Future of South Caucasus and Its Neighbors conference due in IstanbulJanuary 12, 2009 - 18:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On January 17 and 18, the UK Consulate in Istanbul will host an international conference titled "The Future of South Caucasus and Its Neighbors," which will bring together state figures and experts from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, EU and U.S. U.S. Co-chair of the OSCE MG Group, Ambassador Matt Bryza, EU Envoy for South Caucasus Peter Semneby and LINKS Executive Director Dennis Sammut are also expected to attend the conference. The discussions will focus on inter-ethnic conflicts, including Nagorno Karabakh, the Russian-Georgian relations in the context of European security and other regional geopolitical issues, 1news.az reports. 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 | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |