Author: Boris Nahapetian

Armenia calls on the international community to take measures to stop Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance and actions. MFA

Boris Nahapetian

Armenia calls on the international community to take measures to stop Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance and actions. MFA

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 20:09, 3 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Armenia, once again reaffirming its commitment to the agenda of establishing peace and stability in the region, calls on the international community to take measures to stop Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance and actions and to launch the necessary international mechanisms, ARMENPRESS reports, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia issued a statement on the occasion of the ongoing tensions in Nagorno Karabakh.

” On August 3, 2022, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, once again violating the November 9, 2020, Trilateral Statement of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the cessation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, launched aggression in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, resulting in casualties and wounded ones. 

Despite the steps undertaken by the Armenian side for achieving stability and peace in the region, Azerbaijan continues its pre-planned policy of terrorizing the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, subjecting them to ethnic cleansing and creeping occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh.

We remind that the illegal incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of Parukh village on March 24 of this year, the attack on the Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher villages on December 11, 2020, in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent are cases of similar aggression and violation of the ceasefire.

We consider unacceptable the statements of the Azerbaijani side attempting to unilaterally change the legal regime in the Lachin Corridor defined by provision 6 of the Trilateral Statement, and reaffirm that the road passing through the Lachin Corridor can be changed only according to the plan approved by the parties to the Statement. 

As it is clearly defined by the Statement from November 9,  within the next three years, the parties (i.e. the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan) should determine the plan for the construction of a new traffic road through the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, with the subsequent redeployment of Russian peacekeeping contingent for the protection of that road.

We emphasize that there is no such plan approved within a trilateral format so far, and we call on all parties to the Trilateral Statement to adhere to their commitments, to put immediate efforts to implement the conditions established by the Statement of November 9, including the maintenance of a ceasefire regime, the opening of regional communications, the release and return of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees.

We consider it necessary to underscore once again that the Republic of Armenia has fulfilled all its obligations. The reason for the non-implementation of a number of provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9 is the arbitrary interpretations, continued aggressive rhetoric and actions by Azerbaijan.

The Republic of Armenia, reiterating its commitment to the agenda of establishing peace and stability in the region, calls on the international community to undertake measures toward halting the aggressive behaviour and actions of Azerbaijan and launching the necessary international mechanisms for that”, reads the statement.

Armenia bars entry of diaspora leader over an ‘attack’ on PM

Boris Nahapetian
 

ByAni Avetisyan

Mourad Papazian. Image via the Public Radio of Armenia.

Armenian diaspora leader Mourad Papazian has been denied entry to Armenia for reportedly attacking Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade in Paris in June 2021.

Papazian, who is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), has denied the accusations and claimed that he was neither present at the 2021 protest nor did he help its organisers.

On Thursday, he announced that he was going to ‘restore’ his ‘right to return Armenia’ because the country ‘is not the private property of Nikol Pashinyan or his administration’. 

Prominent Armenian lawyer Siranush Sahakyan and Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the ARF and Former Minister of Agriculture, will represent Papazian during his appeal.

Papazian said that they are now waiting for a response from the National Security  Service about their request to revise the ban.

Papazian is a well-known diaspora figure from France. He is the Chair of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organisations in France, as well as an ARF member.

Papazian learned about the ban in mid-July upon landing at Yerevan’s Zvartnost airport — his fifth visit since June 2021. 

Papazian said that Armenia was now the third country he was banned from entering, alongside Turkey and Azerbaijan.

A week after Papazian was denied entry into the country, a representative from the Prime Minister’s office told Armenpress that ‘various objects and items’ were thrown at the PM’s motorcade in Paris, and that the situation was only resolved after the French police intervened.

‘Information showing what happened has been published by many media outlets, and the footage is available online’, they said. ‘The other active participants of the attack were also denied entry to Armenia’. 

Russia sends monkeypox test kits to Armenia

Boris Nahapetian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 15:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia has transferred test kits for the detection of monkeypox to Armenia and several other countries, the press service of Rospotrebnadzor reports.

The department revealed earlier that the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR had developed test kits to identify cases of the disease, and that testing was available throughout Russia.

“Russian test kits were transferred by Rospotrebnadzor to Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In addition, the specialists of Rospotrebnadzor organize special seminars for colleagues from partner countries on methods of laboratory diagnosis of monkeypox,” the agency said Wednesday, July 27.

On Saturday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the spread of the virus to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the organization’s highest level of alert. WHO assessed the risk posed to public health by Monkeypox in the European region as high, but at the global level as moderate.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 07/22/2022

Boris Nahapetian 
                                        Friday, 
Senior Armenian Official Sees No Turkish Preconditions
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Eduard Aghajanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee 
on foreign relations, holds a news conference, Yerevan, April 15, 2022.
A senior Armenian lawmaker representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil 
Contract party insisted on Friday that Turkey has not set or reaffirmed 
preconditions for normalizing its relations with Armenia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Yerevan must 
take “concrete steps” to negotiate a peace accord sought by Baku and open a land 
corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave. That, he said, is essential for 
normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations.
“I think that [Cavusoglu’s] statement mentioned by you was not [an expression 
of] preconditions,” Eduard Aghajanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament 
committee on foreign relations, told reporters.
“In essence, Turkey has always come out with this position which obviously has 
never been acceptable to us,” he said.
Aghajanian complained about a “gap” between Ankara’s statements and actions. “Of 
course one of our objectives is to do everything so that this discrepancy 
doesn’t exist anymore or is at least reduced to a minimum,” he said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry did not react to Cavusoglu’s remarks which 
followed four rounds of normalization talks held by Turkish and Armenian envoys 
this year.
The Turkish minister has repeatedly made clear that Ankara is coordinating the 
Turkish-Armenian dialogue with Baku. He stressed on Thursday that Turkey and 
Azerbaijan are “one nation and two states.”
The Turks have for decades made the establishment of diplomatic relations with 
Yerevan and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border conditional on a 
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Baku.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan complained last November about “new 
preconditions” set by Ankara.
“Among them is a ‘corridor’ connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan,” Mirzoyan 
told the French daily Le Figaro.
The Armenian government has ruled out such an exterritorial corridor, saying 
that Armenia and Azerbaijan have been discussing only conventional transport 
links in their talks mediated by Russia and the European Union.
Armenia Said To Seek Arms Deals With India
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
India - A Sky Striker attack drone manufactured by Adani Defense & Aerospace 
company.
A delegation of Armenian military officials has reportedly visited India to 
explore the possibility of buying Indian-manufactured combat drones and other 
weapons.
The Mumbai-based news service dnaindia.com reported this week that the 
delegation “came armed with a shopping list” when it met with Indian officials 
last month. Citing an unnamed official, it said that drones “figured prominently 
on the list.”
The online publication gave no other details of the talks. Nor did it say if any 
agreements were reached by the two sides.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry on Friday declined to comment on the reported visit 
of its representatives to India or its broader interest in Indian military 
hardware.
Visiting Yerevan earlier this month, a senior official from the Indian Ministry 
of External Affairs said India and Armenia are discussing “long-term” military 
cooperation as part of their efforts to deepen their ties. The official, Sanjay 
Verma, spoke during a session of an Indian-Armenian intergovernmental commission 
on bilateral cooperation.
Armenia - Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan meets with Sanjay Verma, an Indian 
Ministry of External Affairs secretary, Yerevan, July 4, 2022.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who co-chaired the session with Verma, listed 
“defense and military-technical cooperation” among the areas that are “very 
promising for our countries.”
Mirzoyan held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in 
April on the sidelines of an international conference held in India. It was 
their third face-to-face meeting in eight months. Jaishankar visited Armenia 
last October.
“India sees Armenia not only as a friend but a good counterweight to Turkey 
whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been particularly belligerent on the 
Kashmir issue and followed a number of policies inimical to India,” wrote 
dnaindia.com. It noted that India’s arch-foe Pakistan is allied to Turkey and 
Azerbaijan.
Pakistan strongly supported Azerbaijan during the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war 
over Nagorno-Karabakh. But it denied claims that Pakistani soldiers participated 
in the six-week war on the Azerbaijani side.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian greets Indian Foreign Minister 
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Yerevan, October13, 2021.
By contrast, India has backed Karabakh peace efforts spearheaded by the United 
States, Russia and France. It has backed Armenia in an Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border dispute that broke out in May 2021. In a statement issued at the time, 
the Indian foreign ministry called on Baku to “pull back forces immediately and 
cease any further provocation.”
Armenian military officials had already visited India in August 2018 to discuss 
possible arms deals. The Times of India daily reported at the time that they 
showed an interest in the Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems manufactured by 
an Indian defense company.
In March 2020, six months before the outbreak of the Karabakh, Indian media 
reports claimed that Yerevan will pay $40 million to buy four Swathi weapon 
locating radars from their Indian manufacturer. The deal was never publicly 
confirmed by the Armenian military.
Armenian Government Explains Entry Ban Imposed On Diaspora Leader
        • Artak Khulian
Mourad Papazian, a leader of the Armenian community of France.
Armenia’s government on Friday broke its eight-day silence on an entry ban 
imposed by it on a leader of France’s influential Armenian community critical of 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
The government’s press office said Mourad Papazian, a co-chairman of the 
Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), was detained at 
Yerevan airport and deported back to Paris on July 14 because of organizing an 
angry protest against Pashinian’s visit to France last year.
In a statement, the office said that the ethnic Armenian protesters threw 
“various objects” at Pashinian’s motorcade when it drove through Paris on June 
1, 2021. It described the incident as an “attack” on the prime minister.
The statement also said that Papazian was expelled under an Armenian law that 
allows the authorities to impose entry bans on foreign nationals posing a 
serious threat to the country’s “state security or public order.”
FRANCE -- French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Armenian Prime minister Nikol 
Pashinian give a press briefing following their working lunch at the Elysee 
palace in Paris, June 1, 2021
Papazian dismissed the explanation, saying that he did not organize or 
participate in that protest. “This is a lie,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Papazian is also a leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation 
(Dashnaktsutyun), a pan-Armenian party in opposition to Pashinian’s government. 
He insisted that he was barred from entering Armenia because of his political 
views and activities.
Papazian argued that he visited Yerevan for at least four times after 
Pashinian’s June 2021 trip to Paris. “Why did they not ban me from June 1, 2021 
to July 13, 2022?” he asked.
France - President Emmanuel Macron, Mourad Papazian (right) and other 
French-Armenian leaders visit the Armenian genocide memorial, Paris.
Papazian reportedly participated in one of the daily antigovernment rallies 
launched by the Armenian opposition in Yerevan on May 1, 2022. Opposition 
leaders have condemned his expulsion.
The CCAF, which is an umbrella structure uniting France’s leading Armenian 
organizations, denounced the travel ban on July 15 as an “attack on democracy” 
and “brutal blow” to the French-Armenian community.
Pashinian’s office asserted on Friday that the Armenian authorities “have no 
reservations about any participant of peaceful protests.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

"Shotgun peace" direct way to new war – Hrachya Arzumanyan

Boris Nahapetian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo.Prospects for peace and an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement are hardly optimistic, expert in national security Hrachya Arzumanyan said in an interview with  ArmInfo. 

“In the context of Baku’s entirely different approaches peace can  hardly be talked about. [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev  continues building up thee country’s military forces, issuing threats  to Armenia and Artrakh. And I am not going to regard such ‘shotgun  peace’ as a real settlement of problems. By signing such commitments  we will not receive peace, but rather a direct way to a new war,” Mr  Arzumanyan said. 

The recent regular sniping of Armenia’s territory by Azerbaijan is  evidence of threats and pressure as well.  This policy is evidence of  Azerbaijan defending its position on Armenia over the last two  decades – positions aimed at destroying the Armenian state. 

Baku is not at all concealing that, while the Armenian leaders’  optimistic talks about achieving peace sound strange. Baku could  change its position only if the key geopolitical actors – Moscow,  Tehran, Ankara and the Collective West – change theirs. 

“It is quite clear, geopolitical centers of power are decision-makers  – not Nikol Pashinyan or Ilham Aliyev – – both in our region and in  others. So real changes in the region depend on changes in the  relations between the centers in question. It is possible, but  calling these processes peace processes, much less expecting  Pashinyan or Aliyev to push ahead with them, is somewhat unserious,”  Mr Arzumanyan said.

Human rights groups criticize EU’s Azerbaijan gas deal

Boris Nahapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –
, 17:06

 2 minutes read

Human rights groups have criticized an EU deal to ramp up gas supplies from Azerbaijan, as Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian sources of energy, The Guardian reports.

The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday hailed Azerbaijan as a “crucial” and “reliable” energy supplier, as she announced an agreement with Baku to expand the southern gas corridor, the 3,500km pipeline taking Caspian Sea gas to Europe.

Standing alongside Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, Von der Leyen said the EU was diversifying away from Russia and turning “towards more reliable, trustworthy partners”, adding she was glad to count Azerbaijan among them.

Under the agreement, gas supplies to the EU from Azerbaijan are forecast to reach 20bn cubic meters a year in 2027, up from 8bn currently. Supplies are set to increase to 12bn by 2023.

Human Rights Watch said the EU should not have signed the memorandum, nor enter a mooted new bilateral agreement, without insisting on political reforms: the release of scores of political prisoners and changes to laws that heavily restrict non-governmental organizations and the media.

Azerbaijan uses oil and gas “to silence the EU on fundamental rights issues,” said Philippe Dam, acting EU director at Human Rights Watch. “The reality is that Azerbaijan authorities have been famous for cracking down on civil society activists investigating corruption, especially when it comes to oil and gas.”

“The EU should not say a country is reliable when it is restricting the activities of civil society groups and crushing political dissent,” Dam said.

Other campaigners accused the EU of undermining its climate goals, while enriching autocrats. “It is extraordinary that the EU seems intent on not learning from its current predicament, and is pushing to build more pipelines which would lock us into gas in the long term,” said Barnaby Pace, a senior gas campaigner at Global Witness. “A rapid boost for renewable energy and home insulation should be the obvious answer to the crises Europe is staring at – and certainly not repeating the mistakes that have taken us to this point.”

Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s Brussels office, said “repressive and unaccountable regimes are rarely reliable partners” and added that “privileging short-term objectives at the expense of human rights is a recipe for disaster.”

Pashinyan, Mishustin discuss mutual partnership between Armenia and Russia

Boris Nahapetian

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 15:57,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a telephone conversation with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the PM’s Office said.

The two PMs discussed issues relating to the mutual partnership between Armenia and Russia, as well as the agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Nikol Pashinyan thanked Mikhail Mishustin for the operational response to a number of issues of Armenian-Russian commercial relations.

Issues relating to the agenda of the upcoming session of the EAEU Inter-governmental Council, to be held in Kyrgyzstan in August, were also discussed.

Ministry of High-Tech Industry to intensify cooperation with My Step Foundation

Boris Nahapetian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Alina Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo.The Ministry of High-Tech Industry intends to intensify its cooperation with the My Step Foundation in human resource development, Minister Robert  Khachatryan and Deputy Minister David Sahakyan stated at their  meeting with Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, CEO, My Step Foundation. 

The sides discussed current issues related to the NerUzh (Potential)  Diaspora Tech Startup Program. 

Mr Hayrapetyan briefed Minister Khachatryan on the Quanta quantum and  mesoscopic physics programme and on the Foundation’s further  projects, particularly STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,  Mathematics) development in Armenia’s schools.

BREAKING: US House adopts four ANCA-backed amendments

Boris Nahapetian
 ANCA ANCA News 0

WASHINGTON, DC – Powerful Congressional, community and coalition advocacy contributed to today’s US House passage of four Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)-backed amendments demanding Baku’s release of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), calling for investigations into Azerbaijani war crimes, reporting on the impact of US military aid to Azerbaijan and placing restrictions on the sale of F-16s to Turkey.

Three of the measures were adopted as part of larger groupings, or blocs, of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA – H.R.7900). The fourth, placing restrictions on F-16 sales to Turkey, passed by a vote of 244 to 179, withstanding powerful opposition from pro-Erdogan lobbyists during final days of consideration of the measure. The US House is expected to pass the underlying NDAA measures later Thursday evening.

“The ANCA thanks the Congressional leaders, coalition partners, and tens of thousands of ANCA activists from across the United States who made today’s victories possible,” said ANCA chairman Raffi Hamparian. “Working together – against deeply entrenched and powerfully vested interests – we are helping to protect Artsakh, promote Armenia, hold Azerbaijan accountable and stop the flow of US arms to Turkey.”

The four pro-Artsakh/Armenia amendments adopted by the U.S. House are provided below:

Amendment #121: Spearheaded by Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the amendment calls for a report by the State Department and Defense Department that would detail the use of U.S. parts in Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan against Armenia and Artsakh; Azerbaijan’s use of white phosphorous, cluster bombs and other prohibited munitions deployed against Artsakh; Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters during the 2020 Artsakh war.

The amendment was adopted by voice vote as part of “en bloc 1” – a larger grouping of amendments to (H.R.7900).

Joining Representatives Tony Cardenas, Brad Sherman, and Adam Schiff (D-CA) as Congressional cosponsors of the bipartisan amendment include Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #611: Introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the amendment expresses the sense of Congress that the government of Azerbaijan should immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians.   The amendment was adopted by voice vote as part of “en bloc 5” – a larger grouping of amendments to H.R.7900.

Joining Rep. Schiff as Congressional cosponsors of the bipartisan amendment include Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #337: Introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), the amendment directs the U.S. Department of State in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to:

1) document the State Department’s consideration of all waiver requirements of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act

2) report on whether U.S. security assistance to the government of Azerbaijan undermines efforts toward a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan

3) provide an assessment of Azerbaijan’s use of offensive force against Armenia or violations of Armenian sovereign territory from November 11, 2020, to the date of the enactment of this Act.

In powerful remarks on the House floor, Rep. Frank Pallone condemned the annual U.S. presidential waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan and urged passage of the amendment.  “We don’t believe that there is any justification for waiving [Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act]  because of the constant threat that Azerbaijan poses not only to Nagorno Karabakh but also to Armenia itself, that continues ever since [the 2020] war.”

The amendment was adopted as part of “en bloc 3” – a larger grouping of amendments to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R.7900) – by a vote of 362 to 64.

Joining Rep. Speier as congressional cosponsors of the bi-partisan measure include Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #399: Led by Representatives Frank Pallone, Chris Pappas (D-NH), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the amendment places conditions upon the sale or transfer of F-16s or F-16 modernization kits to Turkey.

Rep. Pallone rallied Congressional support for the amendment during the floor debate prior to the vote. “The sale of American advanced fighter jets to Turkey will not incentivize Erdogan to suddenly transform into a good ally. More likely these weapons will lead to further death and destruction in the region. For far too long the United States has allowed Erdogan to dictate his terms and hide behind Turkey’s status as a NATO ally. He has avoided facing real-life consequences greater than a slap on the wrist for his flagrant violations of international law at home and abroad and it’s time we finally say enough is enough. This amendment will do just that and help take the leveraging power out of Erdogan’s dangerous autocratic hands,” argued Pallone.

Former Congressional Turkey Caucus Co-Chair Pete Sessions’ (D-TX) arguments – calling Erdogan a “reliable ally,” citing Committee jurisdictional issues, and questioning whether Turkey really violates Greek airspace – fell flat.

The measure was adopted by a bipartisan vote of 244 to 179.

Joining Representatives Pallone, Pappas and Bilirakis as co-sponsors of the bipartisan measure are Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV).

In addition to the ANCA, the following US civil society organizations are on the record opposing the sale F-16s to Turkey: American Friends of Kurdistan, American Jewish Committee, Hellenic American Leadership Council, In Defense of Christians, Middle East Forum and PSEKA – International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus.

Over the past weeks, in addition to nationwide grassroots call and Twitter campaigns, the ANCA Leo Sarkisian, Maral Melkonian Avetisyan and Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program summer interns and fellows joined ANCA Government Affairs director Tereza Yerimyan in advocating for these pro-Artsakh/Armenia priorities in legislative briefings for over 100 Congressional offices, in addition to a broader office-by-office outreach campaign.

The ANCA will continue to work with Senate Armed Services Committee members include the adoption of these measures in their version of the FY 2023 NDAA, set to be discussed in the fall.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
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