U.S. Helsinki Commission Hearing Spotlights Azerbaijan’s Aggression Against Armenia

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin Lambasts Azerbaijan’s Attempts to Impose Demands on Armenia by Force

WASHINGTON – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) condemned Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and its ongoing aggression against Armenia during a Helsinki Commission hearing held on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

The hearing, titled “Supporting Armenia’s Democracy and Western Future,” featured testimony from three expert witnesses – former U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Dan Baer, former International Crisis Group South Caucasus Analyst Olesya Vartanyan, and President of the Yerevan-based Regional Center for Democracy and Security Tigran Grigoryan.

Reflecting on a recent Helsinki Commission delegation visit to Armenia, Chairman Cardin noted that in addition to having perpetrated ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan was seeking to “eliminate a good part of [Armenia’s] sovereignty by force” through its continued encroachment into Armenia’s sovereign territory.

“Azerbaijan recently came in and took over the Nagorno Karabakh area and did ethnic cleansing, required the people to leave or to face death or imprisonment,” Chairman Cardin stated. “This is nothing new. But they not only decided to putting at risk the cultural facilities, the cultural history of the region, they decided to go into [Armenia] and take part of Azerbaijan with no indication that they’re going to give up that territory.”

In reference to the ongoing peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Chairman Cardin continued by noting the inequitable terms of the ongoing peace process, and its failure to address the threat posed by Azerbaijan to Armenia’s security.

“I’m not sure that peace agreement is very fair,” Senator Cardin remarked. “If I understand it, it does not, they’re not even talking about the border issues as far as the areas that are currently under control by Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

In their testimony to the Helsinki Commission, the expert panelists reiterated the fact that Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno Karabakh and incursions into sovereign Armenian territory represented an immediate threat to Armenia’s security. Olesya Vartanyan highlighted Azerbaijan’s consolidation of its military presence in Armenian territory and Armenia’s vulnerability to further military escalation by Azerbaijan. Vartanyan also highlighted the fact that despite ongoing peace talks, Azerbaijan has sought to delay and derail negotiations by conditioning new demands on Armenia – such as changing its constitution.

Tigran Grigoryan reiterated the threat of further Azerbaijani aggression in his testimony, noting that the “greatest challenges to Armenia’s democracy are external,” citing the immediate existential threat from neighboring Azerbaijan. Grigoryan urged Congressional leaders to support targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani officials and servicemen responsible for wartime atrocities, noting that “the absence of accountability only emboldens Baku’s lines of attack.”

During the hearing, Representative Andy Harris (R-MD), who also participated in the Helsinki Commission delegation to Armenia, drew attention to reports that Azerbaijan was assisting Russia in bypassing sanctions with regards to regional energy trade. In response, Grigoryan noted the extensive energy ties between Azerbaijan and Russia – stating that Azerbaijan’s collusion with Russia went beyond sanctions evasion and included creating alternative regional infrastructure for Russia to circumvent trade restrictions.

Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-MO) question to the experts put a sharp focus on Azerbaijan’s expanding military presence in Armenia, and what role the United States could play in a peacekeeping capacity to prevent further escalation. Vartanyan’s explained that the European Union’s monitoring mission in Armenia as an example of a tangible step towards de-escalation and recommended the U.S. follow the lead of Canada – as a non-EU member – in joining the EU monitoring presence as an additional deterrent against further Azerbaijani encroachment.

In addition to calling attention to the immediate security concerns faced by Armenia, all of the witnesses reiterated the need for a more robust U.S. response to support the 120,000 Armenian refugees forced from their homes by Azerbaijan. Grigoryan noted that to date, only $11.5 million had been deployed to support refugees – significantly more was needed to support the medium to long-term needs of the displaced population. Vardanyan noted that in addition to providing support to the displaced population, Artsakh’s Armenians longed for the opportunity to return to their homes, stating “I have yet to meet a single person ready to give up hope of returning to Nagorno Karabakh.”

Almost a year since the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh, the United States has refused to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its aggression – emboldening Azerbaijan’s continued occupation of sovereign territory and use of force to impose demands on Armenia during volatile negotiations.

“Congress can act where the Administration has so clearly failed – by enacting legislation to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its aggression, imposing sanctions on Azerbaijani war criminals, drastically increasing humanitarian assistance to Armenia, and advocating for a just, durable and dignified peace that ensures the release of illegally detained Armenian POWs and guarantees the right of return for Artsakh’s Armenians,” remarked ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Peace is not possible absent accountability – for as long as Azerbaijan faces impunity for its actions, it will continue to believe there is more to be gained through war than through negotiations.”

Amid the existential threat Armenia faces at the hands of Azerbaijan, the ANCA is advancing several critical bills and resolutions that seek to impose material consequences on Azerbaijan for its ethnic cleansing of Artsakh to deter further Azerbaijani aggression and ensure Armenia’s sovereignty.

These include H.R.7288, to enforce statutory restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act; H.R.8141, to assess the applicability of targeted Global Magnitsky Act Sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes; H.R.1327, to condemn Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and support the right of Armenians to return to their homes under international protection; and,  S.Res.540, to investigate Azerbaijan’s war crimes and human rights abuses pursuant to Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act.

The ANCA also backed Congressional letters urging for a significant increase in U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh refugees, and supporting U.S. security assistance to Armenia.

The ANCA also continues to advance efforts to ensure the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and Artsakh’s political leaders who have been subject to torture and abuse while illegally detained by Azerbaijan. To that end, Senator Cardin recently issued a statement on the upcoming United Nations COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, urging the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained Armenian captives. Senator Cardin noted that “hosting a major international conference like COP29 should come with responsibilities and expectations that host countries allow frank discussion of information and issues, which requires recognizing freedoms of speech and assembly. Azerbaijan has not done so.”

Last week, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), who is leading Senate efforts to hold Azerbaijani accountable for abuses and war crimes against Artsakh and Armenia, expressed his concerns about Azerbaijan hosting the COP29 climate summit.

“Given Azerbaijan’s incredible dependence on state-sponsored fossil fuel production and its poor human rights record, I am deeply troubled that Azerbaijan has been selected as the host country for COP29,” said Senator Markey. “Rather than be rewarded for persistently flouting international human rights law — as it attacks and displaces innocent civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh and unlawfully detains Armenian prisoners — Azerbaijan must first rectify its human rights abuses and show real commitment to the scientific need to phase out oil and gas, not ramp up its misdeeds on both fronts.”