U.S., Bulgaria, Romania start naval drills in Black SeaMarch 12, 2014 - 12:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A joint naval exercise of U.S., Bulgarian and Romanian naval forces in the Black Sea has started, the Bulgarian navy said on Wednesday, March 12, according to Reuters. The USS Truxtun, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer with about 300 crew and part of the U.S. Sixth Fleet headquartered in Italy, joined the maneuvers with Bulgarian naval frigate Drazki and three Romanian vessels in the Black Sea. "This time the exercise has begun as planned," Lieutenant-Colonel Dimitar Titev told Reuters. The drills were delayed by one day on Tuesday due to bad weather. Bulgarian Defence Minister Angel Naydenov said that the Ukrainian ambassador to Sofia, Mikola Baltaji informed him that a joint BLACKSEAFOR naval exercise, that was to be led by Ukraine between March 28 and April 15, was cancelled. Related links: 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 | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. India wants Armenia’s proposals on use of Chabahar port India is expecting proposals from Armenia regarding the use of Chabahar port in Iran, Indian ambassador says. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. |