WASHINGTON, DC – Congressional pressure for US leadership to end Azerbaijan’s humanitarian aid blockade on Artsakh continued to mount as Baku’s road closure and energy cut-off entered its third day, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
On Wednesday, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s panel covering European affairs held a hearing on the Caucasus that featured four spirited calls to hold Azerbaijan accountable by the subcommittee’s Ranking Member (and future chairman) Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Susan Wild (D-PA).
Rep. Fitzpatrick, in his opening remarks, noted that “footage of Azerbaijan executions of Armenian prisoners of war and mistreatment of many people have raised concerns and criticism internationally.”
Rep. Costa, in addition to pressing Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried about Azerbaijan’s illegal imprisonment of Armenian POWs, noted Azerbaijan’s current blockade of Artsakh and cut-off of the gas pipeline. “I don’t think it shows good faith when two parties are negotiating and Azerbaijan is blockading the road to Artsakh,” explained Rep. Costa, who went on to urge the Biden administration to enforce Section 907 restrictions and stop US military aid to Azerbaijan. Assistant Secretary Donfried noted that the issue of the current blockade of the Berdzor (Lachin)-Goris roadway would be discussed with a senior, unnamed, Azerbaijani official visiting Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Rep. Wild, noting that her Armenian constituents in Pennsylvania are very concerned about the plight of the Armenians of Artsakh, noted that “the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh continue to face an acute humanitarian crisis, including threats of renewed attacks and chronic shortages of water, energy, healthcare and food,” and asked Assistant Secretary Donfried for clarification on amounts of assistance provided in Artsakh and an accounting that funds reached the intended recipients.
Rep. Schneider stressed that US policy should prioritize protecting Armenia and also focused his comments on the broader Armenia-Turkey and Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations processes.
Prior to the hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Congressional Armenian Caucus on Armenian Issues leadership and House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) each made statements condemning Azerbaijan’s latest road and energy blockade of Artsakh.
Chairman Menendez tweeted that “Aliyev’s weaponization of winter against the people of #NagornoKarabakh is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Democracies worldwide must swiftly condemn the coercive gas cuts & blockade by Aliyev & his proxies. Freedom of movement in #NagornoKarabakh must be restored.”
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Schiff stated: “We condemn the aggressive actions taken by Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh. It is disturbing that the only time the people of Azerbaijan are allowed to freely protest is when it threatens the lives of Armenians. Their blockade of the Lachin Corridor appears coordinated and intended to shut off the only remaining supply route for much of Artsakh’s food, medical supplies and transport, and other essential goods, not to mention further restrict the people of Artsakh’s freedom of movement. Additional reports allege that Azerbaijan has also shut off one of the major sources of natural gas for civilians in the territory, potentially leaving tens of thousands without heating as temperatures plummet, much like it did earlier this year in March.
The Congressional Armenian Caucus statement continued, “The shutting down, or even the threat of shutting down, of these vital lifelines by Azerbaijan is once again weaponizing critical infrastructure and manufacturing a humanitarian crisis for Armenians living in Nagorno Karabakh. This follows a well-documented pattern of abuses against the Armenian people that is motivated by the bombastic rhetoric of the Aliyev regime to dehumanize them. We urge the United States and our European partners to use every diplomatic tool at their disposal to halt this clearly fabricated crisis created by Azerbaijan, bring Aliyev back to the negotiating table through the OSCE Minsk Group and other multilateral peace processes, and ensure that the people of Artsakh are included in these discussions.”
Rep. Schiff tweeted, “Azerbaijan is intentionally blocking Artsakh’s only connection to food, medical supplies, and heat in the dead of winter. It’s a humanitarian crisis in the making – part of Aliyev’s ongoing terror campaign against the Armenian people. The US cannot stand idly by.”
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It’s really pathetic. We never learn. We get so comforted and at ease just to hear some country or an entity – US, EU, France, Russia, etc. making a comment or criticize the Azerbaijan for their acts of atrocity, yet they go around and supply them with everything they need to continue doing what they have been doing. They give us words of comfort, and give them weapons of destruction. How much longer do we have to continue in our illusion that some powerful country is going to come to our defense and sacrifice their youth or their national interest for our sake. If we are not ready to finally unite and build our own forces (strong army with modern state of the art weapons, purchased from whomever or preferably, built by us) and face them with the same brutality they are dishing out – ignoring human rights or UN or this or that – we will continue to be in the same miserable state we have been in for so long.