“The US is the only nation in the world besides Armenia that provides Artsakh with financial aid without even recognizing its independence. This is a very important political and legal precedent that we must uphold for our own benefit,” political analyst Suren Sargsyan told Aravot Daily.
He posted on his Facebook page that the US government is seeking to cut aid to Artsakh. This also involves aid towards demining. That is a program financed by USAID, which will have a big political message if it’s cut, according to Sargsyan.
Regarding the observation that there had been cases in the past where the US government cut or didn’t provide any financial aid to Artsakh at all, Suren Sargsyan said, “Of course, there were years where the US government did not provide any aid to Artsakh and Azeris are now trying to make that the precedent. We need to make sure that providing aid becomes the precedent so that American legislative, executive, social, and humanitarian organizations will directly fund Stepanakert through their channels. This is the most pressing issue for our lobbyists today.”
Regarding the Armenian delegation’s visit to the US led by Ararat Mirzoyan and its results, Suren Sargsyan said, “The purpose of the Armenian delegation’s visit led by the National Assembly Speaker was to participate in the conference organized by the US Congress. Since an Armenian parliamentary delegation had not been to the US in 12-13 years, this was very important. Important meetings took place during the visit with the US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and with the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Meetings also took place with several members of the House of Representatives. I believe that providing Armenia with aid was also discussed during these meetings.”
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The House of Representatives passed legislation regarding a financial aid package of 40 million USD to Armenia, which was then sent to the Senate. “If this is passed in the Senate, Armenia will receive 40 million USD more in funds from the USA. This doesn’t have anything to do with the aid provided from elsewhere. This is a separate aid package,” Suren Sargsyan said.
Nelly Grigoryan
