Turkey's membership in EU cold bring to a clash between France and SwedenMay 30, 2009 - 13:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has canceled a visit to Sweden reportedly because he wanted to avoid a clash with Swedish leaders over their support of Turkey's membership in the European Union.Sarkozy's office said the visit was canceled due to scheduling problems, but French newspaper Le Figaro said on Thursday that the French leader, an outspoken opponent of Turkish accession to the EU, did not want to publicly highlight disagreements over Turkey when he meets with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. On Monday, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told Le Figaro that the EU had "a strategic interest" in Turkey's EU integration and warned against "closing the door" to Ankara, Today's Zaman reported. The leaders of Germany and France, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy denounced the idea of expanding the European Union indefinitely to include new members such as Turkey. "A Europe without borders would be a Europe without identity," the French President emphasized. 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, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. |