Biden Administration Seeks to Cut Aid to Karabakh Armenians

The White House has proposed maintaining Azerbaijan and Armenia aid at the same level as it requested last year in its initial budget, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The Biden Administration's proposed budget for the upcoming year includes $9,140.000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance to Azerbaijan, while for Armenia it seeks $23,405,000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance. A separate line item in the budget request calls for $6,050,000 in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement spending in Armenia.

While the latest budget request reflects similar figures that the White House had put forward last year this time, pro-Armenian legislators in the Congress did, in fact,  manage last year to increase aid to Armenia from $24 million to $45 million and to include additional $2 million in U.S. demining assistance for those affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  None of it has been included into the White House's new budget proposal for 2023.

"President Biden believes deeply in the ability of U.S. global leadership to solve challenges, and the Administration recognizes that diplomacy and development are vital tools for advancing U.S. interests and values"  the State Department said in a statement on the President's Fiscal Year 2023 Budget.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.