US congressional leaders salute international pro-Artsakh forum

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), and House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA) were joined by leading members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus in saluting Artsakh’s democratic development and highlighting the importance of US-Artsakh relations in powerful statements shared with participants of the Pro Artsakh Forum held in the Republic’s capital, Stepanakert, on October 11 to 12, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“The Armenian people will always have a friend in me,” said Chairman Engel, touting the important mediation efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in ensuring a peaceful future for Artsakh and the region. Chairman Engel is co-author of the Royce-Engel peace proposal, launched in 2015, which calls for the removal of snipers, the addition of OSCE monitors, and the placement of gun-fire locators along the line of contact between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia and Artsakh. This proposal was reaffirmed by the U.S. House in July 2019, as part of an amendment to the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, led by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA).

“You are fortunate to witness, first-hand, the free and democratic society and flourishing economy that the people of Artsakh have created, despite a painful legacy of foreign aggression and continuing cross-border attacks,” said Chairman McGovern. “Please know that I remain a friend of Artsakh.”

Senior House Foreign Affairs Committee member, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), the father of U.S. assistance to Artsakh, who first led this effort in 1997, cited his continued support for Artsakh de-mining and his ongoing opposition to “all U.S. military aid and sales to Azerbaijan until it ceases its attacks, ends its threats of renewed war, and agrees to a peaceful resolution of conflicts.” In July, Rep. Sherman spearheaded an amendment to the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act, which would block the sale of any U.S. military equipment to Azerbaijan that may be used to shoot down civilian aircraft. Since 2011, Azerbaijani authorities have threatened to shoot down civilian planes operating out of the Stepanakert airport.

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