WASHINGTON, DC – This week, as the world marked the 10th anniversary of the 1994 Nagorno Karabagh ceasefire agreement, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) shared with key U.S. policy-makers the Armenian American community’s concerns over Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s threats of renewed aggression against Nagorno Karabagh.

The ANCA website – www.anca.org – provides an easy-to-use WebFax feature that allows activists to communicate with their elected representatives on this issue.

According to reports circulated by Agence France Presse (AFP) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Aliyev, on visiting a military installation in Nakhichevan, stated “We are trying to resolve this [Nagorno Karabagh] problem by peaceful means but so far we have not been able to achieve that. We must increase our military potential. Our army is able at any moment to free our territory.” Aliyev went on to announce that military expenditures have grown over the past several years and “it will keep increasing in the future”.

“Sadly, it appears that even early signals from the Administration about favoring Azerbaijan with increased military aid have emboldened Azerbaijan’s President to recklessly threaten renewed against Nagorno Karabagh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We remain hopeful that Congressional appropriators, recognizing the dangers of an imbalance in military aid, will respect the parity agreement that was reached by the White House and Congress in 2001 and that has served U.S. interests well over the past several years.”

President Bush, in his annual budget announced this February, called for $8 million in U.S. foreign military financing assistance to Azerbaijan, and only $2 million for Armenia, breaking a three-year agreement, which assured parity in U.S. military aid to the two countries. Over 30 Members of Congress have formally urged House Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Kolbe and Ranking Democrat Nita Lowey to maintain balanced military assistance levels in the upcoming foreign aid bill.

Armenian statements marking the ceasefire anniversary focused on peaceful resolution of the conflict through ongoing OSCE negotiation efforts. “We will observe the principle of a peaceful regulation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” announce Armenian President Robert Kocharian on May 12th, the anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire agreement. The Foreign Ministry of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic similarly called for a negotiated peace.

U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice announced that the Nagorno Karabagh conflict would be among issues discussed during her visit to Moscow this week. “Along with Russia, we are trying to settle a range of conflict situations. I think we are disappointed to some degree that we have not succeeded in the case of Karabagh,” Rice said. She went to urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations with a more “serious attitude.”