ArmInfo.The cessation of American financial assistance to Artsakh is the result of quite active work of Azerbaijani lobbyists in Washington. Head of the Armenian Center for American Studies Suren Sargsyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
Earlier it became known about the decision of the US National Security Council to close the financial assistance program aimed at mine clearance in Artsakh. Each year, the United States allocated about one and a half million dollars for these purposes. The USA is the only country in the world providing financial assistance to Artsakh.
"It is known that Azerbaijan allocated a considerable amount to lobbyists in the US Security Council. In this light, the decision of the American administration to stop assisting Artsakh is due, inter alia, to the activities of Baku. Of course, this is not the only reason - it is known that the provision of financial assistance to foreign states is not a priority of the current administration, "he said.
In this light, the expert emphasized that, first of all, such a policy of Donald Trump affects countries that do not have strategic importance in the eyes of the United States. According to him, as part of this strategy, the United States has already reduced aid to such countries by 40%. Meanwhile, as of today, Azerbaijan is one of the priority countries for the United States, as evidenced by American aid for the military needs of Azerbaijan over the past two years, which reaches $ 100 million. According to him, in this light, the active efforts of the Armenian lobbyists resulted in a letter from American congressmen, unfortunately, did not lead to a change of mood in Washington. The participation of the Armenian contingent in the Russian mission in Syria and some statements about American financial assistance by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also played a role in this. It should be noted that last week 75 congressmen from 23 US states sent a letter to the subcommittee on external operations of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress with a proposal to provide Armenia with $ 100 million to support the economy, ensure security and establish the rule of law. Another $ 1.5 million is proposed by the congressmen to be sent as assistance to Artsakh: to mine territories and rehabilitate mine victims. Congressmen also called on the subcommittee to stop assisting Azerbaijan as a country exposing aggression to Armenia and Artsakh.