— Continues High-Level Dialogue with Newly Inaugurated President
WASHINGTON, DC – His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to take urgent action to secure the release of Armenian hostages illegally detained and abused in Azerbaijan.
In a letter sent today to President Trump, Catholicos Aram I urged the Trump-Vance Administration to press Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to immediately and unconditionally free dozens of Armenian leaders who have been held in Baku for over a year.
The letter follows Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenian population in September 2023 and the continued imprisonment of former Artsakh presidents, prime ministers, and political leaders. The prisoners have been subjected to closed-door trials without due process or international oversight, in blatant violation of international law.
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Throughout his tenure as a spiritual leader, Aram I has been an outspoken advocate for Armenian rights, regularly addressing the international community on the ongoing threats posed by Azerbaijan’s aggression. Aram I’s direct appeal builds on his history of engagement with U.S. leaders on issues of religious freedom and human rights. During President Trump’s first term, the Catholicos played a key role in advocating for Christian communities under threat in the Middle East and South Caucasus. In 2017, he met with senior Trump administration officials to discuss the plight of Armenians, Syriacs, and other persecuted Christian minorities. His efforts helped draw attention to the need for U.S. humanitarian assistance to communities affected by war and displacement. More recently, in the days leading up to the November 2024 election, His Holiness and President held a phone consultation regarding Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh. His letter today reminds President Trump of his pre-election commitment, in which Trump condemned Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenians and called for their right to return home.
Despite international outcry, Azerbaijan has faced no meaningful accountability for its war crimes. Human rights organizations, including Freedom House, have documented Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, targeted destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, systematic abuse of prisoners, and its occupation of sovereign Armenian territory. Azerbaijani authorities have subjected Armenian prisoners to torture, degrading treatment, and politically motivated trials. The prisoners, held incommunicado and denied legal protections, face charges designed to legitimize Baku’s ethnic cleansing and erase any remaining Armenian presence in Artsakh.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has echoed Catholicos Aram I’s call for urgent U.S. action, urging President Trump to use all diplomatic and economic tools available, including enforcement of foreign aid bans and targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, to hold Azerbaijan accountable and secure the release of Armenian political prisoners.
The full text of the letter is provided below.
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The Honorable Donald Trump
President of the United States of America
Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Dear Mr. President,
It gives me special joy to greet you on the occasion of your inauguration as the 47th President of the United States of America. I pray that with your triumphant return to the White House, a “Golden Age” will be opened in the modern history of the United States.
I followed with great interest your inaugural speech. It was a clear outline of your priorities, driven by strong faith and firm commitment. Mr. President, in your speech you presented yourself as a “peace-maker.” A challenging engagement indeed, in a world torn apart by many tensions and conflicts. I believe that the U.S.A. is in a unique position to embark on such a courageous mission. A mission which will undoubtedly open a promising course in world history.
In your pre-electoral statement, you have rightfully condemned Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s (Nagorno Karabagh) Armenian Christians, emphasized the right of indigenous Armenians to return to their Artsakh homeland, and called for the restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Upon your election, the world looks to you to act upon these commitments, affirming your role as global peace-maker.
Therefore, I would like to draw your kind attention to an issue which continues to cause deep sorrow and concern to all Armenians around the world. Dozens of Armenian hostages have been illegally held in Baku, Azerbaijan for more than a year. The de facto closed-door trials of sixteen of these, former presidents, prime ministers and political leaders of Artsakh, began on January 17, 2025, without international observers or even minimal due juridical process.
Mr. President, the Armenian people will highly appreciate, if you appeal to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, to release immediately and unconditionally these prisoners, in accord with Azerbaijan’s own obligations under international law. Such a move will significantly advance the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, help foster good will and a constructive environment conducive to the return Armenians to Artsakh, promote mutual understanding across the region, and provide a concrete expression of your peace-making mission.
May God protect and lead you as you assume this critical mission at a crucial juncture of world history. I very much look forward to the opportunity to continue our dialogue in person.
Prayerfully
ARAM I
