Almaty held informal meeting of leaders of seven CIS countriesDecember 19, 2009 - 18:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Presidents of seven countries - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan began informal meeting in hotel "Ak-Bulak" of a suburb of Almaty. As the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said, issues of security and economic integration are to be discussed. Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to talk about "regional security, exchange views on measures to counter emerging threats." In turn, the president of Russia Dmitri Medvedev expressed hope that today's informal summit would "find answers to the questions faced by our countries in this difficult year." 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. |