US CONGRESSMEN CALL FOR END TO RESTRICTIONS ON AID TO AZERBAIJAN
news.az
April 29 2010
Azerbaijan
US Congress The US House of Representatives’ working group on
Azerbaijan wants an end to US aid to Karabakh and to restrictions on
aid to Azerbaijan.
Representatives of the working group on Azerbaijan have sent a letter
to the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee’s State and Foreign
Operations Subcommittee, Nita Lowey.
The co-chairs of the working group, Bill Shuster, Solomon Ortiz,
Michael McMahon and Eddie Bernice, signed the letter that called on
the subcommittee chairwoman to support programs that improve relations
between Azerbaijan and the United States when considering the budget
for 2011, state-run news agency AzerTAj reported.
The Congressmen said some important points should be taken into
account.
The separatist regime of Karabakh should not be financed. (In its 2010
budget the US Congress allocated $8 million in aid to the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh republic.) The Congressmen said that Nagorno-Karabakh
was is recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
The conflict is a sensitive issue for both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Some groups use the decisions of the Congress for their political
purposes.
The Congressmen said that as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group the
United States should be neutral. The subcommittee should refrain from
steps that could harm the trust between Azerbaijan and the United
States and violate neutrality.
The working group on Azerbaijan called for the cancellation of
Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act, adopted in 1992. Section 907
prohibits direct US aid to the Azerbaijani government and prevents the
development of strategic relations between the countries. The Section
has been waived by the president since October 2001 but remains on
the statute book.
The Congressmen said that Obama’s government, which had chosen the
improvement of ties with Muslim countries as a priority, should
further deepen its relationship with its partner, Azerbaijan.
The group urged Nita Lowy to take into account all these points and
reflect them in the budget for the 2011 fiscal year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
