11/03/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "Honored to earn an A+ rating from @ANCA_DC. I will always support the Armenian-American community in our shared effort to support Armenia in the face of Turkish and Azerbaijani aggression.
See here for the full report card: https://anca.org/report-card/."
View the tweet here. 10/27/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "I commend the Artsakh Republic on its efforts to develop and promote a democratic and pluralistic society in the face of continued threats from Azerbaijan."
View the tweet here. 10/27/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "It will also send a clear and forceful message to Azerbaijan, urging the Aliyev regime and its Erdogan-backed enablers to end their vicious military offensive and seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict."
View the tweet here. 10/16/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "Azerbaijan and Turkey must answer for the unprovoked offensive launched against Nagorno-Karabakh by the Aliyev government. https://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-statement-renewed-azerbaijani-military-aggression-nagorno
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View the tweet here. 10/16/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "This attack which has inflicted casualties deeply anguishing to Armenians everywhere is a wake-up call for U.S. policymakers who have too often downplayed or excused Azerbaijan's aggressive actions in the region."
View the tweet here. 10/16/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "We must develop a new strategy one that limits U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan in the absence of a sustained, good-faith commitment to achieving regional peace and stability."
View the tweet here. 10/16/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "Along with my Congressional colleagues, I call upon the @StateDept to deploy a new strategy, working with the OSCE Minsk Group, that will curb Azerbaijan's offensive military actions and address its ongoing violations of basic human rights."
View the tweet here. 08/25/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "I just requested an update from @SecPompeo on reports of Turkish territorial violations in the Exclusive Economic Zone, the sovereign territory of Greece and Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean."
View the tweet here. 08/25/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "Today, I joined Hellenic Caucus co-chairs @RepMaloney @RepGusBilirakis in co-sponsoring and introducing a resolution demanding that Turkey respect the religious rights and freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate."
View the tweet here. 07/11/20 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "By declaring Hagia Sophia a mosque, Erdogan continues to barrel down the path of stoking religious and nationalistic conflict, all for the sake of his own personal and political agenda.
Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site revered by people of all faiths and nationalities. Converting this unique treasure into a mosque is a commandeering of hallowed ground that for 1,000 years served as the universally recognized Christian house of worship. It is the most cynical of power moves by an autocrat whose agenda we have seen play out in his refusal to reopen the Halki Seminary or otherwise permit full religious freedom in Turkey.
No nation should stand by in the face of this conduct, least of all the United States. I urge the White House and State Department to apply meaningful and sustained pressure on the Turkish government to reverse course and return Hagia Sophia to its ecumenical status as a museum open and welcoming to all."
View the Facebook post here. 07/11/20 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "It is the most cynical of power moves by an autocrat whose agenda we have seen play out in his refusal to reopen the Halki Seminary or otherwise permit full religious freedom in Turkey. No nation should stand by in the face of this conduct, least of all the United States. I urge the White House and State Department to apply meaningful and sustained pressure on the Turkish government to reverse course and return Hagia Sophia to its ecumenical status as a museum open and welcoming to all."
View the tweet here. 11/13/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "President Erdogan has embraced authoritarian rule in all of its sinister dimensions, including the jailing of thousands of journalists and persecution of political rivals. In a direct affront to the United States, he has unleashed his bodyguards to brutally assault peaceful protesters on American soil, threatened NATOs security by purchasing an advanced Russian missile defense system and most recently launched a vicious military campaign against Kurdish communities in Northern Syria.
For these and so many other reasons, Erdogan is wholly undeserving of an invitation to the White House. President Trumps decision to host him there is a deep insult to democracy, free speech, self-determination and common decency."
View the Facebook post here. 10/30/19 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, I delivered remarks in support of H.Res. 296, a resolution affirming the United States recognition of the Armenian Genocide: https://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-commemorates-armenian-genocide."
View the tweet here. 10/29/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "Today, I joined a large bipartisan majority to pass H.R. 4695, the Protect Against Conflict by Turkey (PACT) Act, a bill to sanction Turkey for launching a ruthless military campaign in northern Syria and to require the Trump Administration to safeguard Americas national security interests and address the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the region. #PACTAct"
View the Facebook post here. 10/29/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, I delivered remarks in support of H.Res. 296, a resolution affirming the United States recognition of the Armenian Genocide: https://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-commemorates-armenian-genocide."
View the Facebook post here. 10/25/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "President Trump's decision to lift sanctions is the next chapter in what has become a shameful pattern of capitulation to Turkish President Erdogan. If the President will not take action to rebuke Turkey, Congress will.
I will work closely with my colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, to swiftly impose sanctions on Turkey for its military campaign in northern Syria. We will also apply pressure on the Trump Administration to immediately rescind its invitation to President Erdogan to visit the United States in November."
View the Facebook post here. 10/16/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "President Trumps deeply misguided and reckless decision has unleashed a torrent of chaos, violence and bloodshed in northern Syria. If the President wont stand up for Americas allies and forcefully reject Turkish President Erdogans military offensive, then the U.S. Congress in bipartisan fashion will.
My colleagues and I will work expeditiously to punish Turkey and the Erdogan regime for its ruinous military operation in northern Syria. At the same time, we will keep up the pressure on the Trump Administration and demand that it take every possible step to reverse the damage that President Trumps decision has wrought. We must fully support our Kurdish partners in the region and keep our commitments to them."
View the Facebook post here. 10/11/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "President Trumps breathtakingly reckless decision to withdraw American forces from northern Syria is a jarring betrayal of our Kurdish partners and a dangerous capitulation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an authoritarian strongman who has demonstrated time and again his contempt for American values. The effect will be to severely weaken Americas leadership by signaling to our allies in other parts of the world that the United States cannot be counted on to keep our promises.
Turkey is now embarked on a violent incursion into an already scarred and unstable region, threatening the lives of millions of Kurds and Syrian refugees. President Trump must reverse course and urge President Erdogan to cease his military offensive.
In Congress, I will work with my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to levy sanctions on Turkey and apply stiff pressure on the Erdogan regime to end its military offensive in northern Syria."
View the Facebook post here. 07/12/19 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "In order to demonstrate that it can operate as a trusted and reliable partner in the region, Turkey must take immediate steps to completely dismantle and return the S-400 system to Russia."
View the tweet here. 07/12/19 - Rep. Sarbanes posted the following to Facebook: "Turkeys decision to proceed with the acquisition of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system presents a serious national security threat to the United States and to our NATO allies. By purchasing and integrating a sophisticated Russian missile defense system into NATO hardware, Turkey not only stands to jeopardize NATO security in the region but also presents Russia with a victory in its ongoing effort to sow division and distrust among NATO member states. Under President Erdogan, Turkey has spiraled perilously into an anti-democratic, authoritarian regime whose actions have repeatedly undermined NATO defenses. In order to demonstrate that it can operate as a trusted and reliable partner in the region, Turkey must take immediate steps to completely dismantle and return the S-400 system to Russia."
View the Facebook post here. 05/10/19 - Rep. Sarbanes tweeted "Erdogans Turkey continues to spiral into an oppressive autocracy, engage in antagonistic activity toward Greece and Cyprus and draw itself closer to hostile actors like Russia at the expense of American values and interests overseas."
View the tweet here.