Armenia vs Azerbaijan

Armenian President Serge Sargsyan has appealed to Azerbaijan to sign a non-aggression pact which he hopes would prepare the ground for continued talks about the future of Nagorno Karabakh - an Armenian enclave which declared its independence from Azerbaijan in the wake of the 1992 Soviet breakup.

In an interview with Euronews Sargsyan said that non-use of force is an underlying principle of international law, which holds the key to a lasting settlement of the long-running territorial dispute.

In an earlier conciliatory move towards Baku, the Armenian leader said he was ready to accept the modified Madrid Principles of solving the conflict. Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev responded by saying the negotiations were already in their final stage but insisted on the return of all Karabakh territories and the withdrawal of the Armenian forces stationed there.

All this meaning that Armenia is ready for a compromise, to give back the areas around Nagorno Karabakh it seized during the brief war of the early 1990s, and also to give the region a temporary status as stipulated by the Madrid agreements the Armenian and Azeri president were handed during the 2007 OSCE summit.

Simultaneously, President Sargsyan reiterated his country's longstanding premise about the people of Nagorno-Karabakh having every right to self-determination, adding that Karabakh was artificially appended to Azerbaijan during the Soviet times and Armenia could not just give it up.

"In Moscow Carnegie Center expert Alexei Malashenko does not believe the conflict will be settled any time soon. An economically successful Azerbaijan sees itself as a South Caucasus superpower, which can use its enormous material, human and military potential to achieve its goals - hence its consistent refusal to give any ground on the Nagorno Karabakh issue".

At the same time, Malashenko does not think a new war is imminent because neither Russia nor Europe will let it happen. Neither will Turkey, which 17 years ago broke off diplomatic relations with Armenia precisely over Nagorno Karabakh. Which means that the international community should show maximum understanding for the two sides' positions on the issue, no matter how different they may be, and work hard to get the settlement process going.

Russia, both independently and as part of the OSCE, plays an active mediatory role here having already hosted several trilateral summits to deal with the matter. In 2008 Russian, Armenian and Azeri presidents signed a declaration underscoring their shared desire to resolve the conflict on the basis of international law. The latest such meeting was in January in Sochi where the sides agreed to offer their own proposals in addition to those made in Madrid.

5 Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya

Militants have killed five Russian soldiers in the troubled North Caucasus region of Chechnya, officials say.
The gunfight broke out on Thursday night in forested mountains south-west of the region's capital Grozny, Russia's interior ministry said.
Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said six more soldiers were wounded in the skirmish against some 15 militants.
Unrest continues in Chechnya despite Russia saying last year normality had returned after a decade-long campaign.
The troops' platoon commander, the section commander and a sniper were among those killed, in one of the worst single incident death tolls suffered by Russian security forces in recent months.
Five insurgents were also killed in Thursday night's gunfight, according to pro-Moscow officials in Chechnya.
Russian forces have fought two wars against separatists in the mainly Muslim republic of Chechnya since 1994. The conflicts claimed more than 100,000 lives and left the region in ruins.
Although Chechnya has in recent years been more peaceful, sporadic violence continues, and President Dmitry Medvedev says violence in the North Caucasus remains Russia's biggest domestic problem.
In recent years the fighting has spread to nearby Dagestan and Ingushetia, where correspondents say a violent Islamist insurgency is growing.

Russia signs new military doctrine

MOSCOW -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed the country's new military doctrine regulating the stance the country takes in conflict situations.
The doctrine, which Russia is adopting through 2020, does not include a provision for pre-emptive nuclear strikes, as officials had previously suggested might have been present.
The document says Russia reserves the right to use nuclear force in response to a nuclear attack or one of equivalent magnitude.
Russia's conventional military forces are in dilapidated shape, increasing Moscow's dependence on its Cold War-era nuclear arsenals.
The expansion of Western military alliance NATO is named first in a list of main external threats to the country.

Nevsky Prospect - Russia breaks up protest with riot police

Russia breaks up protests with riot police

Russian police broke up anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Sunday, and detained more than 100 demonstrators, including several opposition leaders.
In Moscow, several hundred demonstrators gathered in a central square, defying a ban imposed by authorities.
They denounced the policies of President Dmitry Medvedev and his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin, who continues to wield broad powers as Russia’s powerful prime minister.
Protesters shouted “Shame!” and “Down with Putin!” as Moscow police in riot gear pushed them into buses. Police quickly dispersed a similar rally in St. Petersburg, detaining most of several dozen protesters who gathered on a downtown Nevsky Prospect. Some of the demonstrators were beaten with truncheons.