Interfax
July 2, 2004
Baku concerned over U.S. planned aid for Nagorno-Karabakh
Baku. (Interfax-Azerbaijan) – The Azerbaijani authorities are concerned
over U.S. plans to provide the self-proclaimed republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh with financial assistance.
“It is not ruled out that this money will be spent on house
construction projects in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories as part of
Armenia’s illegal policy aimed at providing its people with
accommodation in the seized Azerbaijani districts,” reads an
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press release.
“Azerbaijan would like to know how the United States is going to ensure
that these funds are spent on exclusively humanitarian projects and in
compliance with international law,” the document says.
The U.S. Congress has recently approved an initiative submitted by its
sub-committee responsible for providing international assistance to
allocate $5 million for Nagorno-Karabakh as part of its aid program for
the 2005 budget year.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister fears that this assistance might have
a negative effect on settling the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and another seven
neighboring districts as a result of a 1990s conflict with Armenia over
ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE Minsk Group, comprising the
United States, Russia, and France, has been helping the two countries
put an end to their disputes.