TURKISH FRIEND IN U.S CONGRESS TO BE REPLACED BY PRO-ARMENIAN CONGRESSMAN

Trend
s/foreign/1592649.html
Dec 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Veteran of the faction on Armenian Issues Bill Delahunt will replace
chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe of the U.S. Congress and a
prominent supporter of Turkey Robert Wexler.

Wexler, a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
as well as co-chairman and founder of the Turkish faction will leave
the U.S Congress in late 2009. He will hold the position of President
of the Center for Peace and Economic Cooperation in the Middle East,
the representation of the subcommittee told Trend News.

The subcommittee on Europe monitors U.S. policy towards Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Armenia and other European and Eurasian countries.

U.S Armenians welcome replacement. Delahunt during the last vote in
2007 supported the adoption of the resolution on "Armenian genocide"
in the House of Representatives.

According to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, his priorities in
foreign policy, is to improve U.S-Russian relations and work on common
interests of the United States and Europe, such as energy security
and climate change.

During the last two years, Delahunt protested against rendering
economic and military support to Georgia, objecting to the
confrontation with Russia at the hearings in Congress.

"We still need to restore our ties with Europe," Delahunt said
yesterday, commenting his appointment.

He stressed that the ties between the United States and Europe must
be based on mutual respect and cooperation to counter the global
challenges of the 21-st century.

Congressman Wexler has worked in the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives from the date of his election to Congress
in 1997. Since then he has actively supported the close cooperation
of the United States with a number of countries, including Azerbaijan.

He has recently presented a draft legislative act, which envisages
the cancellation of the Jackson-Vanik amendment towards Azerbaijan.

Abolition of the amendment will normalize trade relations with
Azerbaijan, which is subjected to restrictions of the Jackson-Vanik
as the post-Soviet state.

Wexler thinks that that Azerbaijan, as a strategic partner of the
United States on security and energy, has already fulfilled its
obligations to promote freedom of emigration and the Congress must
abolish the Jackson-Vanik restrictions on the country.

"I strongly support the abolition of the Jackson-Vanik amendment
towards Azerbaijan, one of U.S most important strategic allies in the
Caucasus region, which has fulfilled all obligations to respect freedom
of emigration. It continues to execute them," the congressman said.

As a chairman of the subcommittee on Europe, Wexler worked to
strengthen the transatlantic alliance, establish relations in the
security and economy with the European Union and the European countries
and aid in economic and political development of the former Soviet
Union’s countries.

Wexler will continue his work in Azerbaijan and Turkey holding a new
position of president of the Center for Peace and Economic Cooperation
in the Middle East.

The Center is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1989.

Its main objective is to achieve just and comprehensive peace that
will put an end to military conflicts.

The Center’s activity includes visits to the region, diplomatic
exchanges, the study of public opinion, organizing of conferences