10 Questions about Nagorno Karabakh for Ambassador James Warlick

In the face of increasing Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), the ANCA has circulated among the Washington, DC foreign policy community an open set of 10 suggested questions for Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chair Ambassador Warlick, the chief U.S. negotiator on the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.

Question #1:

What specific steps, if any, has the U.S. government taken to ensure the implementation of the Royce-Engel peace proposals, specifically with regard to an agreement on the non-deployment of snipers, the addition of observers, and the deployment of gunfire locator systems along the line of contact?

— If specific steps have been undertaken in this direction, what concrete progress has been made?

— What has been the response of each of the parties (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno Karabakh) regarding their willingness to support the implementation of these proposals?

— What has our government said publicly regarding the willingness of the parties (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno Karabakh) to support the implementation of these proposals?

Question #2:

The State Department has been both very vocal and highly specific about what it believes the Armenian side must concede. Is the U.S. government willing to match this public diplomacy with equally high-profile and similarly concrete demands upon Azerbaijan?

Question #3:

What are the specific facts, legal arguments, and policy considerations that led our government to officially recognize Kosovo but not Nagorno Karabakh? (Which of the principles in our own American Declaration of Independence inform or inspire U.S. diplomacy regarding the inalienable democratic rights of the citizens of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic?)

Question #4:

Does the Azerbaijani government’s record of domestic repression and corruption in any way impact how our government views Azerbaijan’s claim to extend its governance over Nagorno Karabakh?

Question #5:

Why has Azerbaijan’s well documented (and video-taped) destruction of the mediaeval Armenian Cemetery in Djulfa never been mentioned in either the State Department’s Human Rights or Religious Freedom reports?

Question #6:

What, if any, is the U.S. government’s current request, if any, regarding the re-incarceration of admitted and still unrepentant axe-murdered Ramil Safarov?

Question #7:

What is U.S. policy concerning the Azerbaijani government’s travel restrictions related to U.S. citizens of Armenian heritage?

Question #8:

What is U.S. policy regarding NATO member states, notably Turkey, making sales or transfers of advanced, offensive weaponry to Azerbaijan?

Question #9:

What specific restrictions exist regarding travel and communication between the citizens and officials of the United States and Nagorno Karabakh? What are the justifications for any such restrictions of these freedoms? What, if any, are the perceived benefits of such restrictions?

Question #10:

What, if any, interests do you believe have been served by official U.S. public restraint in challenging Azerbaijan’s high-profile anti-Armenian incitements, threats, and cross-border aggression?

Do you have some questions you would like for the ANCA or foreign policy experts to ask Ambassador Warlick?  Send the ANCA an email at anca@anca.org