12:40,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the United States and 2020 candidate for US President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, candidate for the Vice President, issued a position paper delineating what they said Biden had done on Armenian issues, and outlining what a Biden-Harris administration would accomplish, Asbarez reports.
This announcement comes two days after both Biden and Harris, in separate remarks, addressed the Karabakh conflict and called for its peaceful settlement.
The complete text of the campaign statement entitled “Joe Biden’s Support for the Armenian People” is presented below.
Joe Biden’s Support for the Armenian People
“I stand…with all Armenians and the Armenian-American community, which has contributed so much to our nation, in remembering and honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide.” Vice President Joe Biden, April 24, 2020.
Coming to the actions to be done by Joe Biden, the paper says in particular that Joe Biden will recognize the Armenian Genocide and make universal human rights a top priority for his administration so that such a tragedy can never again occur.
What Joe Biden Will Do
- Joe Biden will strengthen the U.S.-Armenia partnership to improve the lives of the Armenian people.
- Joe Biden will push for lasting peace in the region, reinvigorating U.S. engagement in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as he did in office , including seeking additional international observers to monitor the ceasefire. He will also work to prevent interference by third parties, including nation-states like Turkey, and foreign mercenaries paid to commit crimes against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
- Joe Biden will fully supports U.S. aid to Armenia to strengthen democratic governance and promote economic growth, and review our security assistance to Azerbaijan to ensure it is not being repurposed for offensive means.
- He will continue the long-time U.S. de-mining and humanitarian assistance in Nagorno-Karabakh — which President Trump has tried to end.
- He will condemn hate crimes committed against Armenian American communities and strengthen protections for faith communities, including by expanding security grants to faith-based organizations and establishing a new law enforcement program in the Department of Justice dedicated to preventing attacks against faith communities.
What Joe Biden Has Done
- As a U.S. Senator, Joe Biden led congressional efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Last year, Joe Biden endorsed bipartisan legislation in Congress that officially recognized and established an ongoing U.S. commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
- This year on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, he called for the genocide to be fully acknowledged and pledged support for its recognition. He stated then that “[i]f we do not fully acknowledge, commemorate, and teach our children about genocide, the words ‘never again’ lose their meaning.”
- The Obama-Biden administration provided U.S. assistance to Armenia and humanitarian support for Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). With the Vice President’s leadership , the United States was a full partner in the OSCE Minsk Group peace process to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
- When the conflict reignited in September 2020, Joe Biden called for the Trump administration to more actively engage in seeking a peaceful resolution and to demand that other states, such as Turkey, stay out of the conflict.