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The Armenian
American community, having witnessed the
terrible human suffering inflicted on
Nagorno Karabakh from 1992 through 1994 by
Azerbaijani-financed Afghan-Taliban
mercenaries, is deeply proud of Armenia's
role as a partner of the United States in
the war against international terrorism.
Armenian Americans welcomed Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's personal
expression of appreciation to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian for this
cooperation during their December 15, 2001
meeting in Yerevan.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attack, Armenia took immediate security
measures to protect the American Embassy in
Yerevan and implemented a series of measures
to cooperate with the United States,
including, 1) granting blanket clearance for
U.S. flights over Armenian territory, as
well as refueling and landing rights for
U.S. aircraft; 2) offering to share
intelligence with relevant U.S. agencies; 3)
offering medical treatment for U.S. troops
in Armenia’s hospitals, including the
specialized Spinal Injuries Treatment
Hospital of the Armenian Red Cross in
Yerevan; 4) implementing U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1373 to freeze bank
accounts that terrorists and their
supporters may have in Armenia’s financial
institutions, and; 5) ratifying the
International Convention for the Suppression
of the Financing of Terrorism.
Security-related cooperation between the
United States and Armenia extends beyond the
war on international terrorism and include
joint efforts to combat weapons of mass
destruction proliferation and transnational
crime, and to improve export control and
border security programs. Among the key
programs in these areas are: 1) Department
of Defense/Customs Service
Counter-proliferation Program; 2) Department
of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction
Program; 3) Department of Defense Warsaw
Initiative/NATO Partnership for Peace; 4)
Department of State International Science
and Technology Center; 5) U.S. Civilian
Research and Development Foundation, and 6)
Department of State Export Control/Border
Security Assistance, including the
Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund, and
Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining
and Related Activities. |
