Izvestia daily: Karabakh status becomes stumbling block at Kazan meetingJuly 8, 2011 - 18:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Failure to sign a road map on Karabakh at Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan meeting in Kazan is the fault of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, who backed out at the last moment. Izvestia daily cited a high-ranking Russian official as follows, “in Kazan, Baku and Yerevan were very close to reaching an agreement. However, at the last moment Aliyev backed out, offering 10 amendments. According to Izvestia, Madrid principles, suggesting determination of final status of Nagorno Karabakh through the free will of local population, of a binding legal force, became the stumbling block. “Karabakh’s fate, as the creators of the road map envisage it, must be resolved at the referendum. There’re no doubts as to the votes of the Armenia majority of Karabaskh, which is the reason for Baku’s issues,” the daily said. 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 | 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 |