WASHINGTON—As the Congress continues deliberations over appropriations for the remaining months of Fiscal Year 2011, President Barack Obama today announced his proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget numbers, which included a call for $40 million in aid to Armenia and a pro-Baku tilt in U.S. military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
“Armenian Americans, keenly aware of the ongoing economic hardships caused by Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockades, are troubled that President Obama, although he kept his aid request for Armenia consistent with the proposal he submitted last year, is, in actual dollars, seeking a cut in aid compared to the amount approved last year by Congress,” said Aram Hamparian. “We are also very concerned that the President’s bid to tip the military aid balance in Baku, in the face of growing threats by Azerbaijani leaders to start a new war, will undermine the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.”
“More broadly, in light of the increasing budget pressures on foreign aid spending, we are especially disappointed by the President’s failure, despite his pledge to expand U.S.-Armenia trade, to take any meaningful steps to expand U.S.-Armenian commercial relations, through a U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, a Double Tax Treaty, or a Free Trade Agreement,” added Hamparian. “These accords are keys to fostering job creation both here and in Armenia.”
While President Obama’s FY 2012 economic assistance request of $40 million for Armenia is the same as his previous request in FY 2011, he cut all Global Health and Child Survival assistance to Armenia, which had been traditionally set at $400,000. Azerbaijan’s economic assistance request took a sharper hit – cut 25% from $22.12 million to $16.6 million, with their Global Health and Child Survival assistance also reduced to zero. In terms of military assistance, the President asked for $3.45 million in combined Foreign Military Finance Assistance and International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance for Armenia — $450,000 less than his request for Azerbaijan.
The complete figures are provided in the chart.
The Congress is still working out funding for the remainder of FY 2011, with the U.S. House set to vote on its revised version of a Continuing Resolution on Tuesday, February 15th. House Resolution 1 (H.R.1) asks for $697.1 million in assistance to Europe and
Eurasia, a $45 million reduction from the previous year. No specific assistance amounts are specified for Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh in the measure. Following final Congressional approval and Presidential signature, the State Department will report to
Congress how it intends to spend these funds. Congress will have an opportunity at that time to comment on specific funding matters.
Armenian Americans have been contacting their legislators over the past several weeks urging them to maintain high levels of U.S. assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. ANCA Webmails to members of the House and Senate highlights the constructive cooperation of Armenia with the United States on a broad range of regional, security, and peace-keeping challenges: “The Armenian government sent troops to Iraq as part of our Coalition operations, has forces in Kosovo as part of NATO peacekeeping efforts, and has sent a contingent of forces to Afghanistan in support of our nation’s military mission. In addition, Armenia is actively and constructively engaged in the OSCE Minsk Group’s Nagorno Karabakh peace process and, despite any meaningful reciprocation from Turkey, remains party to a set of Protocols aimed at normalizing bilateral ties between the two nations.”
The ANCA alert is available here.
After approving the FY 2011 Budget, the Foreign Operations Subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriation Committees will review the President’s FY 2012 proposal and each will draft their own versions of the assistance bill.
Well yeah, not everyone is like Kirk. They won’t even spend 40mil on us. 😉
This article just goes to show that Armenia needs to become more self-reliant and self-sufficient. Believe it or not, the closed border with Turkey has made Armenia more prepared for war, because Armenia will not have to deal with the dislocations associated with a newly-implemented Turkish blockade in case hostilities with Azerbaijan resume.
The sooner that Armenia learns to cope with limited US economic assistance and high Russian gas prices, the better it will be prepared for the coming war when it does break out. It’s kind of like physical exercise – those who work out are better prepared for the day when they will have to use their strength and implement austerity measures.
you guys must be either jocking or sweeping the dust under the rug I guess, but funny part is that American flavourd jocks never could have made me laugh, keep your peanut stingy 40$ million aid to Armenia for your homeless people and leave us alone or suplument it to annual 11$ billion aid to Israel because after Egyptian and Tunisian and in general Arab world’s turnovers, they will really need it badly!
Lets remember that this military assistance to Azerbaijan has produced well trained snipers who kill Armenian soldiers on the border with Artsakh almost every week.
This is a contract with MPRI, Inc. “the granddaddy of Blackwater” – the same mercenaries who trained, equipped and directed Croatian army to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Serbian minority driving out 350,000 Serbian refugees within 3 days.
please explain MPRI, Inc.