Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2007
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: kpanosyan@aaainc.org

ADMINISTRATION BUDGET CALLS FOR $35 MILLION FOR ARMENIA
RENEWS MILITARY IMBALANCE WITH AZERBAIJAN

Assembly calls proposal fundamentally flawed

wASHington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today called the
Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget request fundamentally
flawed with respect to funding levels for Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh. It also protested the Administration’s renewed call for
military aid disparity between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which only
serves to undermine stability in the South Caucasus.

"The request for asymmetrical military assistance to Armenia and
Azerbaijan not only runs counter to what Congress has appropriated
in previous years, but also sends the wrong message to Armenia, an
important U.S. ally," said Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director of the
Armenian Assembly

Ardouny further stated that the Armenian Assembly will seek to
reverse this proposal and ensure parity. In its FY 2008 Budget,
the Administration proposed boosting Azerbaijan’s military financing
over Armenia’s by $2 million. In previous years, through the combined
efforts of the Armenian-American community and the Assembly, Congress
ultimately ensured security aid parity.

The Administration’s 2008 funding proposal for Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) calls for $4.3 million for Azerbaijan and only $3
million for Armenia. The proposed budget also suggests $1 million
for Azerbaijan versus $300,000 for Armenia in International Military
Education and Training (IMET) assistance.

The FY 2008 budget also recommended $35 million for Armenia in Freedom
Support Act (FSA) funding to "help implement economic and democratic
reform and fight corruption. FSA assistance will complement major
MCC resources for agricultural development."

"The House of Representatives last week approved FY 07 funding for
Armenia at the 06 level – nearly $75 million. This budget request
therefore represents more than a 50 percent reduction in assistance.
This is simply unacceptable," said Ardouny. "Further, despite
ongoing funding by Congress, the Administration fails to recommend
any assistance to Nagorno Karabakh. We will work with Congress to
correct the glaring deficiencies in the Administration’s request,"
Ardouny continued.

Today’s announcement is the first step in a lengthy process. The
next step is for the House and Senate to review the Administration’s
request through committee hearings, the first of which will take
place later this week when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

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