U.S. Representatives warn of Azerbaijani attack on Armenia

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) were joined by a bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers in calling on the Biden administration to take immediate measures to prevent an Azerbaijani invasion of Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“The opportunity to prevent further aggression by Azerbaijani forces and an all-out war in the South Caucasus is running out,” stated the U.S. representatives in an October 4 letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power. “Signals from Aliyev indicate that his campaign of ethnic cleansing will not cease with his military attacks on Artsakh.”

The U.S. lawmakers offered four concrete ways the U.S. can deter Azerbaijani aggression, including:

– Imposing Global Magnitsky Act and other sanctions against Azerbaijan for “their role in the military attack on and dissolution of Artsakh and associated atrocities and human rights violations

– Enforcing Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, stopping military aid to Azerbaijan

– Providing security assistance to Armenia

– Placing international monitors and peacekeepers in Armenia to prevent an Azerbaijani invasion

The legislators also called for expanded U.S. and international humanitarian aid for Armenian refugees forced out of Artsakh and efforts to secure the “unconditional release of and amnesty for captured Artsakh government officials and Armenian prisoners of war.”

Joining Representatives Pallone, Costa and Sherman in co-signing the letter are Representatives: Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Dina Titus (D-NV).

The full text of the Congressional letter is available here.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.