Iran to host Syrian national dialogue meeting next weekNovember 13, 2012 - 20:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran, the closest ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will host a Syrian national dialogue meeting next week, Reuters reported citing the official IRNA news agency. "The slogan of this one-day meeting will be 'no to violence, yes to democracy'," IRNA quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying. "Aside from representatives from different ethnic groups, political parties, minorities and the opposition, there will also be representatives from the government at the meeting," Abdollahian added, without giving further details. There was no indication that the Syrian National Coalition, a newly formed umbrella opposition group led by moderate Sunni Muslim cleric Mouaz Alkhatib, would attend the talks in Tehran. The mainstream Syrian opposition rejects any dialogue with Assad, except possibly on the terms of his departure. 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. |