  Annan to visit Turkey amid ongoing Syria crisis March 12, 2012 - 10:24 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria Kofi Annan, who completed talks in Damascus, is expected to visit Turkey on Monday, March 12, Turkish officials said. Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Annan will arrive in Ankara late on Monday and leave the country on Tuesday after having talks with top Turkish officials. Annan, who was appointed special envoy last month, phoned Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and told him that he would like to visit Turkey as part of his tour of regional countries. Davutoğlu said Turkey would welcome his visit. Annan met with embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to discuss the ongoing crisis in the country. In his talks with Assad, Annan made several proposals towards ending the country's yearlong political crisis. He was rebuffed by the President, who rejected any immediate negotiations with the opposition, striking a further blow to already staggering international efforts for talks to end the conflict. Assad told Annan that a political solution is impossible so long as "terrorist groups" threaten the country. UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos was also in Turkey last week and had talks with Davutoğlu over Syria, Today’s Zaman reported.   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 The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity  The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization.Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia.Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty.Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |
