Aliyev says Azerbaijan's accession to EU is impossibleDecember 24, 2019 - 12:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday, December 23 that the European Union won't accept his country as a member. Keeping "brotherly" Turkey waiting for European Union membership is a "big injustice," Aliyev said, adding that some former Soviet Union countries became members of the EU while they were neither more developed nor more prepared to join the bloc. "So why did they accept them but did not admit Turkey? The answer is obvious. Because Turkey is a Muslim country. Now they clearly say that," Hurriyet cited him as saying. He stressed that in this case, the EU would not accept Azerbaijan as a member either. Referring to Azerbaijan's relations with and integration into Europe, Aliyev said "I think we have taken steps to integrate into Europe. There is no need for new steps, and these steps will not yield results." He reiterated that his country is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, adding this is a "form of European integration." 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 | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |