Senior U.S. official to negotiate missile defense in MoscowOctober 11, 2011 - 11:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A senior U.S. negotiator with Russia on missile defense will hold a round of talks in Moscow on October 11-14, the U.S. Department of State said. “Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security will be in Moscow from Oct 11-14,” the State Department said in a statement. “During her visit she is scheduled to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov to continue discussions on missile defense cooperation.” Russia and NATO have agreed at a Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon in November 2010 to work on the missile shield but NATO wants it to be based on two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability. Moscow also demands legally binding guarantees that NATO missile defense systems will not be directed against it. NATO insists that such guarantees are unnecessary. "We suggested that the best way for the Russians to see and understand the ballistic missile defense system is cooperation," Tauscher said when in Romania, where Washington is planning to deploy its SM-3 interceptor missiles as part of the European missile shield. The European missile shield issue is widely considered a tester for the future of Russian-U.S. relations, especially in light with the upcoming general and presidential elections in both countries. 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 | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |