The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) calls for $250,000,000 in emergency aid to Artsakh and Armenia.
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ANCA making the case for U.S. assistance, re-engagement in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair process, and other steps to hold Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for their aggression:
The full text of the letter is provided below:
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
With this letter, Americans of Armenian descent call upon our government to immediately provide a $250 million emergency humanitarian aid package for Artsakh and Armenia, followed by similarly large-scale, long-term reconstruction, development, and financial stabilization programs aimed at helping the Armenian people address and overcome the dire human, economic, and security impact of Azerbaijan’s aggression.
We request this assistance parallel to a renewed engagement of the United States – as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country – in revisiting and rewriting the disastrous terms and timelines forced upon Armenians through the openly genocidal attack on the Armenian homeland by Azerbaijan and its Turkish/ISIS allies. This deal was struck, under extreme duress, without the consent or even the participation of America or France, two of the three Co-Chair countries.
As a matter of U.S. policy, we ask the Administration to fully and formally recognize the Artsakh Republic’s independence – on historical grounds, consistent with legal principals and precedent, and, most importantly, as a requirement for the very survival of Artsakh, an early cradle of Christianity and an ancient part of the Armenian homeland. This recognition should be supported by an immediate ban on U.S. arms sales to Turkey and Azerbaijan, the suspension of the U.S. military and security aid program to Baku, full enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and the application of Global Magnitsky sanctions on Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
We remain ready to meet with you and your senior staff to discuss these requests in greater detail and to support any and all efforts to secure an emergency aid package of at least $250 million for Artsakh and Armenia.
