We shall note that last year the White House suggested providing only $50 million to Armenia, but the members of the subcommittee on international affairs of the Senate and the Committee on foreign assignations of the House of Representatives stood for increase of the volumes of the aid. As a result, a sum 4 times exceeding the initial one was approved. The Armenian lobbyists think that this time they will manage to increase the sum.
One of the main arguments of the Armenian group of congress was the fact that the administration had not managed to fulfill an important condition specified in the text of the law on budgetary assignments for 2003. The document read about the necessity to counteract Turkey’s blockade of Armenia. The Armenian lobby is going to focus on the fact that the executive authorities were not able to make pressure on Ankara and Baku in order to remove the blockade. According to the World Bank, the blockade of Armenian borders blocks the 50 percent of the potential export of the Armenian goods. The leaders of the Armenian lobbyists believe that if Washington is not able to influence its partners – Turkey and Azerbaijan – the administration must bear its share of responsibility for the continuation of the blockade. The only way for Washington to compensate its indifference is the financial aid.
