Germany to sign G20 statement on SyriaSeptember 7, 2013 - 17:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Germany will sign a Group of 20 statement supported by 10 nations calling for a strong international response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday, Sept 7, according to Reuters. "After we saw this excellent and very wise position of the European Union, the (German) Chancellor (Angela Merkel) and myself decided that we support now the G20 statement," Westerwelle said. While the statement called for a strong international response, it fell short of supporting military strikes on Syria that U.S. President Barack Obama is considering. Earlier, the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU's 28 nations agreed that available information seemed to show strong evidence that the Syrian government perpetrated a chemical attack in August. Ashton was speaking at the end of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where they discussed the situation in Syria and Europe's response. France is one of the few Western allies supporting a possible strike. President François Hollande hopes to get European leaders to coalesce around a summit statement Friday denouncing the Assad regime over chemical weapons. "It's really important that the Europeans present at the G-20 are on the same page in condemning the use of chemical arms and condemning the regime that used them," Hollande said. British Prime Minister David Cameron said that UK scientists have found evidence that poison gas was used in the alleged attacks. In an interview with BBC television, Cameron said that the evidence "further shows the use of chemical weapons in that Damascus suburb." Despite the ‘new evidence’, Britain will not join a U.S.-led military strike as the UK parliament voted down a bid by Cameron for military intervention. China has already expressed its "grave concerns" over unilateral military strikes. 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 | 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. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |