Foreign

Home page

Foreign

Representatives of New York’s Azerbaijani and Turkic communities join Breakfast of Jewish Community Relations Council

14 February 2011 10:13 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Isabel Levine â€“ APA. For the fourth time, the representatives of Azerbaijani Society of America, Azerbaijani-American Council, the Pax Turcica Institute, New York’s Jewish-Azerbaijani Community, and regional Turkic-American organizations joined the 32nd Annual Congressional Breakfast of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, on February 13th, APAâ€™s Washington DC correspondent reports.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), the high-ranking member of House Appropriations on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Nan Hayworth (R-NY), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Congressmen Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Steve Israel (D-NY), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) attended, speaking at the event.

â€œIn their separate meetings with legislators, the community members expressed concern about the increasing US aid to Armenia and the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijanâ€, Azerbaijani Diaspora members informed APA.

â€œThe increase in US aid to Armenia over the last few years failed to discourage it from its growing alliance with Iran. According to information from the U. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia recently shipped conventional arms to Iran, which were further smuggled to Iraqi Shiite insurgents, resulting in the killing of U.S. army officer, Sgt. Matthew F. Straughter in 2008â€, the source reminds.

â€œAdditionally, the Congressional allocation of direct US aid of $8 million to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh region has left out over half a million Azerbaijanis displaced by the conflict, essentially rewarding Armenia and further alienating Azerbaijan, a staunch US ally and a closest Muslim partner of Israelâ€.