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10:28,
YEREVAN, 17 JULY, ARMENPRESS: The 32nd annual international competition of young performers "Slavyansky Bazaar 2023" took place in the city of Vitebsk of Belarus on July 14-16, and this year 15 countries participated in the contest. Armenia’s participant in this prominent competition was singer Masha Mnjoyan, who amazed everyone with her performance and stage presence during the two days of the competition.
ARMENPRESS reports, on the first day of the competition, Masha performed the song "Пообещай мне любовь" (Promise me love), composed by Yevgeny Krylatov, the lyrics written by Igor Voznesensky, and received 66 points from the jury. On the second day of the competition, she performed Aretha Franklin's "Respect" as an international hit and received 69 points.
As a result, Masha received 135 points during the competition, becoming the absolute winner of the prominent competition and receiving the Grand Prix award. For the first time, Armenia won in the "Slavyansky Bazaar" young performers competition.
In the "Slavyansky Bazaar 2023" competition, the representative of Belarus won the 1st prize, the representatives of Russia and Uzbekistan shared the 2nd prize, and the 3rd prize was awarded to the representatives of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Anahit Galstyan, 10-year-old representative of Armenia, became one of the favorites on the two days of the competition and won the 2nd place with 133 points in the "Slavyanski Bazaar 2023" children's song competition held on July 12-14.
17:21,
YEREVAN, JULY 17, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s non-compliance with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) constitutes a violation of conventional obligations, Armenia’s Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan said on July 17.
“Azerbaijan’s non-compliance is a violation of conventional obligations and undermines the Council of Europe's key principles of human rights and the rule of law,” Marukyan tweeted.
On July 12, the ECHR examined the Armenian Government’s request to indicate interim measures against Azerbaijan and issued a decision reaffirming its December 21, 2022 decision whereby it indicated to the Government of Azerbaijan, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, to take all measures that are within their jurisdiction to ensure safe passage through the “Lachin Corridor” of seriously ill persons in need of medical treatment in Armenia and others who were stranded on the road without shelter or means of subsistence.
Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, the pre eminent historian and scholar who authored the definitive history of the First Republic of Armenia and for decades served as the Chair of the AEF Modern Armenian Studies Program at UCLA, passed away Monday in Los Angeles. He was 90.
The news was first reported by the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, a Yerevan-based organization founded by the professor’s son, Raffi Hovannisian, who served as Armenia’s first foreign minister.
Armenian organizations in Los Angeles, as well as around the world, are mourning the loss of Professor Hovannisian, whose life work has influenced every aspect of our national reality.
One of such organization, the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region, called him a “trailblazer” in a statement its board issued on Tuesday.
“A past recipient of the ANCA-WR Lifetime Achievement Award, Professor Hovannisian was a trailblazer who elevated the Armenian Cause to new heights,” said the ANCA-WR statement.
“Through his multitude of scholarly achievements over a period of decades, he set the standard for the study of Armenian history in many prestigious institutions of higher learning, mentoring scores of students and scholars who followed in his footsteps. He leaves an enduring legacy which has a lasting impact on multiple generations, both past and future,” added the ANCA-WR.
“Professor Hovannisian was truly a source of national pride, and his loss will be immensely felt by our community. May the memory of his lifetime of service and commitment to the Armenian Cause serve as a shining example for us all to follow,” statement said.
Dr. Hovannisian was also the recipient of the 2020 Armenian Genocide Education Legacy Award at the 4th Annual Armenian Genocide Education Luncheon organized by ANCA WR’s Education Committee. At the conclusion of that event, it was announced that the Armenian Genocide Higher Education Award will be renamed to the Richard G. Hovannisian Higher Education Award in honor of the legendary historian “who is often dubbed as the contemporary Movses Khorenatsi for his contributions to the Armenian nation as a historian, scholar, and intellectual,” said the statement.
The Society for Armenian Studies also mourned Hovannisian on Tuesday, saying that “the academic world, the field of Armenian Studies, and the Armenian nation lost one of the most prominent icons of the modern period.”
“Prof. Richard G. Hovannisian. Hovannisian was a monumental figure in the field of Armenian Studies. Considered as the Dean of Modern Armenian History, he established the field of
Modern Armenian History in the Western Hemisphere. He supported the establishment of some
of the most important chairs in Armenian Studies in the United States,” added the Society of Armenian Studies, which also released the following biographical notes.
Hovannisian was the child of Genocide survivors. His father, Kaspar Gavroian, was born in in the village of Bazmashen near Kharpert in 1901. Unlike others, he survived the Genocide and arrived in the U.S. He changed his last name from Gavroian to Hovannisian after his father Hovannes. In 1928 Kaspar married Siroon Nalbandian, the child of Genocide survivors. They had four sons: John, Ralph, Richard, and Vernon. Richard was born in Tulare, California, on November 9, 1932. Being the son of Genocide survivors played an important role in his academic path. In 1957, he married Dr. Vartiter Kotcholosian in Fresno and had four children: Raffi, Armen, Ani, and Garo. Raffi would become the first Minister of Foreign Affairs (1991-1992) of the Modern Republic of Armenia.
Hovannisian began his academic life in 1954 by earning a B.A. in History, followed by an M.A. in History from the University of California, Berkley. In 1966, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His dissertation was published in 1967 with the title Armenia on the Road to Independence which was the precursor to the four-volume magnum opus The Republic of Armenia. Hovannisian played an important role in establishing the teaching of Armenian history at UCLA. In 1987, he became the first holder of the Armenian Education Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, which after his retirement was named in his honor as the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History, with Prof. Sebouh Aslanian as its first incumbent.
Hovannisian was a Guggenheim Fellow and received numerous prestigious national and international awards for his service to the field and civic activities. He served on the Board of Directors of multiple national and international educational institutions and was a member of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. After finishing his four-volume The Republic of Armenia, he dedicated his research and career to battling the denial of Armenian Genocide, resurrecting the history of Armenian towns and villages of the Armenian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire, and writing textbooks on modern Armenian history. Although not a scholar of Armenian Genocide, he has contributed more to the discipline than many others in the field. He edited multiple volumes on different facets of the Armenian Genocide, including historical, literary, and artistic perspectives. Hovannisian also spearheaded a monumental project to preserve the eyewitness accounts of the Armenian Genocide survivors.
In the 1970s, he launched the Armenian Genocide oral history project. He and his students interviewed more than 1,000 Armenian Genocide survivors in California. In 2018, Hovannisian donated the collection to the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive to be available to scholars around the world. He single-handedly edited and published 15 volumes with Mazda Press as part of the UCLA Armenian History & Culture Series. The 15 volumes covered the history of Armenians in Van/Vaspourakan, Cilicia (with Simon Payaslian), Sivas/Sepastia, Trebizond/Trabzon, Baghesh/Bitlis, Taron/Mush, Smyrna/Izmir, Kesaria/Kayseri and Cappadocia among other places. The final book in the series, The Armenians of Persia/Iran, was published in 2022. Hovannisian’s also edited the two-volume The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, which is considered a classic Armenian History textbook.
Hovannisian came from a generation that fought against the stifling of Armenian voices within the fields of Middle Eastern and Ottoman Studies, which had relegated Armenian Studies to second-class status. He fought for the relevance of Armenian Studies within these fields and tirelessly fought against the efforts to marginalize Armenian issues and to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Besides his contribution to the field, Hovannisian also mentored and educated multiple generations of scholars and thousands of students. He was a strict mentor who demanded that his students work to reach their full potential. He wanted to make sure that they would survive and thrive in the tough terrain of the academic job market.
In his lifetime, Hovannisian was especially influenced by two people: his wife Vartiter and Simon Vratsian (the last Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia). Vartiter was his life’s partner for more than half a century. Her dedication to Richard and the field of Armenian Studies played an important role in shaping who Richard became. Vartiter was an intellectual companion who read and reviewed every piece that he wrote. She was also a constant presence at every conference he planned or attended. In the early 1950s, Vratsian, the author of a major book on the First Republic, became Hovannisian’s mentor when he studied Armenian language at the Hamazkayin Nishan Palanjian Jemaran in Beirut, Lebanon. This influence led Hovannisian to write the first academic work on the First Republic of Armenia and created the first step for his academic career.
In 1974, Hovannisian along with Dickran Kouymjian, Nina Garsoïan, Avedis Sanjian, and Robert Thomson spearheaded the project to establish a Society for Armenian Studies (SAS).
Considered as the pillars of Armenian Studies, the main objective of this group was the development of Armenian Studies as an academic discipline. With access to very limited resources, this group of scholars was able to establish the foundations of a Society that would play a dominant role in developing Armenian Studies in North America and beyond. From a handful of chairs and programs that supported the initiative at the time, today Armenian Studies as a discipline has flourished in the United States with more than thirteen chairs and programs providing their unconditional support to the Society. Hovannisian was the president of SAS for three terms (1977, 1991-1992, 2006-2009). During his tenure the Society flourished and was able to achieve major accomplishments in the field.
In 2019, the Society for Armenian Studies awarded Hovannisian with the SAS Life Time Achievement Award in recognition and appreciation for his outstanding service and contribution to the field of Armenian Studies.
Dynamics of cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields as well as trade and economic issues between Georgia and Armenia were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan.
The officials reviewed the security environment and challenges both globally and in the South Caucasus region, with Garibashvili pointing out his Government’s “willingness” to continue to focus its efforts on the peaceful development of the South Caucasus region within the peaceful neighbourhood initiative – a dialogue platform for normalisation of relations in the region, the Government Administration said.
The meeting also highlighted “historical and cultural” ties between the two countries, with the officials agreeing to start a “high-level dialogue” on strategic issues as part of a joint effort to advance regional stability and development that would also add a “further impetus” to the “fruitful cooperation” between the countries.
The sides also discussed trade and economic issues, with the Government heads expressing their “readiness” to advance the economic cooperation between the countries to a “new stage”.
Garibashvili and Pashinyan stressed the “important” role of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, a key platform for strengthening ties between the two countries.
The extended meeting that included the members of the Cabinet of Ministers of both countries reviewed new directions of cooperation in the economy.
The 1st European Pairs Chess Championship, an official side event of the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023, concluded yesterday in Poland!
The event was held in two phases: qualification and playoffs, and the individual medalists were determined by the playoffs in each section (Open and Women’s). The combined Pair medals were decided by the final position of the players of each team after the playoffs in each section (sum of points): 1st 8-points, 2nd 7–points, 3rd 6-points, 4th 5-points, 5th 4-points, 6th 3 points, 7th 2-points, and 8th 1-point.
The team of Armenia, represented by GM Shant Sargsyan and IM Elina Danielian, emerged as the Winner of the event scoring 15 points. The Netherlands clinched silver with 14 points with GM Benjamin Bok and IM Eline Roebers in the team, while Azerbaijan came third with 13 points, represented by GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and IM Gunay Mammadzada.
After a good performance in the qualification stage, GM Benjamin Bok entered the playoffs as the lowest rated player to fight for the top. With two convincing 2-0 victories against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and GM Shant Sargsyan, Benjamin Bok clinched the individual gold medal. GM Shant Sargsyan came second and GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won bronze.
GM Elina Danielian emerged as the Winner in the Women’s event defeating IM Marsel Efroimski and IM Gunay Mammadzada with perfect 2-0 result in both matches. IM Gunay Mammadzada claimed silver and IM Eline Roebers came third.
All results can be found here, and the final standings can be seen below.
The 3 winners of the Open, Women’s and Combine Pair sections received gold, silver and bronze medals, the same as the European Olympic Games medals.
The Closing ceremony of the event took place after the games with the presence of the deputy CEO of the 2023 European Games Mr. Janusz Koziol, the ECU Deputy President Mrs. Dana Reiznece-Ozola, ECU Vice Presidents Mr. Alojzije Jankovic and Mr. Gunnar Bjornsson, ECU Secretary General Mr. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, FIDE Secretary General Mr. Lukasz Turlej, and head of the Malopolska Chess Association Ms. Kamila Kałużna-Turcza.
The event was broadcasted live through the ECU YouTube channel with commentaries by WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili and WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni.
https://www.europechess.org/armenia-wins-european-pairs-chess-championship-2023/
15:21,
YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. The operative headquarters of the Lipetsk region advises its residents not to leave their homes without urgent need and to refrain from traveling by personal and public transport.
"At the moment, all government bodies and law enforcement forces are working in a strengthened mode. In order to ensure the law and order and safety of the citizens of Lipetsk Oblast, the operative headquarters of the oblast asks residents not to leave their homes without urgent need and to refrain from any trip by private or public transport," ARMENPRESS reports, reads the statement.
09:58,
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. The US Coast Guard says that a debris field located in the North Atlantic suggests that a submersible missing since Sunday, with five passengers on board, suffered a "catastrophic implosion,” the BBC reports.
The vessel, which had limited oxygen supplies, went missing deep under the ocean on Sunday after setting off to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
It prompted a massive five-day search and rescue operation led by US, Canadian and French agencies.
On Thursday evening, the Coast Guard said it had located five major pieces of the Titan amid debris around the Titanic site, which it said was "consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber".
The agency offered its condolences to the families of the victims and said it could not confirm if their bodies would ever be recovered.
Ahead of its press conference, OceanGate – the company that operates the tours – released a statement saying it believed all five passengers on board "have sadly been lost".
"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time," the company said. "We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
The five people on board were:
Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British businessman and explorer
Shahzada Dawood, 48-also a British businessman -and his son, Suleman Dawood, 19
Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a 77-year-old French explorer nicknamed "Mr Titanic"
Stockton Rush, 61, is the chief executive of OceanGate, the firm behind the dive
The find completes a five-day search across nations which spanned more than 20,000 sq km of ocean.
11:45,
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sent a congratulatory letter to Xavier Bethel, Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, on the occasion of the national day.
"Your Excellency, I heartily congratulate you on the occasion of the national holiday of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,” Pashinyan said in the letter. “I note with great joy that the relations between our countries, based on mutual respect and trust, are at a historically high level, serving as the best basis for the further expansion and strengthening of cooperation. The friendship of states is strengthened by withstanding the disasters of time. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has repeatedly reaffirmed that it is a friend of Armenia, regardless of political expediency and geopolitical realities. In this difficult historical period, your country's firm support proves once again that Armenia, which professes democratic values, is not alone. I sincerely hope that through joint efforts we will strengthen the cooperation between Armenia and Luxembourg and contribute to the stable development of our countries through cooperation on international platforms. Once again, I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Luxembourg on this remarkable day, wishing peace, prosperity and new success."
A bipartisan group of 54 US Representatives, led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) called on the Biden Administration to enforce Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan.
WASHINGTON, DC – A bipartisan group of 54 US Representatives, led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), demanded the Biden Administration stop all military assistance to Azerbaijan and urged a stronger US response to Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade and aggression against Artsakh’s 120,000 indigenous Armenian Christian population, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“We would like to thank Rep. Barbara Lee and the bipartisan group of US Representatives from across the US for taking a powerful stand against the Biden-Harris Administration’s appeasement of Azerbaijan’s ongoing anti-Armenian aggression,” stated ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “US military assistance to Azerbaijan emboldens the corrupt Aliyev regime to continue to its brutal Artsakh blockade, strangling Artsakh’s Christian population.”
Joining Rep. Lee in co-signing the Congressional letter are Representatives: Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Greg Casar (D-TX), Joaquín Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Jesus Garcia (D-IL), Robert Garcia (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Josh Harder (D-CA), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Katie Porter (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Trone (D-MD), David Valadao (R-CA), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
In the Congressional letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken today, an initiative strongly supported by the ANCA, US lawmakers noted, “Azerbaijan’s behavior has undoubtedly been emboldened by the impunity it has been afforded since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War – during which Azerbaijani forces perpetrated horrific human rights abuses including the ongoing detention and torture of Armenian prisoners of war, and the deliberate targeting of homes, schools, churches and medical facilities with prohibited weapons.”
The US Representatives went on to caution, “Azerbaijan’s prolonged blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and its continued occupation of Armenian sovereign territory not only threatens to jeopardize tenuous conflict resolution efforts, but gravely endangers the security and welfare of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.”
The US Representatives urged the Biden Administration to cut all military assistance to Azerbaijan by enforcing Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. “In the context of this ongoing blockade and President Aliyev’s continuing threats, extending the Presidential waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act would send a dangerous message to Azerbaijan’s government – that there will be no repercussions for its attempts to impose its will on the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by intimidation, starvation and deadly force,” stated lawmakers.
The Biden Administration is currently deciding whether to reauthorize of the Presidential waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Enacted in 1992, the law establishes statutory restrictions on US assistance to the government of Azerbaijan “until the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.” Congress included a Section 907 waiver in the FY2002 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.
The Section 907 waiver and subsequent extensions require a number of certifications, including that granting the waiver “will not undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan or be used for offensive purposes against Armenia.” A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, issued in 2022, revealed that the State Department consistently failed to inform Congress of the impact of over $164 million in assistance to Baku on the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
US presidents – Republican and Democrat – have waived Section 907 annually since 2001, including President Biden, who, as a candidate, called on the Trump Administration to enforce Azerbaijan sanctions and apply the measure.
ANCA Summer fellows visited with over 400 Congressional offices urging them to co-sign the Lee letter to cut all military aid to Azerbaijan.
The Congressional letter also expressed “dismay” at the State Department’s reticence to forcefully reject President Aliyev’s recent threats against Artsakh’s authorities. “President Aliyev’s May 28 threat is an affront to our democratic and humanitarian values, and is even more shocking coming from a nation that receives generous U.S. military assistance,” stated the lawmakers.
Over the past week, over 50,000 pro-Artsakh advocates used the ANCA’s advocacy platform to urge their US Representatives to co-sign Rep. Lee’s letter to cut all military aid to Azerbaijan. ANCA Leo Sarkisian, Maral Melkonian, and Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program Summer fellows met with Congressional staff from over 400 offices to share the latest information about Azerbaijan’s brutal Artsakh blockade and ongoing anti-Armenian aggression. Their nationwide call to action is available here.
The full text of the Congressional letter to Secretary Blinken is provided below and available here.
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Text of Congressional Letter to Secretary Blinken Urging the Biden Administration to Cut all Military Aid to Azerbaijan
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Secretary Blinken:
We write to express our concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by Azerbaijan’s extended blockade of the Lachin Corridor, especially amidst ongoing peace talks that could greatly impact the lives of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). We urge the Administration to cease further military assistance to Azerbaijan pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act while this blockade remains in effect and President Aliyev continues to use human rights abuses for his negotiating purposes.
As you know, since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has enforced a blockade along the Lachin Corridor – preventing the transport of food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods to Nagorno Karabakh’s 120,000 Armenians. As a result, the population is facing critical shortages of basic necessities – with gas and electricity also routinely interrupted.
In recent weeks, Azerbaijan has tightened its blockade by establishing a military checkpoint on the corridor – a major escalation that was rightly criticized in a statement by the State Department. Since the imposition of this checkpoint, Azerbaijan has interrupted the ICRC’s ability to deliver vital humanitarian supplies, and transport patients in critical condition to the Republic of Armenia for treatment.
Azerbaijan’s blockade is both a violation of international humanitarian law and of the November 9th agreement that put an end to active hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. It also stands in opposition to calls from this administration – as well as international entities including the International Court of Justice – to ensure the free flow of commercial traffic along the Lachin Corridor.
Amid ongoing peace talks that have regularly been held by the U.S. and our allies, Azerbaijan’s prolonged blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and its continued occupation of Armenian sovereign territory not only threatens to jeopardize tenuous conflict resolution efforts, but gravely endangers the security and welfare of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.
Azerbaijan’s behavior has undoubtedly been emboldened by the impunity it has been afforded since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War – during which Azerbaijani forces perpetrated horrific human rights abuses including the ongoing detention and torture of Armenian prisoners of war, and the deliberate targeting of homes, schools, churches and medical facilities with prohibited weapons. These abuses have been widely documented by international human rights organizations, as well as the State Department in its most recent Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor report into Azerbaijan’s human rights practices.
On May 28, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev made new threats against Republic of Artsakh authorities: “Either they [Artsakh] will bend their necks and come themselves or things will develop differently now. If I say that amnesty can be an option, they should not miss this opportunity. They have missed many opportunities, a number of opportunities, and each time, as they say, we had to knock them over to bring them to their senses.”
We are dismayed to learn that the State Department has not more forcefully rejected this rhetoric, especially ahead of reported further peace discussions in Washington, D.C. President Aliyev’s May 28 threat is an affront to our democratic and humanitarian values, and is even more shocking coming from a nation that receives generous U.S. military assistance.
In the context of this ongoing blockade and President Aliyev’s continuing threats, extending the Presidential waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act would send a dangerous message to Azerbaijan’s government – that there will be no repercussions for its attempts to impose its will on the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by intimidation, starvation and deadly force.
We have disagreed with this administration’s decision to waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act even in the wake of Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office determined successive administrations had failed to meet statutory reporting requirements as to the impact of providing security assistance to Azerbaijan. This is despite a recent declassified finding by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found Azerbaijan was the “country most likely to renew large-scale conflict in an effort to consolidate and expand the gains it won in its 2020 military action against Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.”
As long as Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh is in effect, we should not be sending security assistance to Azerbaijan. Doing so would only encourage and enable Azerbaijan’s aggression, and further set back the prospects of a durable peace that ensures the fundamental rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As such, as we approach the reauthorization window for the Presidential waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, we urge the administration to enforce restrictions on military assistance to the country.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further, and look forward to your timely response.
Sincerely,