Rep. Betty McCollum Co-Sponsors a Resolution

We are pleased to share with all of you that after our efforts and personal outreach to US Rep. Betty McCollum, we have received a good news from her office today informing us that Rep. McCollum co-sponsored a resolution condemning Azeri aggression, denouncing Turkey’s involvement and urging them to return to the ceasefire agreement.
We thank Congresswoman Betty McCollum for her support to our community & people. We also thank our community members who help with this effort.
Please see the text of the Resolution below.

RESOLUTION

Condemning Azerbaijan’s coordinated offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and denouncing Turkish interference in the conflict.

Whereas, beginning on September 27, 2020 Azerbaijan has engaged in the most significant military operation along the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh since the signing of the cease-fire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1994;

Whereas, this attack follows increasingly aggressive rhetoric and destabilizing actions on the part of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s government towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, including a July 2020 Defense Ministry threat to bomb Armenia’s Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant;

Whereas, Azerbaijan’s ongoing military offensive, which includes the shelling of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s most densely populated city with a population of 55,200, has resulted in at least dozens of civilians killed and hundreds wounded and as of September 30, 2020 the threat to civilians continues;

Whereas, as of September 30, 2020 the conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 84 Nagorno-Karabakh service members, and both Armenia and Azerbaijan have declared martial law, mobilized their armed forces, and called up reserve forces;

Whereas, The Guardian reports that Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno Karabakh may be part of a planned military operation;

Whereas, the conflict follows on joint military exercises conducted by Turkey and Azerbaijan in August 2020;

Whereas, according to multiple reports, including by the Washington Post, Reuters, and The Guardian, in the weeks prior to Azerbaijan’s military operation, Turkey recruited mercenaries from Syria and as of September 29, 2020 has facilitated their deployment to Azerbaijan;

Whereas, the BBC, New York Times, and Washington Post have reported on the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s claim that Turkey is operating F-16 fighter jets in the region and the claim that on September 29, 2020 Turkey shot down an Armenian Su-25 fighter jet in Armenian airspace, killing the pilot;

Whereas, the conflict has the potential to escalate into proxy warfare among regional powers, including Turkey, and to further entrench the conflict and threaten peace and stability in the region;

Whereas, the United States serves as a co-chair of the Minsk Group along with France and Russia, and the Co-Chairs have urged a cease-fire and urged the parties to return to substantive negotiations as soon as possible;

Whereas, the European Union and the United Nations support a peaceful resolution and immediate cease-fire; Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

1. Condemns Azerbaijan’s continued aggressive military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh and breaches of the cease fire agreement;

2. Denounces Turkey’s reported participation in and escalation of the conflict under President Tayyip Erdogan;

3. Supports an immediate return to the cease-fire agreement along the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and a peaceful solution which protects all parties’ human rights and joins with other countries supporting the same goals;

4. Reaffirms U.S. support of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group efforts to secure an agreement from Azerbaijan to cease offensive military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and to accept independent third-party monitoring along the line of contact.