WASHINGTON, DC — Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian issued the following statement regarding Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest attacks against Nagorno Karabakh – the worst since the 1994 ceasefire – which has already caused several fatalities.

“Only hours after being warmly welcomed in Washington by the Obama Administration, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev launched large-scale attacks along the entire Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. Several fatalities, including an Armenian child, have been reported.”

“Vice President Biden, in personally meeting Azerbaijani President Aliyev in this manner – without any public challenge to his escalating regional aggression and worsening domestic repression – openly emboldened his belligerence while actively undermining American efforts to keep the peace and reach a negotiated settlement.”

“Secretary Kerry in his public remarks with President Aliyev, regretfully, made no mention at all of any American concerns regarding President Aliyev’s threats and acts of violence or his crackdown on domestic dissent. There has, as well, been no mention, in the public record, of the life-saving Royce-Engel peace proposals that the State Department has publicly supported.”

“The Obama Administration’s failure, in Washington, to confront Azerbaijan’s aggression gave Aliyev the green light to launch these attacks on Karabakh.”

“Immediate action must be taken by the Obama Administration to stop President Aliyev’s latest attacks, along with concrete steps to ensure a lasting peace in the region which respects the right to self-determination and freedom for the people of Nagorno Karabakh.”

#####