Finland to promote Turkey’s “marriage” with EUMarch 30, 2011 - 12:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Finnish President Tarja Halonen said Finland supports Turkey's European Union membership talks, adding that her country will continue to promote Ankara's accession. "We do not know why some countries are so hesitant about Turkey's EU membership. You should continue with the negotiations. The EU will be bigger and stronger with Turkey," Halonen told a joint press conference with her Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Halonen said the accession process has never been easy for any of the EU members, adding that candidate countries should focus on the membership itself instead thinking of when it will happen. "The candidate countries usually wonder when they will become a member. But the important thing is the marriage not the wedding. The important thing is to get prepared for the marriage," Halonen said. She said Finland and Turkey work together in the Council of Europe and in the United Nations, adding that the two countries could also cooperate in trade, specifically in the field of renewable energy, Anatolian Agency 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 | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |