Sarkozy doesn’t believe Syria’s Assad is sincereApril 13, 2012 - 11:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday, April 13 that he doesn’t believe Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's declaration of a ceasefire was sincere and that international observers should be deployed to monitor the situation in the country, Reuters reported. "I do not believe Bashar al-Assad is sincere," Sarkozy said. "Sadly I do not believe this ceasefire." Meanwhile, according to AFP, Syria's opposition has called for major protests on Friday, in what would be the first real test of the shaky ceasefire. The hard-won ceasefire appeared to be holding for a second day, after world powers called for swift action to send in UN observers to monitor the fragile truce. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported skirmishes broke out Friday between the army and rebel fighters at Khirbet al-Joz, on the northern border with Turkey, after the military deployed troops and tanks to the area. Violence on Thursday killed at least eight people, including seven civilians, and wounded dozens more, said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitoring group. 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 | About 173 million drams and more than 30 beneficiary funds. "The Power of One Dram" is 4 years old In June 2020, the exclusive joint corporate social responsibility initiative of Idram and IDBank "The Power of One Dram" was launched. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. |