UN-Arab League special envoy to visit DamascusMarch 5, 2012 - 20:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The joint UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, will travel to Damascus on March 10 for his first visit since being appointed to the post, the organisation said on Monday, March 5, Reuters reported. "Kofi Annan told me that Syria will receive him on March 10 and that he would arrive in Cairo on March 7," Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told reporters at the group's Cairo headquarters. Annan was appointed last month as joint special envoy on the Syria crisis. The United Nations says more than 7,500 people have been killed in an almost year-long crackdown on demonstrators against President Bashar al-Assad that was inspired by other 'Arab Spring' uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. Nasser al-Kidwa, a Palestinian diplomat, was appointed on Monday as deputy to Annan and is expected to travel with him to Syria, Elaraby said. Kidwa told reporters in Cairo on Monday that he is hopeful a political solution could be reached in Syria and described his new mission as "very difficult", according to the Palestinian News Agency WAFA. Kidwa, a nephew of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, is a member of current President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement and has previously served as a foreign minister and an envoy to the United Nations. Kidwa was appointed after consultations with Annan and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the League said. 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 | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |