AAA REQUIRES PARITY IN U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE

news.am
Oct 27 2009
Armenia

The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) urges U.S. Congress to
maintain parity in security assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan, and
requests $4.3 million in Foreign Military Financing, and $1 million
in International Military Education Training assistance to Armenia,
AAA press release reads Oct. 26.

According to the conditional waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM
Support Act, any assistance provided shall not "undermine or hamper"
the Nagorno Karabakh peace process or "be used for offensive purposes
against Armenia" or any "Armenian community in the Caucasus region."

The paper reads, "Specifically, the conditional waiver stipulates
that President must consult with Congress prior to the provision of
any assistance, and report to Congress ‘in detail’ on ‘the nature
and quantity’ of such assistance, its impact on the ‘military balance
between Azerbaijan and Armenia’ and negotiations over Karabakh.

Finally, there is an understanding between the Administration and
Congress to ensure military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Providing asymmetrical military assistance to Azerbaijan violates
the will of Congress, subverts the short- and long-term U.S. policy
goals for the South Caucasus region, and will only serve to legitimize
Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockades against Armenia and Karabakh, thereby
making its position at the negotiating table even more intransigent.

In fact, Azerbaijan continues its unabated war rhetoric against
Armenia, despite U.S. demands to cease such provocative actions.

Rather than heed U.S. and European Union calls for cooperation with
Armenia, Azerbaijan has rejected Armenia’s numerous proposals for
economic and regional confidence-building, and has instead dramatically
increased its military spending to levels that nearly equal Armenia’s
entire national budget.

Given Azerbaijan’s escalating military expenditures, we encourage
Congress to carefully monitor military assistance given to Azerbaijan,
through other assistance programs, such as the Caspian Guard
initiative, to ensure that the principle of military and security
parity is maintained throughout all funding areas."