Israel to release Palestinian prisoners amid revived talksJuly 20, 2013 - 15:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A senior Israeli official says some Palestinian prisoners will be released as part of the new breakthrough by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in efforts to restart Mideast talks, according to AP. Israel's intelligence and strategic affairs minister, Yuval Steinitz, told Israel Radio on Saturday, July 19 that some "hardcore prisoners" will be released. This has been a long-standing Palestinian demand. Steinitz says the Mideast talks will re-start without other Palestinian demands such as settlement freeze or defining 1967 lines as borders ahead of negotiations. It was the first Israeli comment since Kerry announced on Friday night that the two sides will meet soon in Washington to formalize an agreement on relaunching peace talks that collapsed in 2008. Kerry said Israel and Palestinian negotiators should be going to Washington soon to hold initial talks. 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 | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |