Binyamin Netanyahu: Turkish prime minister did not strengthen perception of honest mediatorNovember 16, 2009 - 19:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France is Israel's preferred broker for peace negotiations with Damascus, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the cabinet on Sunday as he rejected Syria's call for Turkey to hold such talks."Israel is ready for talks with Syria without preconditions, ideally direct talks. If there will be a mediator we prefer an honest one. The Turkish prime minister objectively did not strengthen the perception that he could be an honest mediator in recent weeks. I prefer the French," Netanyahu said. Last Wednesday during a meeting in Paris, he asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy to tell the Syrians that he was willing to begin direct talks with them anytime, anywhere and without preconditions. But after meeting with Sarkozy on Friday, Syrian President Bashar Assad rejected Israel's proposal, and said he preferred indirect negotiations brokered by Turkey. Under prime minister Ehud Olmert, Israel and Syria held four rounds of indirect negotiations brokered by Ankara, The Jerusalem Post reported. 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. |