US Dramatically Increases Security Aid to Azerbaijan: Implications for Armenia

In 2019, Emil Sanamyan, editor of the Focus on Karabakh news and analysis site at the University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies, was looking into US security aid to Azerbaijan and noticed an unusually high number (roughly $3 million in 2016/2017, and roughly $50 million in 2018/2019). His investigation received attention in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia and eventually led to a letter by members of congress to the Pentagon inquiring about the aid. Now, half a year later, it’s also resulted in a letter to the Government Accountability Office, asking for a review. Emil Sanamyan talks to CivilNet about the reasons for the stark increase in security aid to Azerbaijan and implications for Armenia.