BAKU — U.S. Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Ed Markey expressed their support for Armenia during a news conference at COP29 on Saturday, November 16, Reuters reports.
Their remarks were in response to a question from a Baku TV journalist who asked why the United States has not taken steps to sanction Armenia.
“I think Senator Markey and I support Armenia, both of us. We deeply regret the displacement of so many Armenians. To put it mildly, I’m far from convinced that Armenians are to blame for that. And I don’t want to dwell, in the home of my hosts, on human rights issues. But if that were to be the topic, I would not be very complimentary,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
Senator Markey added: “We believe that political prisoners should be released. We believe there should be a right of return for Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh. And we believe there should be a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Our hope is that this treaty is negotiated soon so these issues can be resolved, including the establishment of a road through Armenia that Azerbaijan can traverse. But all of this must be part of a negotiated treaty. Ultimately, we need to ensure that those prisoners are released and that Armenian people have the right to return peacefully to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
In October, nearly 60 U.S. lawmakers, including Senators Whitehouse and Markey, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to press Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to uphold human rights protections and release political prisoners ahead of the COP29 climate summit. The lawmakers called on Blinken to compel Azerbaijan to take “tangible measures” to free political prisoners and to condemn provocative statements against Armenia, which they warned could undermine peace negotiations following Azerbaijan’s retaking of full control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
President Aliyev rejected the letter, describing it as “a disgusting appeal that cannot influence our will” and accusing its authors of attempting to “threaten and accuse us.”
