‘We are prepared to recognize Artsakh,’ Adam Schiff tells Armenian ambassador

US Congressman Adam Schiff has pledged the Administration's efforts to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh )in case of the persistent attempts by Turkey and Azerbaijan to continue the aggression against the country.  

“I believe the United States should make clear to Azerbaijan and Turkey that if they persist in this violence instead of embracing a peaceful settlement of the conflict, we are prepared to recognize the Republic of Artsakh as an independent nation,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) pledging to work with the international community to “achieve the same.”

Schiff made the statement during a conversation he had on Thursday with Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States Varuzhan Nersesyan about the continuing conflict in Artsakh, according to Asbarez.

“We discussed Azerbaijan’s ongoing military campaign, aided and abetted by Turkey and the foreign fighters it is bringing in from Syria, and which has killed hundreds and displaced up to half of the civilian population of Artsakh. We also discussed Azerbaijan’s deliberate bombing of a historic Armenian Church, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, in the city of Shushi,” the congressman said.

“For decades, through the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States has supported a peaceful, democratic, and negotiated resolution to the dispute surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. We have persisted in this policy even as Azerbaijan launched countless assaults and as their leadership frequently threatened war to redraw the line of contact by force,” added Schiff.

“Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan must understand that they cannot resolve a decades long border dispute though the indiscriminate use of force against civilians, and the United States will not stand idly by as they attempt to do so. The only resolution of this dispute can be through negotiations, not raining artillery and bombs on Armenian civilians,” said Schiff.

Schiff urged decisive action by the Trump Administration in an interview on Wednesday with Asbarez Editor Ara Khachatourian over Zoom, saying the White House should condemn Ankara and Baku for threatening regional stability and security.