Azerbaijan, Baku, May 25 / Trend S.Aghayeva /
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the U.S. Congress Appropriations Committee despite the efforts of the Armenian lobby has recommended providing financial assistance to the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for the 2013 fiscal year, a diplomatic source in Washington told Trend on Friday.
During the discussion of the draft budget for 2013 the Committee recommended Senate to provide financial assistance to the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - refugees and internally displaced people, exiled from their land. The Committee also called for a peaceful solution to the territorial dispute.
Armenians of the world acted strongly against the inclusion of a paragraph on assistance to victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The inclusion of this paragraph in the draft budget shows that the U.S. recognizes presence of victims of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and urges the Senate to give them financial assistance.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.