Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 21 / Trend M.Aliyev /
The European Congress of Azerbaijanis (EAC) adopted an appeal to U.S President Barack Obama to protest the U.S Congress's decision to allocate $8 million to the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist regime, the EAC told Trend today.
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. Any restrictions on the implementation of programs in Karabakh have been removed.
The appeal says that the U.S. is the OSCE Minsk Group and therefore its support to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, along with the provision of aid to the separatists of the Nagorno-Karabakh is at variance with each other.
The congress urged the US president to stop execution of this decision and further abstain from such steps damaging the country's international image.
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.
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