Ali Babacan: six-sided talks on Karabakh to start soonApril 30, 2009 - 12:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan said six-sided talks on Nagorno Karabakh conflict with participation of U.S., Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia will start soon. Babacan said all actions taken by Turkey in Caucasus satisfy Azerbaijani interests. "Turkey is interested in Karabakh conflict resolution and the world's attention to this process is rising. Negotiations will start in several weeks, but dates of joint discussions on regional issues will be identified once all six countries - U.S., Russian, Switzerland, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia - come to agreement on these through diplomatic channels. We seek normalization of relations not only between Turkey and Armenia, but between Baku and Yerevan as well," Turkish media cited Babacan as saying. Tigran Balayan, head of the Armenian MFA media relations division, told PanARMENIAN.Net that Armenia got no offer to participate in talks mentioned by the Turkish Foreign Minister. 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 | Armenia named European U18 chess vice-champion The U18 chess team of Armenia won the title of vice-champion of the European Team Championship. Iran says change in presidency won’t affect ties with Armenia Ambassador Mehdi Sobhani made the remarks when speaking to reporters at the Iranian Embassy. Congress draft bill condemns Azerbaijan for Karabakh ethnic cleansing The bill condemns Azerbaijan for perpetrating ethnic cleansing against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. MEPs issue statement to defend Armenia-France military cooperation The deputies emphasized that having an army armed with combat and modern military equipment is the sovereign right of any country. |