Iran, France concerned over Syria violence with talks set to resumeApril 13, 2016 - 11:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France and Iran voiced concern over escalating violence in Syria on Tuesday, April 12 echoing warnings from the United States and Russia as fighting near the city of Aleppo put more pressure on a fragile truce agreement, Reuters said. The already widely violated "cessation of hostilities" agreement brokered by Russia and the United States has been strained to breaking point by an upsurge in fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels near Aleppo. The escalation underlines the already bleak outlook for peace talks set to reconvene this week in Geneva. The United Nations says the talks will resume on Wednesday. The government delegation has said it is ready to join the talks from Friday. With President Bashar al-Assad buoyed by Russian and Iranian military support, the Damascus government is due to hold parliamentary elections on Wednesday, a vote seen by Assad's opponents as illegitimate and provocative. Iran said an increase in ceasefire violations could harm the political process a day after Russia said it had asked the United States to stop a mobilization of militants near Aleppo, Syria's biggest city until the conflict erupted in 2011. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, speaking after a meeting with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Tehran, blamed the "increasing activities of armed groups" for the violations. France, which backs the opposition, also expressed concern, but blamed the other side. "It warns that the impact of the regime and its allies' offensives around Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta are a threat to the cessation of hostilities," government spokesman Romain Nadal said. The Eastern Ghouta is an opposition-held area near Damascus. Syria's civil war has killed more than 250,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis, allowed for the rise of Islamic State and drawn in regional and international powers. The intervention of Russia swung the war in Assad's favor. Photo: Molhem Barakat/ Reuters 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 | About 173 million drams and more than 30 beneficiary funds. "The Power of One Dram" is 4 years old In June 2020, the exclusive joint corporate social responsibility initiative of Idram and IDBank "The Power of One Dram" was launched. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. |