Trump Administration prefers to appease Erdogan over upholding the rights of Americans
U.S. president Donald Trump signed the $1.3 trillion spending bill on Friday, March 23, under which Armenia will receive no assistance from the U.S. while neighboring Georgia will get more than $105 million.
Also, around $421 million will be allocated to Ukraine.
Funds appropriated by the document and made available for assistance for the Eastern Partnership countries are set to advance the implementation of Association Agreements and trade agreements with the European Union, and “to reduce their vulnerability to external economic and political pressure from the Russian Federation,” the document said.
In testimony submitted to the Senate panel drafting the Fiscal Year 2019 foreign aid bill, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) had called for a targeted $70 million aid package that would fund de-mining and rehabilitation in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), implementation of a proposal to deploy gunfire locators along the line-of-contact, the expansion of U.S.-Armenia economic and military partnerships, and support for Armenia as a regional safe haven for at-risk Middle East refugees.