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  • Legislation Blocking US Funding For Armenia Railroad Bypass Goes To

    LEGISLATION BLOCKING US FUNDING FOR ARMENIA RAILROAD BYPASS GOES TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HIS SIGNATURE

    ArmRadio.am
    13.12.2006 10:54

    Legislation containing a provision enforcing a long-sought ban on US
    financing of a proposed railroad that would bypass Armenia, having
    been approved in its final form by both the House and Senate, was
    sent to the President yesterday for his signature into law, reported
    the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

    "Armenian Americans look forward to the President's signing into
    law the principled stand of the United States against Turkey and
    Azerbaijan's efforts to institutionalize their illegal blockades
    of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
    Hamparian.

    The Senate voted by unanimous consent on December 6th in favor of
    a reconciled version of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Bill
    (S.3938). The House had approved this version on December 1st. Both
    the House and Senate measures were based on the South Caucasus
    Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006 (S. 2461 / H.R. 3361),
    introduced in the Senate by Rick Santorum (R-PA) and in the House by
    Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus.

    The proposed new Caucasus rail line - at the urging of Turkey and
    Azerbaijan - would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project
    have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure US financing
    for this undertaking, prompting Congressional friends of Armenia to
    preemptively block such attempts. In October of 2005, the European
    Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus railroad
    bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission's Directorate
    General for Transport and Energy noted that its construction was
    both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing railroad
    connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi.

    On March 8th of this year, responding to a question on the railroad
    bypass from Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) during a hearing of the
    International Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel
    Fried asserted that, "The proposed railway would bypass Armenia and
    thus not be beneficial to regional integration. We have no plans
    to support such a railway financially. The Administration has not
    allocated or expended any federal agency funds or otherwise provided
    financial support for the intended project."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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