NATO: Georgia, Ukraine not ready to join the AllianceDecember 1, 2008 - 17:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO is expected to encourage Georgia and Ukraine to pursue reforms needed to eventually join the alliance but stop short of offering formal roadmaps at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on Tuesday.At an April NATO summit held in Bucharest, France and Germany, worried about the reaction of key energy supplier Russia, blocked Membership Action Plans (MAP) - also called roadmaps - for the former soviet states, Reuters reports. However, under U.S. pressure, NATO leaders promised them eventual NATO membership and to review their cases in December, though Germany's Foreign Minister said his position had not changed since Bucharest. Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier told business daily Handelsblatt that Georgia and Ukraine and not ready to join the Alliance. "We gave Georgia and Ukraine a NATO prospect, but also stressed both don't yet satisfy conditions for joining. We will help, but I see no reason just now to go beyond what was agreed then," he said in an interview in the paper's Monday edition. "Internal political problems in Ukraine have increased if anything, and the attitude toward NATO certainly hasn't become more positive," Steinmeier added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also a strong opponent to accession of the two former soviet states to NATO. 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 | IDBank issues 2nd tranche of dollar bonds of 2024 On May 13, 2024, IDBank placed registered coupon bonds under the abbreviation AMANLBB2PER9. Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. |