azerbaijan in 2018-2022 Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Armenia’s enemy even though both countries were supposedly allies in a defense pact. Armenia Security Council chief to attend Ukraine peace summit Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will take part in the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. Armenian govt. approves ratification of EAEU-Iran free trade deal At a meeting on Friday, June 14, the Armenian government approved the ratification of an EAEU free trade agreement with Iran. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State to arrive in Yerevan Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma will travel to Yerevan, Armenia from June 17-19 to. |