Tbilisi. The Annual PDP Conference "Building Capacity for Good Governance" has been officially opened at "Sheraton Metechi Palace" Hotel today. The conference within the NATO-Georgia and NATO-Ukraine Professional Development Programmes has been held for the second time, the Georgian Defence Ministry's press-service reports.

Tbilisi. Georgia may be granted NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) in September, a final decision will depend  on the issue whether the Crimea will enter the composition of Russia according  to results of the referendum, the newspaper Kommersant writes in the article "Georgia is Prepared  a Plan with the View to the Crimea", with the reference to sources in NATO Headquarters and the U.S. Department of State.        

Tbilisi. On March 10, Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lithuania, Khatuna Salukvadze, addressed a plenary session of the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), which had been convened to discuss the results of Lithuania's recent presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.   .

Baku. On March 13 former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, will make a report at the Baku conference organized by the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce.

Baku. On 12 March in Moscow  the Russian President Vladimir Putin had a half-hour conversation with leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Jamil. Mediator in the conversation was ex-President Mintimer Shaimiyev.  It can be concluded from an interview of  Putin with Mustafa Jamil that Putin wanted to obtain support of the leader of the Crimean Tatars and persuade him to support the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

 Armenia is one of the few countries where the rights of the Yezidis are respected, says Aziz Tamoyan, the Head of the Yezidi Community in Armenia.

Ukraine, the country that assumed the CIS chairmanship in Jan 2014, is going to leave the Commonwealth, Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andrey Deshitsa said overnight.

"The reason of such intention is the inability of the given integration union to come out as a mediator in conflicts between the Commonwealth member-states," the Ukrainian diplomat said. Kyev has already twice called for a CIS Ministerial Meeting to study the situation in Ukraine and Crimea. 

The meeting that was scheduled for 7 March in Kyev was postponed till  12 March. However, on 11 March the CIS Council of Permanent Representatives met in Minsk. During the meeting the CIS member-states refused to attend the Ministerial in Ukraine. The refusal was assessed by Kyev as an attempt to avoid discussions on the situation in Ukraine and Crimea.

 Mr. Ambassador, your country is going through tough times. It engages the eyes of the whole civilized world. We witness a real information war. What are the underlying causes of the current crisis in Ukraine, which has actually revolted against the ruling power?      

 In 2014 "Areximbank-Gazprombank Group" CJSC will keep actively cooperating with the VISA international system, Deputy Director General of Areximbank-Gazprombank Group Ruben Khachatryan said. 

Mr. Ambassador, how do you see the new reality in the South Caucasus now when some observers began speaking of civilizational divide in the region following Armenia’s refusal to sign the Association Agreement with Europe and its decision to access the Customs Union?

Ameriabank, jointly with Visa International and FIFA World Cup Brazil, has announced a campaign for the most active Visa card holders.  

The Armenian Parliament approved on Wednesday draft amendments to the law on TV and radio prohibiting commercials on Public Television of Armenia.  

Public Interest Group "I'm Against!" seeks to involve more students and teachers of higher educational establishments in the movement against the mandatory accumulative pension system, representatives of the Group said at the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University. 

 Today Armenian parliament approved in the first reading the draft law permitting to air alcohol ads from 10p.m. to 6a.m.. 

 Ukraine assumed the CIS chairmanship in January 2014. The CIS Ministerial Meeting was scheduled for 7 March in Kyev but was postponed due to the ‘right schedule’ of the CIS ministers. Will the change of power in Kyev and uncertain situation in Crimea affect Ukraine’s chairmanship and the perspectives of the CIS?

A number of public figures around the world requested the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 to Akram Aylisli, an Azerbaijani writer "who demonstrated amazing courage in the cause of overcoming hostility between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia", APA reports.

 Armenia needs wide consolidation of the society and the political forces to settle numerous problems, Leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Gagik Tsarukyan said during a meeting with the Armenian National Congress (ANC) representatives. 

On March 11 the Armenian Parliament continued the debates on the bill on amendments to the laws "On Television and Radio" and "On Advertising". The bill implies lifting the ban from the alcohol and tobacco commercials on the television and radio. The bill permits these commercials on TV and radio from 10 pm till 6 am.