Russia to continue assisting CIS states in futureMay 18, 2009 - 20:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will continue assisting those CIS member states which faced most hardships during the crisis RF FM Sergey Lavrov said Monday, in an interview with "Itogi" journal. "In the meantime, we'll focus on CIS states as our closest neighbors," the Russian diplomat added."We have already allocated considerable sums to Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia," Lavrov noted. "We are planning to work towards realization of those goals, and have allocated USD 7.5 billion to EurAsEc anti-crisis fund which possess a total sum of USD 10 million." As regards the crisis impact on Russia-West and Russia-US relations, it may really be positive in terms of pushing US and West to a more constructive platform in their relations with Russia," the Minister is convinced. Such cooperation not only contributes to elaborating a positive agenda but also helps build mutual trust, skills and culture required for dialogue and mutual cooperation." "No wonder that things have taken such turn. Common sense shows that artificially politicized issue are pushed to the background in times of crisis, and all parties recognize common interests," Russian FM confirmed. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 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". Partner news | Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Great success”: Pashinyan pleased with new border protocol Pashinyan has described the signing by Armenia and Azerbaijan of a protocol on delimitation in Tavush as “a great success”. Armenia, Azerbaijan sign protocol on demarcation coordinates Armenia’s government took on May 15 another step towards handing over four border areas to Azerbaijan. Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children |