ACA Commends Effort to Expand Partnership Between the United States and Armenia
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today led an appropriations letter for fiscal year 2022 that requests funding for a robust humanitarian assistance package, including demining activities in Artsakh, and funding for economic development, governance, and resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also requests a suspension of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan until it ends its aggression toward Armenia and Artsakh. The letter was signed by 66 Members of Congress.
“The United States is uniquely positioned to help Armenia that has been shaken by last year’s war in Artsakh and the resulting uncertainty. Providing significant economic assistance to Armenia will help make its people more secure, bolster its democracy, help sustain economic development, stabilize its civil society, and aid its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, most urgently, alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh,” Pallone said. “This investment will strengthen the U.S.-Armenia relationship, help Armenia rebuild, and solidify democracy in the region.”
Artsakh is enduring an ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from the unprovoked Azerbaijani and Turkish attack in Artsakh on September 27, 2020, which led to six weeks of devastating fighting that killed over 5,000 people and forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee their homes.
Armenian Council of America’s Washington D.C. Representative Taniel Koushakjian commended Congressman Pallone, “We applaud Congressman Pallone and all of the Armenian Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Valadao, Schiff, Bilirakis, and Speier, for leading the charge in Congress toward fostering a deeper, stronger and elevated U.S.-Armenia partnership. With the White House and congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, now is the time to take our partnership to the next level and build on the successes that Congressman Pallone has championed since he founded the Armenian Caucus in 1995. We’ve come along way, and we have a long road ahead. The Armenian American community together with our Congressional leaders have a historic opportunity to face our common threats and to meet our common challenges.”
A copy of the letter is available HERE.
