The fact that the US has seriously cut funding for Armenia is not accidental, there are good reasons for this, political expert, Prof. Gabil Huseynli told Report.
According to him, some time ago, facts appeared about Armenia's military support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. The political observer recalled that US President Joe Biden openly stated the need to take serious measures against countries helping the Kremlin in the war.
“Apparently, this is precisely the reason for the cut in the amount of the financial aid for Yerevan by Washington. Everyone, including Washington, see that Armenia cannot get out of the influence of the Kremlin, plays to the tune of Russia. Actually, Armenia's way out of Russia’s influence is impossible, since there is a Russian military base there. The Armenian economy also depends on Russia. Therefore, no matter how Nikol Pashinyan's government tried to maneuver between the West and Russia, this gives a boomerang effect."
According to Gabil Huseynli, the United States understands that the future of the region depends on Azerbaijan.
"In a recent letter to Ilham Aliyev, President Biden announced his intention to continue cooperation. The West is well aware that Baku is the main force in the region. Of course, the Armenian lobby does not want the United States to allocate financial aid to Azerbaijan. Perhaps, the Armenian lobby will even try to prevent this. But it will not succeed in it. Because this is a matter of prestige for a state like the United States. If the Armenian lobby achieves its goal in such a global issue, this will indicate the absence of statehood in the USA. Therefore, the attempts of the Armenian lobby will fail. As I said, a lot of attention is paid to our country in the West. These interests, partnership cannot be sacrificed to the Armenian lobby."
The Biden administration asked the US Congress to allocate $24 million to Armenia in the budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year. This is $21 million short of the amount allocated by Congress a few weeks ago and approved by the president for the fiscal year 2022.
This move by the White House angered the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the main lobbying organization for Armenians in the United States. Also, the Armenian lobby is dissatisfied with the fact that for the next fiscal year, President Joe Biden asked to allocate about $9.7 million to Azerbaijan. This does not include additional funds received by Azerbaijan from the US Department of Defense under Article 333 (capacity building). According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in March, Azerbaijan received more than $164 million in aid from the US under Article 333.