Merkel says won’t step down early![]() July 18, 2014 - 16:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will carry on leading Germany until at least 2017 — dismissing recent speculation that she may step down before her third term is up, the Associated Press reports. Merkel, who won a third four-year term last year, has led Germany since late 2005 and turned 60 on Thursday, July 17. Her birthday has been accompanied by a spate of media speculation that she could choose to quit early. Merkel noted Friday that she ran last year for a full term. She told reporters in Berlin: "People in Germany can assume that I will do what I told them. Everything else (comes) later." Merkel dominates her conservative Union bloc and hasn't cultivated any single obvious successor. She hasn't said whether she would be interested in a fourth term. Related links: ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. 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. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |