WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian issued the following statement in the run up to the meetings led by the Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chair countries with Armenian President Serge Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regarding Nagorno Karabakh.

“Everything we have seen in the forty-five days since Azerbaijan launched its April 2nd offensive confirms that Ilham Aliyev is hell-bent on conquest, that he’ll only leverage concessions by Nagorno Karabakh to intensify his attacks, and that the OSCE, the international community, and – sadly – our own U.S. government are all unable or unwilling to confront ongoing Azerbaijani ceasefire violations that continue to claim lives on all sides. Given Azerbaijan’s track record of escalating violence, we remain profoundly opposed to one-sided deals that require Nagorno Karabakh to make up-front, strategic, and irrevocable security concessions in return for deferred, vague, and reversible Azerbaijani promises regarding Artsakh’s future status.”

“We remain supportive of the OSCE platform and hopeful for progress in today’s talks and the timely implementation of concrete confidence building measures – including the placement of a ceasefire monitoring systems at the line of contact and an agreement on the non-deployment of snipers, heavy arms and new weaponry.”

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