Republican Presidential Candidate, Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump condemned the Biden-Harris Administration’s inaction in the face of the persecution and forced displacement of the Armenian Christians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and pledged to “stop the violence and ethnic cleansing and […] restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan”, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh. Christians around the World will not be safe if Kamala Harris is President of the United States. When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians, I will work to stop the violence and ethnic cleansing, and we will restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” stated Trump on his Truth Social account on October 23rd.

“President Trump, who dramatically ramped up U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan – arming and emboldening the Aliyev regime’s 2020 attack on Artsakh – needs to do more than issue a campaign statement; he needs to deliver actual results before Election Day. He can start by publicly affirming Artsakh’s right to return, and personally calling on Speaker of the House Johnson to schedule a floor vote on H.R.7288, enforcing Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “For his part, vice presidential candidate JD Vance – a sitting member of the U.S. Senate – should cosponsor and work for the passage of S.Res.540, scrutinizing Azerbaijan’s use of U.S. military aid to commit anti-Armenian war crimes.”

“While we are gratified to see that our community’s sustained engagement has forced Artsakh and Armenia into our national electoral discourse, we expect and deserve more than words. To earn our votes, we need to see deliverables, now – actions that materially hold Aliyev accountable and deter renewed Azerbaijani aggression,” added Hamparian. With less than two weeks to go to the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have issued statements regarding Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) – vying for the support of Armenian Americans voters across the U.S. – and especially in key swing states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

On September 23rd, Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris expressed support for the “right for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to return safely to their homes.” Vice-President Harris also noted that “we must never forget the Armenian Genocide,” and stressed her commitment to “lasting peace between Armenia and its neighbors that respects sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”

“It’s clear – Armenian votes matter. We saw it today with former President Trump calling out the Biden-Harris administration’s inaction in the face of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. We saw it a couple of weeks ago with Vice President Harris calling for the safe and sustainable return of Armenians to Artsakh,” stated Hamparian in a video message to Armenian American voters and coalition partners. “This is an important milestone for our community, an important milestone in our emergence as an electoral force on the American national stage. So please remain engaged, keep up the pressure. Our investments in the American political system are paying off.”