10:22, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Sixty U.S. Senators and Representatives, led by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), called on congressional leaders to send security assistance to Armenia and provide additional refugee relief aid for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the national security supplemental funding bill, set to be reviewed as early as next week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Specifically, the Padilla-Eshoo letter calls for $10 million in U.S. foreign military financing (FMF) for Armenia and requests humanitarian assistance allocated in the supplemental aid bill to be made available to Armenia to meet the needs of over 100,000 forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Azerbaijan’s brutal, unprovoked military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh on the heels of their months-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor has created a horrific humanitarian crisis, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees to flee their homes,” said Senator Padilla. “The U.S. must step up to address this emergency. I strongly urge Congressional leadership to include essential security and humanitarian assistance for Armenia in the foreign aid package.”

In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), legislators cite Azerbaijan’s September 19th attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and forced displacement of over 100,000 indigenous Armenians.

“We are particularly concerned that Azerbaijan will continue its aggression by invading the sovereign territory of Armenia. Ominously, Aliyev recently referred to southern Armenia as “western Azerbaijan” and called for the “liberation” of eight Armenian villages along the Azerbaijani border,” state the congressional lawmakers. They go on to stress, “At this inflection point for the Caucasus, U.S. leadership is needed to deter further Azerbaijani aggression and enable Armenians to defend their democracy.”

“As a small democracy in a region dominated by autocrats, Armenia is particularly vulnerable. This is especially true now that Armenia has distanced itself from Russia, Armenia’s traditional security guarantor, in pursuit of closer ties with western democracies,” the U.S. lawmakers said in the letter.