Your trusted source

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone and Jackie Speier, have called on Joe Biden to lead U.S. re-engagement in negotiations for a lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group and to stop military aid to Azerbaijan.

In a letter addressed to Biden, the congressmen underlined that Armenia agreed to a peace agreement brokered by Russia due to the risk of a mass atrocity against thousands of Armenian civilians rising, adding the agreement has ended the fighting, at least for now, but at tremendous cost.

“While we welcome peace, we are deeply concerned about the immediate and long-term implications of this deal, which does nothing to settle the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ultimate status. Further, we believe that this tragic outcome was avoidable had the United States and the international community acted decisively. We completely concur with your strong and clear statement from October 28, which provided that, “The administration must fully implement and not waive requirements under section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan, and call on Turkey and Russia to stop fueling the conflict with the supply of weapons and, in the case of Turkey, mercenaries.”

Sadly, in the absence of these and other actions that could have deterred Azerbaijan and Turkey from pressing their military advantage, they have pushed ahead to create new facts on the ground by force. For far too long, we have condoned the bellicose rhetoric and aggressive actions of Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the results are now devastatingly clear.

As you take office, you have the opportunity to forge a new policy towards the region, one that reorients our foreign policy towards supporting democracy, human rights, and the right to self-determination.

First, we believe your Administration should immediately end the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act with regard to Azerbaijan, and end military assistance to Azerbaijan under Section 333 which has totaled more than $100 million in the past two years. The United States should not be building the capacity of a nation that uses its military to attack its neighbors.

Second, the United States should reengage on negotiations for a lasting settlement through the OSCE Minsk Group. The ceasefire that was reached this week does nothing to settle the underlying territorial dispute or ensure a lasting and equitable peace. The United States should work with the Minsk Group to define the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh in a way that is consistent with the right of self-determination,” the letter reads.