Frozen conflicts thaw calamity for South CaucasusNovember 3, 2008 - 15:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The status quo in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is not static. The recent events in Georgia proved that it's not secure either, International Alert's current Secretary General Dan Smith during an Armenian-Azeri conference in Brussels."Thaw of frozen conflicts would be a calamity for the South Caucasus states. War is a defeat of both sides," he said. "Not only people but also communications and pipelines vital for region suffer in armed conflicts." "The goal of International Alert is to prevent armed conflicts in the Caucasus, what is possible though a dialog between publics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh," he added. For his part, Phil Champain, Director of Programs (Asia and Eurasia), said that the Georgian clashes proved the need to intensify talks on Karabakh. 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. |