Arab League delays meeting on joint military force formationAugust 26, 2015 - 17:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Arab League has postponed a meeting of member state defense ministers who were scheduled to ratify a protocol for a new joint military force to intervene in troubled areas in the region, the organization said in a statement Wednesday, Aug 26, according to the Associated Press. Arab League countries will decide later on a new date for the meeting, which had been scheduled for Thursday, the statement said. Members had formally announced the agreement in March, and drafted a protocol for it in May. The delay comes as the idea of an Arab joint force is already being tested in Yemen, where an ad hoc Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition has been targeting Iran-backed Shiite rebels and their allies. Experts say a new force would have difficulty reaching consensus on intervention in cases like Libya, where different Arab countries support rival parties. Members already reportedly disagree over whether the force should be headquartered in Cairo, the home of the Arab League, the AP says. Qatar and Algeria reportedly object to the location. Qatar, a wealthy Gulf nation with huge reserves of natural gas, and Egypt, which has the Arab world's largest standing army, have been at odds since the military overthrew Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who Qatar backed. Countries that requested the Thursday meeting be postponed include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq, according to the statement. Defense ministers of member states would run the force, with a two-thirds majority required to make decisions. Military plans would be left to the member states' top generals. 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 | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |