U.S. CONGRESS OPENS HEARING ON CAUCASUS REGION TODAY
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.06.2008 13:18 GMT+04:00
On June 18, the House Foreign Affairs Committee members will focus,
in an exercise of their oversight responsibilities, on the opportunity
to question State Department officials on U.S. policy regarding Armenia
and the surrounding area, the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) told PanARMENIAN.Net.
Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Dan Fried will testify before
the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday June 18th at 10:00am
EDT regarding U.S.
policy toward the Caucasus region. Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and
his fellow Committee members will be focusing on a wide range of issues
including the ongoing blockade of Armenia, U.S. policy on the Armenian
Genocide, and foreign aid. Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Nabi Sensoy
recently denied the existence of a Turkish blockade, arguing that
there are many Armenians who serve as "nannies" to Turkish children.
The World Bank estimates that Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockades of
Armenia reduce Armenia’s GDP by up to 38% annually.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), along with Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA)
and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) recently introduced the "End the Turkish
Blockade of Armenia" Bill (H.R. 6079), which calls upon Turkey to
end its blockade of Armenia and asks the U.S. Department of State to
report on its efforts towards this end.