Joint naval exercise likely to be canceled over Ukraine tensionsMarch 13, 2014 - 21:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A naval exercise in the Barents Sea involving Norway, the U.S. and Russia is expected to be canceled because of action that Washington is taking against Russia regarding Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. The biannual Northern Eagle exercise is scheduled to take place in May. But Norwegian Defense Department spokeswoman Marita Isaksen Wangberg said Thursday, March 13, the drill "probably won't go ahead as planned" after the Pentagon froze joint exercises with Russia because of the Ukraine crisis. In an email to the AP, she said that also means a planning conference ahead of the drill has been canceled until further notice. U.S. and Russian warships have been conducting the exercise since 2004 and Norway joined it in 2008. The U.S. has criticized Moscow for backing a referendum Sunday about making Crimea, Ukraine, independent. Related links: Top stories 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". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |