U.S. Congress opens hearing on Caucasus region todayJune 18, 2008 - 14:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On June 18, the House Foreign Affairs Committee members will focus, in an exercise of their oversight responsibilities, on the opportunity to question State Department officials on U.S. policy regarding Armenia and the surrounding area, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) told PanARMENIAN.Net Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Dan Fried will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday June 18th at 10:00am EDT regarding U.S. policy toward the Caucasus region. Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and his fellow Committee members will be focusing on a wide range of issues including the ongoing blockade of Armenia, U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide, and foreign aid. Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Nabi Sensoy recently denied the existence of a Turkish blockade, arguing that there are many Armenians who serve as "nannies" to Turkish children. The World Bank estimates that Turkey and Azerbaijan's blockades of Armenia reduce Armenia's GDP by up to 38% annually. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), along with Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) recently introduced the "End the Turkish Blockade of Armenia" Bill (H.R. 6079), which calls upon Turkey to end its blockade of Armenia and asks the U.S. Department of State to report on its efforts towards this end. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia considers Cyprus as one of its main partners in EU - envoy Armenia considers Cyprus one of its main partners in the European Union, Ambassador Tigran Mkrtchyan has said. Armenian, Albanian Foreign Ministers discuss ties, regional issues Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania Igli Hasani. POLITICO: Baku lobbying agains detained Karabakh ex-leader abroad Azerbaijan is lobbying agains former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan, according to POLITICO. Armenia confirms will attend NATO summit in Washington Armenia has confirmed its participation in the NATO summit in Washington, a spokesperson has confirmed. |