US Congress members Jackie Speier, Frank Pallone and Adam Schiff sent a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on November 18, again expressing concern over the disparity in military aid provided to Armenia and Azerbaijan, reports “Voice of America.”
Thanking the Secretary of State for responding to their first letter and for the working-level meeting on this issue, the lawmakers stressed that they continue to remain concerned about the levels of military aid between these two countries. In the letter, lawmakers Schiff, Speier and Pallone expressed disagreement with the US Secretary of State’s assertion that $102 million in military aid to Azerbaijan does not undermine the peaceful resolution process of the Karabakh conflict and would not be used in any way in a military attack against Armenia.
In the letter, the lawmakers noted that Azerbaijan’s military potential has been steadily growing in recent years. They emphasized that American military aid gives Azerbaijan the opportunity to further increase its military potential and the possibility of carrying out an attack against Armenia and Mountainous Karabakh.
“There is no doubt that the increase in security-sector aid allocated to Azerbaijan creates an imbalance in the region and disregards a twenty-year precedent in US foreign policy,” the lawmakers stated in the letter, stressing that the proportional provision of military aid is the only way through which the US can maintain its authority as a regional power that can reconcile Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The lawmakers call on the US State Department and the Department of Defense to organize appropriate training courses and provide equipment for Armenia to increase its partner capacity. This would help secure the borders and create military parity, the letter stated. The lawmakers also requested a meeting on this issue between US Congress members and responsible officials of the relevant departments.
