Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 16 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova /
The Armenian lobby is responsible for the U.S. Congress deciding to provide financial aid to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2010, European expert on the South Caucasus Amanda Akcakoca said.
"However, at the same time this aid has been given for over 15 years and is clearly a result of the strong Armenian lobby in the U.S.," European Politics Center expert Amanda Akcakoca told Trend via e-mail.
The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate approved a bill on the general appropriations for the 2010 fiscal year, according to which assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh will be allocated to the amount of $8 million, Novosti-Armenia reported. Any restrictions on the implementation of programs in Karabakh have been removed.
There is no humanitarian crisis in Karabakh. Rather it seems this money goes toward specific NGO projects like restoring monuments, she said.
"Personally I do not support the financial assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh because it could give the impression that the U.S government is supporting an unrecognized regime," she said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az
