Category: 2023

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,

Azerbaijan military checkpoint (Gegham Stepanyan, Twitter)

Artsakh officials are warning that supplies of basic goods are dwindling after Azerbaijan closed the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor to humanitarian shipments on June 15. 

“The situation is turning disastrous day by day, and it is incomprehensible why the world tolerates this,” Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan said on June 20.

Since Azerbaijan placed Artsakh under blockade in December 2022, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Russian peacekeeping forces have delivered humanitarian cargo, including food and medicine, from Armenia to Artsakh. However, the ICRC and Russian peacekeepers have been prevented from traveling along the Berdzor Corridor, the sole route connecting Artsakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, by Azerbaijani border guards since June 15. The ICRC has also been barred from transporting Artsakh residents in need of medical assistance to hospitals or medical centers in Armenia. 

“These actions once again substantiate our fear that Azerbaijan is conducting a policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a cabinet meeting on June 15. 

Azerbaijani protesters posing as environmental activists launched a blockade of the Berdzor Corridor on December 12, 2022. They ended the protest after Azerbaijani forces set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the corridor from Armenia on April 23. Movement along the corridor is now completely controlled by Azerbaijani border guards. The checkpoint violates the trilateral ceasefire agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War, according to which Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the corridor and Azerbaijan “guarantees traffic safety along the Lachin Corridor of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions.” 

Agriculture Minister Georgi Hayriyan said the region is already facing a shortage of sugar and cooking oil, yet has sufficient reserves of flour and other basic necessities. 

“Although we have been under blockade since December 12, 2022, during that time, with very few resources, we have been able to somewhat improve our food security level. Because of this, we now have a greater degree of resilience. There is no need to panic,” Hayriyan said during a June 21 cabinet meeting. 

Nersisyan announced that local authorities have switched to austerity mode to preserve the remaining supply of food, medicine and fuel. He said that Artsakh residents who received a government-issued coupon to procure fuel will no longer be able to do so. 

“Our farms can mitigate problems to a certain extent and provide some self-sufficiency,” Nersisyan said during a Facebook livestream on June 16.

Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan convenes a government meeting (NKR InfoCenter)

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has called on Azerbaijan to reopen the Berdzor Corridor.

“We call on Baku to take steps to completely unblock the corridor for humanitarian purposes and not to hold Karabakh’s population hostage to political disagreements with Yerevan,” Zakharova said during a June 21 press briefing. 

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said that it was taking “relevant measures…in order to investigate the reasons for this provocation, as well as to ensure the security of the border checkpoint and the passage through it after the attack.” It said it was unacceptable to call these measures a “blockade.” 

Azerbaijani guards closed the Berdzor Corridor to travel after a border skirmish between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers on the morning of June 15. A group of soldiers from Azerbaijan’s border service attempted to cross the Hakari bridge at the entrance to the Berdzor Corridor in order to erect an Azerbaijani flag on Armenian territory, reported Armenian authorities. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the soldiers did not cross the border into Armenia. One Armenian soldier and one Azerbaijani soldier were wounded. 

A video circulating on social media appears to show Russian peacekeepers escorting the Azerbaijani guards across the bridge. The Azerbaijani soldiers were forced to retreat when the Armenian side opened fire.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that Russian Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin visited the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan on Friday to discuss the incident. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said it conveyed Armenia’s “strong discontent” with the Russian peacekeepers’ actions and urged Russia to “take all necessary steps to ascertain the circumstances of the incident and correct the situation.”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that the Armenian side was trying to prevent free movement along the Berdzor Corridor. “These military provocations by Armenia will be resolutely prevented, and its attempts to prevent the reintegration of the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan into our society will fail,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

Movement between Armenia and Artsakh appears to have increased since the installation of the border checkpoint in April. More and more Artsakh residents have crossed the Berdzor Corridor through the border post, largely with the accompaniment of Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijani media regularly circulates videos of Armenians crossing the border checkpoint, in order to prove to the outside world that movement along the corridor is unrestricted. These videos show Artsakh residents interacting with Azerbaijani border guards, who inspect their identification documents before allowing them to pass. 

Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan says these “propaganda videos” serve to “mislead the international community.”

“The presence of the checkpoint, the passport control and the inspection of cargo by Azerbaijan already present themselves as obstacles to the unhindered movement, posing a real threat not only to people’s security, but also bears significant risks of applying other arbitrary preventive measures at any time,” Stepanyan said.

The NKR InfoCenter, the official news source of Artsakh, said that “any movement through the corridor cannot be interpreted as an act legitimizing the illegal control of Azerbaijan and accepting the non-existent Azerbaijani jurisdiction over these territories.”

It added that “severely limited humanitarian movement cannot be considered the end of the blockade of Artsakh” in a June 2 statement. 

However, even prior to the closure of the corridor on June 15, movement along the border was not entirely restored. Stepanyan said that his office has documented at least three cases in which Artsakh residents were prevented from returning home after traveling to Armenia for medical treatment. 

“It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani side allowed them to leave Artsakh at the time, while now arbitrarily and illegally bans their entry,” Stepanyan said in a June 13 statement.