Serbians voting in presidential run-offMay 20, 2012 - 18:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbians are voting on Sunday, May 20 in a tense run-off presidential election pitting pro-western reformist Boris Tadic against his conservative opponent Tomislav Nikolic, RIA Novosti reported. The first round of the election was held on May 6, with Tadic gaining a slight advantage of 10,000 votes or 0.26 percent over Nikolic. This time one of the candidates has simply to gain the majority of votes to win the election. Tadic, who has already served two terms in office, stepped down on April 6 in order to take part in the election and announced his candidacy for re-election on the same day. He has said the May 20 presidential run-off is a referendum on whether Serbia is headed to the EU membership. Tadic is unpopular with nationalists, who blame him for Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008. Tadic has made a number of political concessions including permission for Kosovo to take part in multilateral international meetings as a separate entity. Many analysts described the move as “semi-recognition” of the region’s independence from Serbia. 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 | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |