Nov 17, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Yerevan.
Michigan
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) led the unanimous U.S. Senate passage of the
“Armenian Protection Act of 2023” (S.3000) which aims to block all U.S.
military assistance to Azerbaijan by removing President Biden’s authority to
waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025,
the ANCA reports.
The bill passed on November 15 will be introduced in the House of Representatives. Then, if passed, it will be presented to the United States president for signing to become a law.
In remarks
on the Senate Floor during consideration of the measure, Sen. Peters detailed
Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. “Not only did they blockade
the Lachin Corridor for 10 months, creating significant hardships, they also
violently attacked innocent Armenians and forced the dissolution of the
government of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20th.”
Noting that
President Biden failed to stop military aid to Azerbaijan in the face of their
escalating aggression, Sen. Peters urged his Senate colleagues to act. “If we
do not take action when countries willfully ignore the terms of our agreements
with them, our agreements will become effectively meaningless and toothless,”
stated Senator Peters. “I urge my colleagues to join me in holding Azerbaijan
accountable for their actions, enforce our agreements with them, and stand with
the Armenian people in the face of unprovoked aggression.”
Sen. Peters
travelled to Armenia’s southern Syunik region in September to assess the
devastating impact of Azerbaijan’s 10-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. “This
visit confirmed that we must do more to protect Armenian lives and prevent
ethnic cleansing. Increased aid to the Armenian people is critical, and we must
stop providing aid to Azerbaijan and impose targeted sanctions on the Aliyev
regime,” stated Sen. Peters.
Sen. Peters
introduced S.Res.3000 upon his return which received bipartisan support from
Senators Robert Casey (D-PA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Pete
Ricketts (R-NE), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in the run up to its unanimous passage.
Two
measures in the U.S. House – H.R.5683 & H.R.5686 – if passed, would block
U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan by calling for the complete repeal of
Presidential waiver authority of Section 907.
The
measures also urge expanded humanitarian and military assistance to Armenia to
address Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia and provide assistance
to NK’s forcibly displaced Armenian population.
ArmenPress
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