Washington, D.C. – Bipartisan Members addressed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding Azerbaijan’s continued aggression toward Armenia, its occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, the ongoing detention and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war, and the destruction of Armenian Christian cultural heritage, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).
The Members urged the State Department to “enforce statutory prohibitions on U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan” pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, as Azerbaijan continues to not be held accountable or face consequences for its ethnic cleansing and unjust actions against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
Reflecting on President Biden’s Administration’s decision to finally enforce Section 907 restrictions and halt military aid to Azerbaijan, the Members highlighted Azerbaijan’s “authoritarian regime” and how it has “routinely abused the privilege of U.S. assistance, engaging in conduct inconsistent with the values and national security interests of the United States. Azerbaijan’s defiance of U.S. warnings to cease its blockade and refrain from military action against Nagorno-Karabakh demonstrated a clear disregard for U.S. efforts to mediate a lasting solution to the conflict.”
The letter emphasized that the failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its ongoing aggression against Armenia would “embolden U.S. rivals seeking to take advantage of our inaction…as such, maintaining the suspension of U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, in accordance with Section 907, is both a moral imperative in light of Azerbaijan’s crimes against the Armenian people and a strategic imperative at a crucial moment when U.S. credibility and authority is being aggressively challenged by our adversaries.”
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“The Assembly welcomes this bipartisan initiative spearheaded by Congressman Lawler,” said Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan. “As long as Azerbaijan continues unjustly to hold Christian Armenian hostages and evade accountability for its hostile acts against Armenians, including the violent ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, it is imperative that Section 907 remain firmly in place.”
In addition to Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), the letter was co-signed by Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and representatives Gabe Amo (D-RI), Jack Auchincloss (D-MA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Donald Beyer (D-VA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Greg Casar (D-TX), Jim Costa (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Gilbert Cisneros (D-CA), Vince Fong (R-CA), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), John Larson (D-CT), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Dave Min (D-CA), Barry Moore (R-AL), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Luz Rivas (D-CA), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Bradley Schneider (D-IL), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and George Whitesides (D-CA).
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
Armenian Assembly of America