Dear Senator / Representative:
Azerbaijani forces have broken the tenuous ceasefire with Armenia and Artsakh once again, shelling Goris, Jermuk, and Vayodz Dzor in Armenia in the early hours of September 13th. The Armenia Ministry of Defense if reporting Azerbaijan’s use of artillery and large-calibre guns as well as unmanned drones.
As an American, I am deeply disappointed that President Biden has, yet again, waived Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, and demand that Congress take immediate action to cut off all U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan.
Not a single American taxpayer dollar should ever be shipped to the corrupt, oil-rich regime of Azerbaijan’s violently anti-Armenian regime. To date, we’ve sent this billionaire-run dictatorship over $164,000,000 in military assistance. That has to stop. Now. Not a single dollar more.
As a Member of Congress, I look to you 1) immediately condemn Azerbaijan’s latest attacks on Armenia, 2) zero-out all appropriations or authorizations of U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, 2) enact statutory restrictions on U.S. military aid to Baku, 3) strike or significantly tighten the waiver provision of Section 907, and 4) publicly call upon President Biden to immediately suspend his Section 907 waiver.
As you know, in June 2022, President Biden (in a 180-degree reversal of this 2020 campaign stand) waived Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, greenlighting continued U.S. military aid to the billionaire Aliyev family. During his run for office, on October 14th of 2020, he stated publicly that the United States must “fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan.” The President’s reckless decision to lift this statutory restriction came in the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of 100,000+ Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and amid Baku’s ongoing attacks and occupation of Armenia’s territory.
President Biden’s decision to waive of Section 907, again, simply emboldens Baku, sending the already aggressive Aliyev the signal that its aggression, invasions, ethnic-cleansing, and occupation will not be met with a principled or powerful American response. In fact, it sends exactly the opposite message – that the U.S. will conduct “business-as-usual” with Azerbaijan’s openly hateful and relentlessly violent Aliyev government. Azerbaijan’s September 13th attacks on Armenia are just the latest example of why Section 907 restrictions on Azerbaijani assistance must be invoked immediately.
My family, my friends, my community will never accept that Azerbaijan – despite its brutal killing of Armenian civilians, torture of POWs, and desecration of Christian holy sites – continues to receive U.S. military aid. Instead of sending Azerbaijan assistance, America should be sanctioning both Baku and its ally Ankara for their evil genocidal actions aimed at eradicating the indigenous Armenian homeland.
As Congress considers the FY2023 Foreign Aid Bill and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I urge you to support amendments that will limit the President’s waiver authority of Section 907 and zero-out military aid to Azerbaijan.
I look forward to hearing back from you on this matter.
Dear Mr. President / Vice-President Biden:
Azerbaijani forces have broken the tenuous ceasefire with Armenia and Artsakh once again, shelling Goris, Jermuk, and Vayodz Dzor in Armenia in the early hours of September 13th. The Armenia Ministry of Defense is reporting Azerbaijan’s use of artillery and large-calibre guns as well as unmanned drones.
As an American, I am deeply disappointed that you have, yet again, waived Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, greenlighting continued U.S. military aid to the corrupt, repressive, anti-Armenian Aliyev regime.
During your run for office, on October 14th, 2020, your publicly stated that the United States must “fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan.” Your reckless decision to lift this statutory restriction the first time – on April 23, 2021, came in the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of 100,000+ Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and amid Baku’s ongoing attacks and occupation of Armenia and Artsakh’s territory.
Your second waiver of Section 907 once again emboldens Baku, sending the already aggressive Aliyev the signal that its aggression, invasions, ethnic-cleansing, and occupation will not be met with a principled or powerful American response. In fact, it sends exactly the opposite message – that the U.S. will conduct “business-as-usual” with Azerbaijan’s openly hateful and relentlessly violent Aliyev government. Azerbaijan’s September 13th attacks on Armenia are just the latest example of why Section 907 restrictions on Azerbaijani assistance must be invoked immediately.
My family, my friends, and my community will never accept that Azerbaijan – despite its brutal killing of Armenian civilians, torture of POWs, and desecration of Christian holy sites – continues to receive U.S. military aid. Instead of sending Azerbaijan assistance, America should be sanctioning both Baku and its ally Ankara for their evil genocidal actions aimed at eradicating the indigenous Armenian homeland.
I will continue to work with my U.S. Senators and Representative to ensure that not a single American taxpayer dollar is shipped to the corrupt, oil-rich regime of Azerbaijan’s violently anti-Armenian regime. To date, we’ve sent this billionaire-run dictatorship over $164,000,000 in military assistance. That has to stop. Now. Not a single dollar more.
