66 U.S. representatives urge congressional appropriators to allocate $200 million for Artsakh genocide victims

Sixty-six U.S. representatives called on U.S. House Appropriations Committee leaders today to allocate $200 million in U.S. assistance for Artsakh refugees, expand U.S. military aid to Armenia, suspend all military and security assistance to Azerbaijan and explore the application of sanctions on Azerbaijani war criminals, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The ANCA-backed bipartisan letter, led by Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and sent to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operation, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ranking Democrat of that Committee, specifically requests:

– $200 million for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in AEECA
– Suspension of all U.S. military and security aid to Azerbaijan and directs the Secretary of State to develop an assessment of potential sanctions against Azerbaijani officials
– $20 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $10m in International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Armenia
– $10 million for law enforcement reforms in INCLE
– $10 million in democratic reforms under OTI

“We join with the leadership of the Congressional Armenian Caucus and more than 60 of their U.S. House colleagues in demanding a long overdue ban on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, sanctions against the Aliyev regime and meaningful levels of U.S. humanitarian aid for Artsakh refugees,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

“With tens of billions of American dollars being shipped overseas to crisis zones around the world, the less than $20 million that President Biden has set aside – but not yet allocated – for displaced Artsakh Armenians is truly an embarrassment – a sad testament to a President that armed Azerbaijan, aided genocide and abandoned Armenians during our worst crisis since the Armenian Genocide,” concluded Hamparian.