Serbian President apologizes for Srebrenica massacreApril 25, 2013 - 15:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has offered an apology for his country's role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, RFE/RL reported. In a statement prepared for Bosnian state television, Nikolic said, "I kneel and ask for forgiveness for Serbia for the crime committed in Srebrenica." But he added "genocide needs to be proved." Part of Nikolic's statement has been posted on YouTube. During a meeting with Nikolic in Belgrade on April 23, Bosnian Muslim leader Bakir Izetbegovic called on him to "face up to" Srebrenica so that both countries can move forward. Improved relations with its neighbors in the Balkans is an important condition for Serbia to move closer to EU membership. On April 22, Serbia's government agreed to an EU-brokered deal with Kosovo on normalizing relations. 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 | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |