ANCA, AAA put pressure on U.S. to curb Azerbaijan's aggression

April 6, 2016 - 11:00 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, calling for Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act to be fully enforced.

"There can be no U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan unless and until it ceases all military hostilities against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and agrees to a path for a peaceful and just resolution of the conflict. Anything less risks further escalation and full-scale war," the letter emphasized.

"The Armenian Assembly fully supports the governments of Armenia and Artsakh and their right to self-defense as they confront this full scale and unprecedented assault by Azerbaijan," the letter stated. "We also embrace yesterday's statement by President Sargsyan to the Ambassadors of OSCE countries."

The Assembly letter to Secretary Kerry also highlighted the need for real, effective U.S. action and strengthening the OSCE Minsk Group peace process. "The current situation demands much more than condemnation - a robust and immediate response from the United States is needed to stop the pattern," the Assembly letter states.

Further, the Assembly indicated that the Nagorno Karabakh Republic "should resume its place as a negotiating party in the Minsk process and its officials be allowed to travel to Washington and other countries freely."

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), in turn, has called upon the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees to release geospatial, signals, cyber, measurement and signature, and other forms of intelligence related to Azerbaijan's April 2nd offensive against Nagorno Karabakh.

The letter closed with the following analysis: "If the U.S. government was aware of Azerbaijan's preparations, it is clear that the Administration did not adequately deter President Aliyev from his planned course of action. If, on the other hand, our government was not aware of Azerbaijan's planned assault, that would, in our view, represent a meaningful intelligence failure that should and must be adequately addressed."

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.