Armament drive in Caucasus pregnant with unpredictable consequencesDecember 15, 2008 - 14:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armament drive in the Caucasus is pregnant with unpredictable consequences, the Armenian Foreign Minister said. "Azerbaijan keeps on increasing its defense budget and announcing plans to resolve the Karabakh conflict by the use of force. Any incident at the line of contact can lead to destabilization," Edward Nalbandian said during a joint news conference with OSCE Secretary-General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. At that he remarked that OSCE doesn't give an adequate assessment of Azerbaijan's violations of the CFE norms. For his part, Mr. de Brichambaut emphasized that the OSCE is the forum for resolution of conflicts between the member countries. "Peaceful resolution of conflicts is a common principle for all OSCE member states," he 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 | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |