UN chief: “door may be closing” for Israeli-Palestinian peaceSeptember 25, 2012 - 19:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday the "door may be closing, for good" on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the continued growth of Jewish settlements undercuts peace, Reuters said. "The two-state solution is the only sustainable option. Yet the door may be closing, for good," Ban told the UN General Assembly. "The continued growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory seriously undermines efforts towards peace. We must break this dangerous impasse." In an apparent reference to recent comments by Israeli, Iranian and U.S. officials, Ban also told the 193-nation assembly at the opening of its annual gathering of world leaders that he rejected threats of military action by one state against another. While he did not specify which countries he was talking about, after criticizing Israeli settlement building, Ban told the assembly: "I also reject both the language of delegitimization and threats of potential military action by one state against another. Any such attacks would be devastating." On the question of Syria's 18-month conflict, Ban said the world must "stop the violence and flows of arms to both sides, and set in motion a Syrian-led transition as soon as possible." "The international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control," he said. "Brutal human rights abuses continue to be committed, mainly by the government, but also by opposition." 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 | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |