Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
WHITE HOUSE AGAIN PROPOSES BREAKING PARITY IN
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN MILITARY ASSISTANCE
— Proposes 49% Reduction in Economic Aid to Armenia
WASHINGTON, DC – The Bush Administration, in its FY2008 federal budget,
has proposed a 49% cut in aid to Armenia, and is – once again – seeking
to break the agreement it struck with Congress more than five years ago
to maintain parity in military aid levels to Armenia and Azerbaijan,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The President’s budget recommends cutting U.S. economic aid to Armenia
from the FY2006 actual level of $69 million to a proposed FY2008 level
of $35 million. The budget proposal does not include any specific
assistance figures for Nagorno Karabagh.
The proposed military aid cuts come in two broad categories, Foreign
Military Financing (FMF) and International Military Education and
Training (IMET). The proposed FY2008 FMF figure for Armenia is $3
million, a cut of $960,000, fully 30% less than the proposed FY2008
figure for Azerbaijan of $4.3 million. The President is seeking only
$300,000 in IMET for Armenia, down $538,000 from FY2006, a dramatic
cut of 64%. In sharp contrast, the White House is proposing that
Azerbaijan receive $1 million in IMET, a considerable increase
over their FY2006 level of $823,000 and more than three times the
IMET levels being proposed for Armenia. Overall, the President’s
budget proposes 38% less in U.S. military aid for Armenia than
for Azerbaijan.
"We are troubled, once again, both by the President’s breach of
his agreement with Congress to maintain parity in military aid
appropriations to Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as by the drastic cut
that he is proposing in economic development assistance to Armenia,"
said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look to our friends
in Congress to help restore military aid parity and to substantially
increase aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh that reflect
Armenia’s growing partnership with the United States, as well as
the shared values and enduring friendship between the American and
Armenian peoples."
The Foreign Operations Subcommittees of the Senate and House
Appropriation Committees will now review the budget and each draft
their own versions of the FY 2007 foreign assistance bill.
The agreement to maintain parity in U.S. military aid to Armenia and
Azerbaijan was struck between the White House and Congress in 2001, in
the wake of Congressional action granting the President the authority
to waive the Section 907 restrictions on aid to Azerbaijan. The ANCA
has vigorously defended this principle, stressing that a tilt in
military spending toward Azerbaijan would destabilize the region,
emboldening the Azerbaijani leadership to continue their threats to
impose a military solution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. More
broadly, the ANCA has underscored that breaching the parity agreement
would reward the leadership of Azerbaijan for obstructing the peace
process, and undermines the role of the U.S. as an impartial mediator
of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
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