Pallone, Schiff, and Speier Lead Call to Help Reduce Tensions Between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Washington, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-28), and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) along with a bipartisan group of 46 Members of the House wrote to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, expressing concern with the escalating conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Members noted that Azerbaijan's attack on Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) has cost the lives of civilians and soldiers on both sides and raised the danger of a broader regional conflict particularly due to Turkey's involvement. The letter also asks that the State Department take specific steps to deescalate the conflict and encourage all sides to reengage in a diplomatic process to peacefully and democratically resolve the longstanding conflict.

"We write to express our deep concern with Azerbaijan's renewed aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and the rising possibility of a wider conflict with Armenia. We ask that the Administration use all available diplomatic tools to reduce tensions, end the fighting, and restrain Azerbaijan from further offensive actions," the lawmakers wrote. "In our view, this new round of fighting represents further evidence that the U.S. policy of equivalence between Armenia and Azerbaijan has failed. For far too long, the United States and other members of the Minsk Group have drawn a false equivalence between Armenia and Azerbaijan, even as the latter threatens war and refuses to agree to monitoring along the line of contact."

A copy of the letter is available here.