Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 5 2008

US State Department says Armenia is a country potentially vulnerable
to money laundering and terrorist financing schemes

[ 05 May 2008 11:24 ]

Washington. Husniyya Hasanova `APA. The Office of the Coordinator for
Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State has issued Country
Reports on Terrorism 2007, which contains keen opinions about Armenia,
APA US Bureau reports.

The Armenia Report says: "Armenia’s warming relations with neighboring
Iran continued, with Armenia hosting official visits by Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in October and Iranian Defense Minister
Musrafa Mohammad Najjar in November. In addition to fostering closer
diplomatic ties, these visits served to solidify previous bilateral
commitments to develop joint energy and transportation projects. This
closer cooperation has made Armenia more reluctant to criticize
publicly objectionable Iranian conduct or join other UN member states
in advocating for sanctions on the Iranian regime. Although Armenia
continued to strengthen its counterterrorism capabilities and enhanced
its counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and other
international security organizations, its geographic location, porous
borders, and loose visa regime still provided ample opportunities for
traffickers of illicit materials, persons, and finances. Furthermore,
endemic governmental corruption, a significant organized crime
presence, and a large shadow economy made the country potentially
vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing schemes."

Earlier White House and State Department stated that they were
thinking about sanctions against Yerevan for its suspicious relations
with Iranian officials.