Today, the bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and David G. Valadao (R-Calif.) introduced a resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s unprovoked military attacks on Armenia and Artsakh and demanding the Biden administration immediately withhold further assistance to Azerbaijan.
“We strongly condemn the deadly attacks by Azeri forces in sovereign Armenian territory. This egregious escalation of Azeri violence shows just how emboldened the Aliyev regime has become when its unprovoked aggression is met by deafening silence and false equivocations from the international community – empowering Azerbaijan to continue and expand its attacks. We call on the Biden administration and State Department to unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan’s actions and cease all assistance to the Aliyev regime immediately. And we stand firmly with the people of Armenia and Artsakh in support of their territorial integrity, and their right to peace and freedom,” Schiff, Pallone, Bilirakis, Speier and Valadao said in a statement.
On September 13th, Azerbaijan launched an unprovoked assault on sovereign Armenian territory with intensive shelling and drone attacks on the villages of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in Artsakh, and the Armenian border cities of Vardenis, Jermuk, Goris, and Tatev – reportedly resulting in the deaths of at least 105 Armenian soldiers.
The attacks come nearly two years after Azerbaijan launched a massive and unprovoked military assault on the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2020, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Armenian civilians and soldiers, the displacement of tens of thousands more civilians, and the ongoing detention of more than 100 prisoners of war. Azerbaijan’s aggression has continued unabated in the years since, despite them signing a November 2020 ceasefire agreement with Armenia to end the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Despite Azerbaijan’s ongoing and well-documented offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the State Department has continued to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan by waiving Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
Specifically, the resolution:
- Condemns Azerbaijan for its September 13, 2022 unprovoked military attack on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire;
- Urges President Biden to immediately cease all assistance to Azerbaijan pursuant to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and for the Administration to make clear to President Aliyev that further attacks on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh will result in sanctions or other measures;
- Reaffirms the United States’ decisive support of Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its firm opposition against Azerbaijan’s military aggression and blatant violations of international laws and norms; and
- Supports U.S. and international humanitarian assistance programs to meet the urgent needs of victims of Azerbaijani aggression in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Original source can be found here.
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