ST. PETERSBURG (Combined Sources)–Russia’s Defense Minister announced on Wednesday that members of the Commonwealth of Independent States have agreed to conduct joint air defense exercises next summer. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov’s announcement came during the 55th meeting of CIS defense ministers in St. Petersburg, reported Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Serdyukov said the exercises,…
Sarkisian Travels to Bishkek for CIS Summit
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–President Serzh Sarkisian was in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday for a CIS Heads of State meeting that resolved to combat the global financial crisis by combining the forces of the eleven ex-soviet states forming the loose commonwealth of independent states. "A decision was made today to create a working group…
Speculation Grows as Russia Sponsors New Round of Karabakh Talks
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a trilateral meeting with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on Friday to discuss details of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace accord proposed by Russia and other international mediators, raising speculation as to whether a possible Karabakh settlement is in the works. The meeting took place on the sidelines of…
CIS Summit Suspends Peacekeeping in Abkhazia; No talk of Recognition
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (Combined Sources)–The Commonwealth of Independence States foreign ministerial meeting taking place in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek passed on Thursday a resolution to withdraw peacekeepers from Abkhazia, forgoing, for the time being, discussion on the recognition of Abkhazian and South Ossetian Independence. “At our proposal, a formal, technical decision was passed on the…
Baku Denies Likelihood of New Armenian, Azeri Meeting on CIS Sidelines
BAKU (Armenpress)–Azeri Preident Ilham Aliyev’s Foreign Policy Chief on Wednesday denied the possibility of a meeting between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers on the sidelines of an upcoming session of the Foreign Ministers Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to be held in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Thursday. “Official Baku…