WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bipartisan Members addressed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding Azerbaijan’s continued aggression toward Armenia, its occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, the ongoing detention and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war, and the destruction of Armenian Christian cultural heritage, reported the Armenian Assembly of America.
The Members urged the State Department to “enforce statutory prohibitions on U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan” pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, as Azerbaijan continues to not be held accountable or face consequences for its ethnic cleansing and unjust actions against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
Reflecting on President Biden’s Administration’s decision to finally enforce Section 907 restrictions and halt military aid to Azerbaijan, the Members highlighted Azerbaijan’s “authoritarian regime” and how it has “routinely abused the privilege of U.S. assistance, engaging in conduct inconsistent with the values and national security interests of the United States. Azerbaijan’s defiance of U.S. warnings to cease its blockade and refrain from military action against Nagorno-Karabakh demonstrated a clear disregard for U.S. efforts to mediate a lasting solution to the conflict.”
The letter emphasized that the failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its ongoing aggression against Armenia would “embolden U.S. rivals seeking to take advantage of our inaction…as such, maintaining the suspension of U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, in accordance with Section 907, is both a moral imperative in light of Azerbaijan’s crimes against the Armenian people and a strategic imperative at a crucial moment when U.S. credibility and authority is being aggressively challenged by our adversaries.”
