Armenian, Georgian Presidents meet behind closed doorsSeptember 30, 2008 - 19:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is currently in Georgia on a formal visit. A meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili behind closed doors was followed by expanded talks.In the evening, the Presidents are expected to make a joint statement. Serzh Sargsyan will meet with parliament speaker David Bakradze. He will lay a wreath to the memorial in Heroes' Square and meet with students and teaching stuff of Tbilisi State University. Besides, he will meet with representatives of the Armenian community of Georgia. Sargsyan and Saakashvili will also take part in the ceremony of laying of the foundation stone of the monument to Sayat-Nova, the Armenian poet who wrote verse in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani and Farsi. 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 to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. 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. |