ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
Contact: Danielle Saroyan
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Web: www.aaainc.org
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY SUBMITS TESTIMONY TO
HELSINKI COMMISSION BRIEFING ON PEACE IN ARTSAKH
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) submitted testimony
today to the Helsinki Commission Briefing titled, "Averting All-Out War in
Nagorno-Karabakh: The Role of the U.S. and OSCE." The panelists featured
were former OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair (1999-2001) Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh,
former OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair (2013-2016) Ambassador James B. Warlick, and
International Crisis Group's Europe and Central Asia Program Director Magdalena
Grono.
"President
Aliyev has plainly not abided by what he and his country agreed and we are
grateful that this year the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in two statements
already have begun to identify Azerbaijan as the cause for the loss of innocent
lives. The false equivalency that so many observers and actors try to apply to
this conflict does not square with effective conflict resolution or American
values," the Assembly stated in its testimony.
During the
Commission Briefing, Amb. Warlick stressed the importance of peace in the
region, and noted that all the points of the Madrid Principles are
interrelated, of which the entire panel agreed there needs to be respect for
the principles of self-determination, territorial integrity, and the non-use of
force.
“The
Assembly also highlighted Azerbaijan's cease-fire violations along the Line of
Contact, which, since 2014, have occurred more than 77,000 times, with over 1.4
million shots fired. Azerbaijan continues to fire at several kindergartens,
targeting young children in Armenia's Tavush region.
"Instead
of negotiating in good faith, Azerbaijan's president has made it clear that he
intends to continue to escalate hostilities in order to force
concessions," the Assembly continued. "The breadth and scope of the
violations demonstrate a systematic pattern that must be addressed, and that is
the reason why the Assembly strongly supports the agreements brokered by the
Minsk Group Co-Chairs and reached by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
to reinforce respect for the 1994 cease fire agreement signed by the
governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh."
In its
testimony, the Assembly called for confidence building measures (CBMs) to help
reduce tensions and build a path toward a just and peaceful resolution, which
was supported by all of the panelists during the briefing.
"While
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) have repeatedly agreed to confidence
building measures, Azerbaijan has consistently rejected such initiatives.
Earlier this year, despite U.S. objections, Azerbaijan unilaterally forced the
closure of the OSCE office in Yerevan, Armenia because of its humanitarian
de-mining activities," the Assembly said.
Amb.
Cavanaugh mentioned the exceptional work that The Halo Trust continues to do
clearing land mines in Artsakh, and commended them for their efforts. He
pointed out that it is in the best interests for Azerbaijan to cooperate with
this organization for mine clearance, which would ultimately benefit everyone
in the region.
Established
in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.
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NR#: 2017-070
