Pro-Armenian move from US congressional body
A US congressional body has called for more economic
assistance to Armenia.
The subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the Senate Committee on Appropriations suggested raising the amount of aid from $30 million offered by the White House to $48 million in 2010. Moreover, under pressure from the subcommittee`s pro-Armenian members, it supported allocating $10 million in direct assistance to the self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic, though the US government earlier recommended not alloting any financial aid to the separatist regime next year.
The US administration has allocated aid worth $8 million to Upper Garabagh for 2009.
Upper Garabagh is an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted some one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Years of peace talks have brought few tangible results.
Aram Ambarian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, went as far as saying that the Armenian lobby would work with the Senate to increase aid to Armenia to $70 million.
The subcommittee`s decision has no legal power. Discussions on the draft law will now continue in both chambers of the US legislature - the Senate and the House of Representatives, with a final decision expected this fall.
MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev, the chairman of the United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, has opposed the proposal by the US Congress to again allocate economic assistance to the self-proclaimed republic.
"The United States is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan, therefore it is definitely necessary to express our protest, on behalf of the parliament, at this country`s support for separatists," Hasanguliyev told a Milli Majlis session on Friday.
The MP said the U.S., which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, along with Russia and France, both supports Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and aids Garabagh separatists, terming its actions as inconsistent.
"If the US Congress will be providing such assistance to the occupying regime, how will they be able to achieve a solution to the Garabagh problem within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan?" Hasanguliyev asked.
He added that the issue should be mulled in the appropriate parliamentary committee and lawmakers should adopt a statement countering such actions.
The subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the Senate Committee on Appropriations suggested raising the amount of aid from $30 million offered by the White House to $48 million in 2010. Moreover, under pressure from the subcommittee`s pro-Armenian members, it supported allocating $10 million in direct assistance to the self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic, though the US government earlier recommended not alloting any financial aid to the separatist regime next year.
The US administration has allocated aid worth $8 million to Upper Garabagh for 2009.
Upper Garabagh is an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted some one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Years of peace talks have brought few tangible results.
Aram Ambarian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, went as far as saying that the Armenian lobby would work with the Senate to increase aid to Armenia to $70 million.
The subcommittee`s decision has no legal power. Discussions on the draft law will now continue in both chambers of the US legislature - the Senate and the House of Representatives, with a final decision expected this fall.
MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev, the chairman of the United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, has opposed the proposal by the US Congress to again allocate economic assistance to the self-proclaimed republic.
"The United States is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan, therefore it is definitely necessary to express our protest, on behalf of the parliament, at this country`s support for separatists," Hasanguliyev told a Milli Majlis session on Friday.
The MP said the U.S., which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, along with Russia and France, both supports Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and aids Garabagh separatists, terming its actions as inconsistent.
"If the US Congress will be providing such assistance to the occupying regime, how will they be able to achieve a solution to the Garabagh problem within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan?" Hasanguliyev asked.
He added that the issue should be mulled in the appropriate parliamentary committee and lawmakers should adopt a statement countering such actions.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
Subscribe
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!