BILL TO BAR ASSISTANCE FOR RAILWAY BYPASSING ARMENIA INTRODUCED IN U.S. SENATE

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.03.2006 21:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As Armenian Assembly activists stormed Capitol Hill
topromote community concerns to over 80 congressional offices today,
Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced
a major bill (S. 2461) in the U.S. Senate that would bar assistance
for a proposed $800 million railway that would connect Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Turkey while bypassing Armenia, reported the Armenian
Assembly of America. “United States policy in the South Caucasus seeks
to foster regional stability and enhanced cooperation, and includes
open borders and transport corridors,” Santorum said. “The proposed
rail link would not only undermine U.S. long-term goals for the region,
but serves to isolate Armenia.

Efforts to foster economic integration and reduce the risk of further
tensions are in the best interests of the United States and the South
Caucasus.” Menendez, echoing Santorum, added that “the sole aim of
this costly project is to further isolate Armenia by enhancing the
ongoing Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades.”