15:31, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Raffi Hamparian has called upon U.S. Senators to place a hold on all nominations to the State Department, blocking any new confirmations until President Biden takes decisive action to break Azerbaijan’s 260+ day blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The ANCA’s call is backed up by a nationwide advocacy campaign, empowering Armenian and allied Americans from all fifty states to send letters urging their Senators to take this principled stand – in accord with U.S. interests and American values. The action portal is www.anca.org/hold.

The ANCA is asking that a hold on U.S. diplomatic nominees remain in place until the Biden Administration has undertaken demonstrable steps to:

– Lead a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh, sanctioning the Aliyev regime, and putting in place mechanisms to open land transit via the Lachin Corridor and to airlift supplies to Artsakh.

– Stop any new, current, or pending U.S. military or security assistance to Azerbaijan, and fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

– Deliver emergency U.S. humanitarian assistance and longer term development aid to the Armenian victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno Karabakh, including by means of a humanitarian airlift;

– Enforce statutory sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the genocidal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh.