U.S. congressman: It is wrong to give money to Azerbaijan's terriitory occupied by Armenia

APA: The House’s subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs has allocated 10 million in direct financial aid to the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh. What do you think about it?

Bill Shuster: I absolutely support Azerbaijan and we think that it is wrong that we gave money to a party of Azerbaijan which is occupied by Armenia. I think it is also too wrong that America don’t recognize the great friendship that Azerbaijan is to America living between two giants countries that are bad. One of them looks like that they are going to build a nuclear arsenal and oppose America and our allies. The Russians are what we call “friendly country” and Azerbaijan is between those two giants and continues to pursue its own policy and tells that we are with Americans. It is time to America to start realize that.

Q: How the decision of subcommittee matches with the statement addressed to the Muslim world by President Obama made in Cairo, Egypt?

A: I think that it is wrong to America not to understand and not to support Azerbaijan as they support us. It is one of the greatest allies in the world. You put them right in the top of three or four allies because where they live in the world, where almost 98 percentage Muslim country that is a friend of America. We have to extend the hand of friendship to Azerbaijan to help them to work out the problem which they have with Armenia.

Q: What is necessary to do to overhaul the decision of the subcommittee?

A: One of the things, which I have been trying to do, is make more members of the Congress be aware of Azerbaijan. We took over 4-5 members there a little over a year ago. Two of them were supporting Armenia and when they came back one of them became a neutral and another started to have a different view on Armenia and Azerbaijan. So that what we have to do: continue to talk to members of the Congress, get them to know this part of the world, the Caucasus and to understand how it is important Azerbaijan, Georgia is to America.

/APA/