Florida Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Ted Deutch, Brian Mast, and John Rutherford Sign Armenian Caucus Letter

WASHINGTON, DC – Florida Armenians welcome a bipartisan letter signed by 100 Members of Congress to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin highlighting key policy issues, including the pressing importance of addressing the “ongoing humanitarian crisis in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).”

Spearheaded by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. and the Armenian Caucus leadership, the letter emphasized that “our diplomats must insist that any future settlement supported by the United States will provide the people of Artsakh with the ability to reconstruct their communities and rebuild their lives without fear of further bloodshed. This should include significant U.S. commitments to provide an urgently needed humanitarian aid and assistance package for the people of Artsakh.”

Noting that the “terms laid out in the current ceasefire are untenable for Artsakh’s long-term security and stability in the region,” the letter said in part that “more must be done to pursue an enduring settlement based on the fundamental right to self-determination,” and that the international community and the United States “has an important role to play by finally recognizing the right to self-determination for the people of Artsakh and their role as a legitimate negotiating party in resolving this conflict.”

The letter also expressed concern that “Azerbaijan also refuses to free dozens of Armenian prisoners of war and apprehended civilians” in violation of the ceasefire signed on November 10, 2020, as well as the need to hold “destabilizing actors accountable.”

In addition, the letter stated that “sanctions on high-ranking officials from [Turkey and Azerbaijan] and withholding aid, including ending the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and ceasing further military assistance through the Section 333 Building Partner Capacity program,” would have helped halt last year’s deadly actions.

The letter concluded that “the United States should seek to strengthen our strategic relationship with Armenia” and that President Biden should follow in the footsteps of both the House and Senate and formally recognize the Armenian Genocide this April 24th.

“We applaud Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone for his steadfast leadership, as well as Caucus leaders Reps. David Valadao, Jackie Speier, Gus Bilirakis, Adam Schiff, and all of the signatories for coming together in this important effort to urge the Biden’s administration to work closely with America’s democratic allies Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, as they face an existential threat from the Islamist armies of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Armenian Americans and all people who support democracy and freedom know that when America leads the world is better for it, and so we urge President Biden and his administration to be a leader in the South Caucasus,” stated Florida Armenians Editor Taniel Koushakjian.

Below are the 100 Members of Congress who signed this letter:

Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Jim Banks (R-IN), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Karen Bass (D-CA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Josh Harder (D-CA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Hank Johnson (D-GA), David Joyce (R-OH), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Dan Kildee (D-MI), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Susie Lee (D-NV), Andy Levin (D-MI), Mike Levin (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Brian Mast (R-FL), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-At Large), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), John Rutherford (R-FL), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Trone (D-MD), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT-At Large), and Susan Wild (D-PA).