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House Bill Seeks to Block US Aid for Railroad Proj Excluding Armenia

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  • House Bill Seeks to Block US Aid for Railroad Proj Excluding Armenia

    HOUSE BILL SEEKS TO BLOCK US AID FOR RAILROAD PROJECT EXCLUDING
    ARMENIA

    WASHINGTON, JULY 21, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
    National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomes the introduction of
    legislation in the House of Representatives prohibiting
    U.S. assistance for the building of railroads traversing the Caucasus
    that circumvent Armenia. The measure, entitled the "South Caucasus
    Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005," is being introduced by
    Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and George
    Radanovich (R- CA). "We welcome this effort to protect U.S. taxpayers
    from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that
    - at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan - has been designed to
    exclude Armenia," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
    ANCA. "Constructing this railroad around Armenia runs directly counter
    to U.S. foreign policy and - as if that wasn't bad enough - makes
    absolutely no financial sense - which is precisely why its sponsors
    will surely turn to the American taxpayer to foot the bill." The text
    of the legislation notes "the exclusion of Armenia from regional
    economic and commercial undertakings in the South Caucasus undermines
    the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative
    environment in the region." In its operative section, the legislation
    prohibits U.S. assistance "to develop or promote any rail connections
    or railway-related connections that do not traverse or connect with
    Armenia, but do traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi,
    Georgia; and Kars, Turkey." Specific forms of U.S. assistance
    prohibited would include: foreign economic and development aid,
    Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Trade and Development Agency,
    and the Export-Import Bank. The ANCA raised this issue publicly as
    early as June 10th of this year when Communications Director Elizabeth
    S. Chouldjian posed a question to the Foreign Minister of Armenia,
    Vardan Oskanian, during his briefing at a National Press Club.
    Minister Oskanian expressed the Armenian government's "concern about
    this recent consideration by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey to build
    a new railroad from Kars to Tbilisi, linking to an existing
    Azerbaijani line. They are planning on spending something from $600
    million to $1 billion to put that railroad in place. The problem is
    that there is such a railroad in the region. There is an existing
    Kars, Gumri, which is an Armenian city, Tbilisi, and next to
    Azerbaijan. The railroad is sitting there, rusting now for fifteen
    years, because Turkey, for political reasons, does not allow the
    trains to cross the Turkish Armenian border. Now, having that in place
    and thinking of building a new one and spending $600 million is
    nonsense." He closed his comments, by stressing that, "It is in no
    one's interest - not the U.S. or European Union or the countries
    involved. I have raised this issue with the Administration and they
    understand, they promised to follow this, and to try to talk them out
    of engaging in this type of senseless, useless activity." In May of
    this year, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, Georgian
    President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Turkey's President Akhmed Nedget
    Sezer announced their intention to construct the railway corridor
    linking Turkey, Tbilisi, and Baku. The project would effectively
    replace the Kars-Gyumri railroad route, which has been blockaded by
    Turkey for more than a decade. The governmental and commercial
    interests involved in the project, estimated at between $600 million
    and $1 billion, will almost certainly turn to the U.S. government for
    financial support, subsidies, favorable lending terms, and low-cost
    risk insurance, as they did for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
    route.
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