FINANCIAL AID US PROVIDES TO ARMENIA - ONE OF LARGEST, US AMBASSADOR STATED

PanARMENIAN.Net - The amount of the financial aid official Washington is providing to Armenia in 2004 is one of the largest, taking into account the number of the country population, US Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway told journalists in Yerevan. In his words, the volume will be preserved in the future. As of the military assistance, the diplomat noted, it was not changed as compared with the past year. At that he found it difficult to speak of the final amount of the assistance, as the US Congress will be deciding the issue within several months. However, in J. Ordway's words, the significant difference in the amount of military assistance being provided by the US to Armenia and Azerbaijan is very topical and the question is constantly being raised in the Congress. He noted that the Washington Administration has proposed increasing the military assistance to Azerbaijan, taking into consideration the official Baku needs in strengthening struggle against terrorism, illegal turnover of drugs, as well as the problem of the Caspian. The volume and forms of military assistance to Azerbaijan will not tell on the power balance in the region, the US Ambassador emphasized.