Author: Samvel Nahapetian

United States Senator Bob Menendez highlights need to pass NDAA amendment cutting aid to Azerbaijan

 09:54, 18 November, 2021

WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. United States Senator Bob Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has once again emphasized the need to cut U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan following the latest attacks on Armenia.

“Reports of Armenian casualties and Armenian soldiers taken as political prisoners by Azerbaijan are deeply concerning,” the Senator said in a statement released on social media.  “Defense aid to Azerbaijan helps enable these heinous acts against ethnic Armenians. It is time to pass my NDAA amendment cutting this aid.”

On November 4, Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) announced two of the foreign policy amendments he is filing to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As the primary vehicle for authorizing defense spending for Fiscal Year 2022, Chairman Menendez’s proposed changes to the NDAA seek to significantly improve the U.S. government’s ability to track and assess the national security implications of the proliferation of Turkey’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, as well as to prevent further exceptions to bypass a 1992 law banning U.S. military assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan. 

        Amendment Ending 907 Waiver: Prohibits the continued use of an exemption waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Section 907, which has been law since 1992, bans most assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan until it takes demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The Government of Azerbaijan has clearly not taken these steps, yet assistance to that government has skyrocketed in recent years.

“As the regime in Baku, with Turkey's support, continues choosing a path of violence instead of a peaceful, negotiated process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is long past time for this and all future administrations to halt this type of assistance and fully respect Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act,” said Menendez. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure this year’s NDAA continues to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests all while representing a prudent use of U.S. taxpayer dollars.”

       Amendment on Turkey’s Drone Program: Mandates the State Department and Pentagon report on Turkish drone exports since 2018 and whether those drones contain parts or technology manufactured by U.S. firms. The amendment also requires State to determine whether Turkey’s exports are a violation of the Arms Export Control Act or any other U.S. law or sanctions. Turkish drones played a decisive role in last year’s war between Armenian and Azerbaijan. Since then, Poland, Morocco, and Ukraine have purchased the Bayraktar TB2 and several other countries have expressed interest, including Angola, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

“Turkey’s drone sales are dangerous, destabilizing and a threat to peace and human rights,”  added Menendez. “The U.S. should have no part of it, and this amendment is a recognition that we must prevent U.S. parts from being included in these Turkish weapons.”

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan

 19:13,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to the USA Lilit Makunts held a phone conversation with Dereck Hogan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Armenian Embassy in the USA.

During the telephone conversation, the Armenian Ambassador briefed the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on the situation on the border with Armenia following the military aggression of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Ambassador Makunts stressed the need for immediate and targeted calls from the international community to condemn the military action taken by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

 21:16, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. According to the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin, the agreements of the trilateral declaration signed on November 9, 2020 between Putin, Pashinyan and Aliyev on ending military operations in Nagorno Karabakh under the Russian mediation are mainly preserved, despite the fact that tragic events and problems have emerged also following the establishment of the ceasefire regime, ARMENPRESS reports Kopirkin told the reporters, speaking about the implementation of the provisions of the declaration signed a year ago.

“Of course, there are problems, there are tragic incidents. All this is very complicated. But against the background of the potential for conflict, the emotional tension that had been accumulating for decades, the tragedy that took place a year ago, I think we can say that these agreements are generally implemented, and play a very important role in preventing bloodshed, ensuring security of the population and for looking for ways to resolve the situation”, the Russian Ambassador told the reporters.

Sergey Kopirkin also spoke about the other trilateral statement adopted by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on January 11, 2012, as the continuity of the November 9 declaration, which mainly refers to the restoration of economic and transport ties in the region and the establishment of a working group of deputy prime ministers for that purpose.

“Definitely, that’s not an easy job. I want to emphasize that since all this work is based on a dialogue based on the interests of each party, that is, nothing is imposed on someone, but an attempt is made to find a balance of interests, mutually beneficial, compromise-based options, which will be acceptable for both parties, that's why the process does not move so fast. But, in any case, this work is aimed at finding common ground, which means that making deals behind the back of the Armenian people, surrendering their interests, treachery, something that the people here are sometimes worried, are ruled out. Russia, in turn, works very neatly, fully respecting the sovereignty of both sides. Our task is to create the most favorable conditions for finding mutually acceptable solutions”, Ambassador Sergey Kopirkin said.

 10:14, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Artsakh issued a statement today, on November 9, on the first anniversary of the end of the 44-Day War.

Armenpress presents the text of the statement:

“One year ago, on 9 November 2020, thanks to the active mediation efforts of the Russian Federation, a trilateral statement was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan. The signing of the trilateral statement made it possible to put an end to the 44-day war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the direct military involvement of Turkey, as well as international terrorists and mercenaries from the Middle East, and laid the ground for the entry of Russian peacekeeping forces into the territory of Artsakh to maintain peace in the zone of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict. The trilateral statement also plays an important role in ensuring the post-war rehabilitation of the Republic of Artsakh.
 
As a result of the aggression and the devastating war that lasted 44 days, significant territories of the Republic of Artsakh, including the town of Shushi, the historical and cultural center of Artsakh, were occupied by Azerbaijan. During the hostilities, the Azerbaijani army committed numerous war crimes, including deliberate attacks on civilian objects, torture and extrajudicial killings of prisoners of war and captured civilians, ethnic cleansing, deliberate destruction of historical and cultural monuments and churches, the use of indiscriminate weapons prohibited by international law.

Even after the signing of the trilateral statement on 9 November 2020, Azerbaijan has not stopped its internationally wrongful acts and continues its offensive and aggressive actions, including capture of military personnel and civilians, carrying out deliberate killings, destruction of Armenian churches and cultural heritage in the occupied territories.

In this regard, it should be emphasized that the situation resulting from the illegal use of military force by Azerbaijan, flagrant violation of its international obligations, systematic and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law cannot serve as a basis for the settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict.

It is well known that the norms of international law prohibit the recognition of any territorial gains as a result of the threat or use of force. Moreover, the use of force cannot abolish one of the fundamental principles of international law, the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, enshrined in the UN Charter and other fundamental international documents.

The position of the official Stepanakert and the will of the people of Artsakh remain unchanged. Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan. Respect for the inalienable right to self-determination realized by the people of Artsakh and de-occupation of the territories where they created their independent statehood through self-determination and developed it are the cornerstone of a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict and establishment of a sustainable and lasting peace in the region”.

 21:58, 4 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Senator Bob Menendez demanded that the US State Department and the Ministry of Defense submit a report on Turkey's export of drones, ARMENRESS reports, the Armenian National Committee of America reports. Bob Menendez presented as an example the use of Turkish Bayraktar drones by Azerbaijan against Artsakh in 2020.