YEREVAN: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called on Azerbaijan to begin consultations on signing a peace treaty, a text of which the arch-foe Caucasus neighbors agreed upon last week.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars for control of Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated region of Karabakh, at the end of the Soviet Union and again in 2020, before Azerbaijan seized the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.
Both countries have repeatedly said a comprehensive peace deal to end their long-standing conflict is within reach, but previous talks had failed to reach consensus on a draft agreement.
On Friday, the two countries said they had wrapped up talks on resolving the conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
“The draft of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement has been agreed upon and awaits signing,” Pashinyan said Thursday in an English post on Telegram.
“I propose Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to begin joint consultations on the signing of the agreed draft peace agreement.”
The deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkiye all jostle for influence.
Baku has made clear its expectations that Armenia remove from its constitution a reference to its 1991 declaration of independence, which asserts territorial claims over Karabakh.
Any constitutional amendment would require a national referendum that could further delay the treaty’s finalization.
Pashinyan has recognized Baku’s sovereignty over Karabakh after three decades of Armenian separatist rule, a move seen as a crucial first step toward a normalization of relations.
Armenia also last year returned to Azerbaijan four border villages it had seized decades earlier.
Nearly all ethnic Armenians — more than 100,000 people — fled Karabakh after its takeover by Baku.
Washington, Brussels and European leaders such as France’s President Emmanuel Macron have welcomed the breakthrough. They have all tried to play a mediating role at various times in the conflict.
Armenia urges Azerbaijan to sign peace deal after talks conclude
https://arab.news/94cm6
Armenia urges Azerbaijan to sign peace deal after talks conclude
- The two countries fought two wars for control of Karabakh region until Azerbaijan seized the entire area in September 2023
Greenland leaders lambast US delegation trip as Trump talks of takeover
- The delegation will visit an American military base and watch a dogsled race
- Delegation will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance
The delegation, which will visit an American military base and watch a dogsled race, will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and include White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Greenland’s outgoing prime minister Mute Egede called this week’s visit a “provocation” and said his caretaker government would not meet with the delegation.
“Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely,” Egede told local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “But that time is over.”
The Greenlandic government, Naalakkersuisut, is currently in a caretaker period after a March 11 general election won by the Democrats, a pro-business party that favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats, called for political unity and said the visit by the US delegation during coalition talks and with municipal elections due next week, “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people.”
Waltz and Wright plan to visit the Pituffik space base, the US military base in Greenland. The White House said they will get briefings from US service members there.
They will then join Vance to visit historical sites and attend the national dogsled race.
Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the US team is “confident that this visit presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self-determination and advances economic cooperation.”
“This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history, and people and to attend a dogsled race the United States is proud to sponsor, plain and simple,” Hughes said.
Trump has made US annexation of Greenland a major talking point since taking office for a second time on January 20. Greenland’s strategic location and rich mineral resources could benefit the US It lies along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.
The governments of both Greenland and Denmark have voiced opposition to such a move.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment reacting to news of the visit that “this is something we take seriously.” She said Denmark wants to cooperate with the US, but it should be cooperation based on “the fundamental rules of sovereignty.”
She added that dialogue with the US regarding Greenland would take place in close coordination with the Danish government and the future Greenlandic government.
WHO calls for immediate action as report shows 10% rise in child TB infections in European region
- WHO’s European region reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023
- Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3 percent of all TB cases in the European Union
Tuberculosis (TB) infections among children in the European region rose 10 percent in 2023, indicating ongoing transmission and the need for immediate public health measures to control the spread, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
WHO’s European region, which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023, an increase of over 650 cases compared to 2022.
“The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile,” said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe.
Askar Yedilbayev, regional TB adviser for WHO’s European region, said in an interview that a rise in overall cases might indicate improved diagnoses. However, it could also result from increased cross-border movement due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the two countries with the highest disease burden in the region.
Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3 percent of all TB cases in the European Union, a joint report by the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed.
This shows an increase in cases in this age group for the third consecutive year, which Yedilbayev said was a “worrisome scenario.”
WHO has previously warned that funding cuts from global donors will undo progress in controlling TB infections across low- and middle-income countries. These cuts can hurt TB programs in non-EU countries, fueling a rise of hard-to-treat strains, the agency said.
Several local, on-ground workforces have been hurt from the funding cuts, and the supply of diagnostics and treatments remains at risk, said Yedilbayev.
TB, among the top 10 causes of death worldwide, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through coughing or sneezing.
South Korea authorities deploy choppers, troops to battle wildfire
- Four people have been killed so far, with officials warning that high winds and rising temperatures were hindering efforts to put out the blazes
- The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, citing ‘the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country’
SEOUL: South Korean authorities said Monday they would deploy dozens of helicopters and thousands of firefighters and soldiers as they struggle to control multiple wildfires in the southeast, which have been burning for days.
Four people have been killed so far, with officials warning that high winds and rising temperatures were hindering efforts to put out the blazes.
In Uiseong, nearly 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of land has been affected and around 600 people evacuated, Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, told a press briefing.
“A total of 57 wildfire fighting helicopters are to be deployed to extinguish the fire,” he said, adding that more than 2,600 firefighting personnel – including soldiers – would be mobilized “to respond with all their might.”
The fire had been partly contained but was still burning as of Monday afternoon.
The forest agency has issued “severe” fire warnings, its highest level, in multiple locations, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan and Daejeon.
A major wildfire claimed four lives over the weekend in Sancheong county, in South Gyeongsang province, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Seoul.
That fire was also partly contained by Monday – but still burning.
The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, citing “the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country.”
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was reinstated as acting president earlier Monday, visited the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, urging authorities to work together “until the wildfires are completely extinguished.”
“It is a truly heartbreaking incident,” he said, adding that he would meet people affected by the fires later Monday.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, urged authorities to “mobilize all means at their disposal to quickly and safely suppress the fires” and take further measures to prevent any additional wildfires.
Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.
Other phenomena such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors.
Interior minister: 199 migrants deported from US arrive in Venezuela
- Live footage showed young men in sweatsuits walking off the plane, which landed outside the capital Caracas
- The flight comes after Venezuela announced it had reached an agreement with Washington to resume repatriation flights
MAIQUETIA, Venezuela: A plane carrying 199 migrants deported from the United States arrived early Monday in Venezuela, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said.
“Today, we are receiving 199 compatriots,” he said at the airport. “We are ready to receive Venezuelans wherever they are.”
Live footage showed young men in sweatsuits walking off the plane, which landed outside the capital Caracas. Some of them were smiling and clapping as officials looked on.
The flight comes after Venezuela on Saturday announced it had reached an agreement with Washington to resume repatriation flights from the United States.
The deportation pipeline was suspended last month when US President Donald Trump claimed Venezuela had not lived up to a deal to quickly receive deported migrants, and Caracas subsequently said it would no longer accept the flights.
Russia launches third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US
- Latest attack came ahead of Russia-US talks in Riyadh to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea
KYIV: Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv, wounding one person and damaging several houses in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital, a Kyiv’s regional governor said on Monday.
A 37-year-old person received shrapnel wounds in his upper body and head, governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram messaging app.
“The person has been hospitalized,” Kalashnyk said.
Late on Sunday, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, Russia’s attack injured a 54-year-old woman and damaged windows of multi-story and residential buildings, the region’s administration said on Telegram.
The attacks came after a Ukrainian delegation met with US officials for peace talks in Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Russia-US talks there on Monday to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
The United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hopes to reach a broad ceasefire in the war by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.
But despite the peace push, both sides have been reporting continued strikes.
The full-scale of the overnight attack was not immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts several hours starting late on Sunday, according to Ukraine air force maps.
