Gaddafi wants negotiations with NATO, rejects calls to leaveApril 30, 2011 - 12:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi said Saturday, April 30, he is willing to negotiate with NATO to bring an end to alliance airstrikes against his country, but rejected calls for him to leave. “Libya is ready until this moment to enter a ceasefire, but a ceasefire cannot be from one side,” he said in a live speech on state TV. Gaddafi said all parties involved in the conflict will have to sign up to one. “Let us negotiate with you, the countries that attack us,” he said in a speech that lasted almost 90 minutes. He also said that the Libyan people will not surrender if NATO powers were not interested in talks, and that his people were willing to die resisting the 'terrorist' attacks. Gaddafi made it clear, however, he will not bend to international demands to leave power after 41 years of rule. “No one can persuade me to leave my country, and no one can tell me that I should not fight for my country,” he said, according to DPA. On Friday, Libyan security forces in Tripoli fired on anti-Gaddafi protesters, activists said, in what were apparently the first demonstrations in weeks inside the capital. Gaddafi's forces also used teargas to disperse the rallies, which broke out in Tripoli's Souk al-Jumaa and Tajura districts. During the two months since rebels began fighting Gaddafi, regime opponents have fled the capital, where fear has reportedly kept people off the streets for several weeks. 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 | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |