US AID TO KARABAKH NOT ASSISTANCE TO SEPARATIST REGIME
news.az
Dec 18 2009
Azerbaijan
Terry Davidson The $8m allocated in aid to Nagorno-Karabakh by the
US Congress in the 2010 budget is humanitarian aid, a US embassy
official has said.
"We do not recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh republic," Terry Davidson,
public affairs officer at the US embassy in Baku, told 1news.az today.
"As for the assistance by Congress, the United States is helping
the population, not the government. This is humanitarian assistance
aimed at projects such as mine clearing. These projects are carried
out by NGOs. Certainly, the United States also allocates assistance
to internally displaced people in Azerbaijan. We would like to note
that we have supported efforts on large-scale mine clearing, built
new schools for IDPs and tried to improve their living conditions
through different projects in the past," he said.
The US House of Representatives and Senate approved a package of
economic support which offers $22 million in aid to Azerbaijan, $41
million to Armenia and $8 million to the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
regime in 2010.
Yesterday the Azerbaijani ambassador to the USA handed a note to the
US State Department, expressing Azerbaijan’s concern at Congress’
allocation of aid to Karabakh.