German Chancellor opposes granting NATO membership to Ukraine and GeorgiaMarch 11, 2008 - 14:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled she opposes granting North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership to former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia."A country should become a NATO member not only when its temporary political leadership is in favor but when a significant percentage of the population supports membership," Merkel said in Berlin in reference to Ukraine and Georgia. "Countries that are themselves entangled in regional conflicts, can in my opinion not become members," she added after talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Kyev and Tbilisi are expected to use the NATO military alliance's April 2-4 summit in Romania to confirm that they are candidates to join the alliance but their chances of securing a formal invitation seem remote. Ukraine's leaders have asked to join NATO's Membership Action Plan, but public opinion at home is largely against the move, the AFP reports. Merkel's remarks came just a few hours after Georgia's foreign minister, Davit Bakradze, told journalists in Tbilisi that there was not a single NATO member-state "openly declaring its opposition to Georgia's NATO membership." He did, however, acknowledge that there was no consensus within the alliance about when to extend MAP to Georgia and Ukraine. In Georgia, the public is largely in favor of NATO membership, but the alliance was made uneasy by the state of emergency the government imposed in December to end opposition protests. 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 | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |