U.S. CONGRESSIONAL PANEL SPECIFIED USING U.S. AID FOR AGGRESSION AGAINST KARABAKH UNACCEPTABLE

PanARMENIAN.Net - A joint House-Senate conference committee considered the foreign aid bill controversial provisions concerning weakening sanctions against Azerbaijan. The conferees approved the item, envisaging the President's authority to waive Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. At the same time, in spite of the pressure from the Administration, the legislators toughened the safeguards of the goals in which Azerbaijan could use the American aid. As it is known, Armenian lobbyist organization have addressed a request to include a proviso to limit the opportunity of the aid being used by Azerbaijan for aggression against Nagorno Karabakh. This demand was partially fulfilled. The committee conference passed a decision that the report language to accompany the foreign aid bill to include an item specifying that the American aid "cannot be used against Armenian communities in the Caucasus." "Although it was clear from the deliberations among the conferees that this reference was to Nagorno Karabakh, the panel felt constrained by intense pressure from the State Department from stating this explicitly," - a report spread by the Armenian National Committee of America says.

According to the regulations, the bill approved by the panel should be confirmed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Then the document will be presented for the President's signature.