Armenia this week
The U.S. Senators, senior military officers praise the progress in Armenia
Two American Senators visited Yerevan last week, underscoring the U.S. strong interest in Armenia and the region. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) led a senior U.S. delegation that included deputy commander of the U.S. European Command General Chuck Wald and several other Department of Defense and Senate staff. Hagel praised the President Robert Kocharyan’s administration, saying he was “impressed with the democratic reforms that have taken place in Armenia, the economic development, the rate of economic growth, the prosperity that’s developing”, which was “very good news for Armenia and the region”.
Hagel and Wald further discussed the “dynamic development” of the U.S.-Armenia security partnership with Armenia’s Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan. Visiting the headquarters of Armenia’s peace-keeping force, Hagel lauded their role in the U.S. and NATO-led operations in Iraq and Kosovo. Adjutant-General of the Kansas National Guard General Tod Bunting, who led a large military and civilian delegation to Armenia last month, similarly praised the Armenian military as “professionally prepared”. Under the Pentagon’s State Partnership Program, the Kansas National Guard is helping Armenia’s peacekeepers to prepare for overseas missions.
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), who came to Armenia on invitation from the Armenian Assembly of America and Minnesota-based Cafesjyan Foundation, reiterated the U.S. commitment to Armenia’s development, stressing that the two countries have a “good relationship moving in the right direction”. In an on-line interview earlier last month, the U.S. Ambassador in Armenia John Evans estimated that the U.S. assistance to Armenia will total up to $90 million in Fiscal Year 2005, an equivalent of the amount provided the previous year. According to Evans, the U.S. assistance continues to focus on security, economic and democratic reforms.
Armenian Assembly of America
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