NATO Does not View South Caucasus as Area of Competition with RussiaNovember 22, 2005 - 13:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "We cooperate extensively with Russia. We cooperate with Russia in many issues, including the Southern Caucasus issue," special representative of the NATO Secretary General to South Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simmons stated, when asked whether positions of Moscow and Brussels coincided on the Southern Caucasus. In his words, the Alliance does not regard the Southern Caucasus, as any other region, as "an area of conflict, or competition" with Russia, as "we have good relationships with Russia." Thus, there should not be any conflicting issue between Brussels and Moscow, i.e. between NATO and Russia. When commenting on the conflicting information over establishment of US armed bases in Azerbaijan, Robert Simmons said, "To best of my knowledge, the United States is not going to establish its armed bases in the Southern Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, or any other country of the region. Washington delivers assistance on multilateral and bilateral basis. But I've never heard that the United States was going to station operative armed forces in the Southern Caucasus," reported Trend agency. 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 | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |