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U.S. ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW AID PACKAGE FOR ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
April 4 2006
The United States has officially committed itself to providing $235.65
million in additional economic assistance to Armenia, in a further
indication of its deepening ties with the South Caucasus country. The
sum, substantial by Armenian standards, is to be provided over the
next five years under the Bush administration's Millennium Challenge
Account (MCA) program aimed at promoting good governance and economic
reforms around the world.
The administration included Armenia on the list of 16 developing
countries eligible for MCA funding when it unveiled the program two
years ago. The cash-strapped government in Yerevan jumped at the
opportunity to meet some of its pressing socio-economic needs. The
MCA compact that was signed by senior U.S. and Armenian officials in
Washington on March 27 is the product of Yerevan's lengthy negotiations
with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government
agency handling the scheme.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice described the agreement as a "testament to the hard work and
dedication of the Armenian people and their elected government." Rice
stressed that provision of the aid is conditional on the proper conduct
by the Armenian authorities of parliamentary and presidential elections
due in 2007 and 2008 respectively. "These are important commitments
and the United States stands ready to help Armenia to ensure that
its upcoming elections are free and fair," she said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian assured her that his
government would do its best to honor those commitments. "Our
task until then is to partner with the United States and European
governments to implement the necessary corrective steps to improve
the conditions necessary for an honest and fair expression of people's
voices," he said.
The large-scale aid will be channeled into rural regions of Armenia
that have seen little development despite a decade of nationwide
economic growth. The main segment, worth $146 million, will be spent
on upgrading the country's malfunctioning irrigation networks, which
date to Soviet times. Another $67 million will be used for capital
repairs of about 1,000 kilometers of battered rural roads. U.S. and
Armenian officials say these two infrastructure projects will directly
benefit 75% of the approximately one million Armenians dependent on
farming. The first major installment of the aid is expected to be
disbursed early next year.
Interestingly, Armenia has already been one of the world's leading
per-capita recipients of U.S. economic assistance, which is approved
by Congress and has totaled $1.6 billion since 1992. The size of
this "regular" aid is commonly attributed to the strength of the
Armenian-American lobby on Capitol Hill. But finding an explanation
for Armenia's inclusion in MCA, which is single-handedly decided by
the Bush administration, is a more difficult task. Unlike neighboring
Georgia (the only other former Soviet state covered by MCA), Armenia
has no ambition to join NATO and maintains close military and political
ties with Russia.
Many Armenian observers regard the promised MCA funds as a further
incentive for President Robert Kocharian and his most likely successor,
Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian, to accept a compromise solution
to the Karabakh conflict. U.S. officials say a framework peace deal
may still be achieved this year despite the collapse of a crucial
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in France last February. In this regard,
local observers consider very significant Rice's remark that Armenians
have an "elected government." (The State Department strongly criticized
the 2003 Armenian presidential and parliamentary elections.) Haykakan
Zhamanak, a pro-Western Yerevan daily critical of the ruling regime,
editorialized on April 1 that Washington is thereby "removing all
questions about Robert Kocharian's legitimacy."
A commentator for another paper, 168 Zham, went further, speculating
that the Americans are disinterested in Armenia's democratization
because "our society is overwhelmingly pro-Russian."
The United States was quite cautious in criticizing reports of serious
fraud during last November's constitutional referendum in Armenia
(and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan) -- a far cry from its
tough reaction to the disputed presidential ballot in Belarus on
March 19. MCC chief executive John Danilovich expressed concern at the
Armenian authorities' handling of the referendum but promptly lauded
their "commitment to sustaining the democratic reforms" after receiving
relevant assurances from Kocharian last January. In a March 27 speech
at a conference organized by the Armenian Assembly of America,
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said Washington is
"taking at face value assurances from the Armenian government" that
the 2007 and 2008 elections will be democratic. Many Armenians are
far more skeptical on this score.
By providing extra aid to Armenia Washington may also be rewarding
the government's ongoing efforts to forge closer security links with
NATO and America in particular. "We do support Armenia's efforts to
strengthen its relations with the Euro-Atlantic community," Fried said,
commending the Kocharian administration for seeking greater "balance in
its relations with the West and the Russians." Fried's deputy Matthew
Bryza welcomed "considerable progress made in this regard over the
past year" after holding talks with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on
March 7. "I don't think that the government of Armenia can move at
a pace that for us is too quick," Bryza told a news conference. "But
we are very happy with the level of cooperation.
This has been a significant year for U.S.-Armenian security
cooperation."
(Haykakan Zhamanak, April 1; 168 Zham, March 30-31; RFE/RL Armenia
Report, March 7, 28; Text of Daniel Fried's address to the Armenian
Assembly of America, http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/63791.htm)
By Emil Danielyan
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
April 4 2006
The United States has officially committed itself to providing $235.65
million in additional economic assistance to Armenia, in a further
indication of its deepening ties with the South Caucasus country. The
sum, substantial by Armenian standards, is to be provided over the
next five years under the Bush administration's Millennium Challenge
Account (MCA) program aimed at promoting good governance and economic
reforms around the world.
The administration included Armenia on the list of 16 developing
countries eligible for MCA funding when it unveiled the program two
years ago. The cash-strapped government in Yerevan jumped at the
opportunity to meet some of its pressing socio-economic needs. The
MCA compact that was signed by senior U.S. and Armenian officials in
Washington on March 27 is the product of Yerevan's lengthy negotiations
with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government
agency handling the scheme.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice described the agreement as a "testament to the hard work and
dedication of the Armenian people and their elected government." Rice
stressed that provision of the aid is conditional on the proper conduct
by the Armenian authorities of parliamentary and presidential elections
due in 2007 and 2008 respectively. "These are important commitments
and the United States stands ready to help Armenia to ensure that
its upcoming elections are free and fair," she said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian assured her that his
government would do its best to honor those commitments. "Our
task until then is to partner with the United States and European
governments to implement the necessary corrective steps to improve
the conditions necessary for an honest and fair expression of people's
voices," he said.
The large-scale aid will be channeled into rural regions of Armenia
that have seen little development despite a decade of nationwide
economic growth. The main segment, worth $146 million, will be spent
on upgrading the country's malfunctioning irrigation networks, which
date to Soviet times. Another $67 million will be used for capital
repairs of about 1,000 kilometers of battered rural roads. U.S. and
Armenian officials say these two infrastructure projects will directly
benefit 75% of the approximately one million Armenians dependent on
farming. The first major installment of the aid is expected to be
disbursed early next year.
Interestingly, Armenia has already been one of the world's leading
per-capita recipients of U.S. economic assistance, which is approved
by Congress and has totaled $1.6 billion since 1992. The size of
this "regular" aid is commonly attributed to the strength of the
Armenian-American lobby on Capitol Hill. But finding an explanation
for Armenia's inclusion in MCA, which is single-handedly decided by
the Bush administration, is a more difficult task. Unlike neighboring
Georgia (the only other former Soviet state covered by MCA), Armenia
has no ambition to join NATO and maintains close military and political
ties with Russia.
Many Armenian observers regard the promised MCA funds as a further
incentive for President Robert Kocharian and his most likely successor,
Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian, to accept a compromise solution
to the Karabakh conflict. U.S. officials say a framework peace deal
may still be achieved this year despite the collapse of a crucial
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in France last February. In this regard,
local observers consider very significant Rice's remark that Armenians
have an "elected government." (The State Department strongly criticized
the 2003 Armenian presidential and parliamentary elections.) Haykakan
Zhamanak, a pro-Western Yerevan daily critical of the ruling regime,
editorialized on April 1 that Washington is thereby "removing all
questions about Robert Kocharian's legitimacy."
A commentator for another paper, 168 Zham, went further, speculating
that the Americans are disinterested in Armenia's democratization
because "our society is overwhelmingly pro-Russian."
The United States was quite cautious in criticizing reports of serious
fraud during last November's constitutional referendum in Armenia
(and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan) -- a far cry from its
tough reaction to the disputed presidential ballot in Belarus on
March 19. MCC chief executive John Danilovich expressed concern at the
Armenian authorities' handling of the referendum but promptly lauded
their "commitment to sustaining the democratic reforms" after receiving
relevant assurances from Kocharian last January. In a March 27 speech
at a conference organized by the Armenian Assembly of America,
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said Washington is
"taking at face value assurances from the Armenian government" that
the 2007 and 2008 elections will be democratic. Many Armenians are
far more skeptical on this score.
By providing extra aid to Armenia Washington may also be rewarding
the government's ongoing efforts to forge closer security links with
NATO and America in particular. "We do support Armenia's efforts to
strengthen its relations with the Euro-Atlantic community," Fried said,
commending the Kocharian administration for seeking greater "balance in
its relations with the West and the Russians." Fried's deputy Matthew
Bryza welcomed "considerable progress made in this regard over the
past year" after holding talks with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on
March 7. "I don't think that the government of Armenia can move at
a pace that for us is too quick," Bryza told a news conference. "But
we are very happy with the level of cooperation.
This has been a significant year for U.S.-Armenian security
cooperation."
(Haykakan Zhamanak, April 1; 168 Zham, March 30-31; RFE/RL Armenia
Report, March 7, 28; Text of Daniel Fried's address to the Armenian
Assembly of America, http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/63791.htm)