Iran: Tehran, Moscow, Ankara should decide new Astana Talks membersFebruary 18, 2019 - 18:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran says Tehran, Moscow and Ankara should decide if other countries can join Astana Talks that are seeking a solution to end the war in Syria, IRNA reports. “There were many countries that sought to join the process after they saw the talks success,” Bahram Qasemi, Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesman at a press conference on Monday, referring to trilateral negotiations between Iran, Russia and Turkey on Syria’s future that are going on in the Kazakh capital. “However, due to some certain situations, it wasn’t possible to accept new members. At the end, it’s up to Iran, Russia and Turkey to decide if observer members can participate in the talks or not,” he emphasized. “We have a positive view that Syria’s neighbours and other regional countries join the talks in Astana,” he said. However, the diplomat stressed that the trio should decide between themselves which countries can joint the talks as observer members. Astana talks are tripartite initiative that were launched in January 2017. 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 | Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. |