WASHINGTON—Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Aug. 14 issued the following statement on the escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabagh region:
“Azerbaijan’s violation of the ceasefire agreement along the border with Nagorno-Karabagh is deeply disturbing. The resulting escalation of military activity along the line of contact has cost the lives of over a dozen Armenian and Azeri young men. A ceasefire is needed to protect further loss of life and escalation. The Obama Administration should act to encourage the restoration of a ceasefire, press Azerbaijan to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, and promote a peace plan that includes a date certain of a referendum for the people of Nagorno-Karabagh to decide their own future.”
“We join with all those seeking peace in thanking Chairman Royce for so powerfully challenging Azerbaijan’s escalating aggression and for taking such a principled stand for security and democratic self-determination for Nagorno Karabagh. We encourage the Obama Administration to heed his counsel and press Azerbaijan to end its ceasefire violations, to withdraw its snipers, and to openly accept – in principle and practice – that the future of Nagorno Karabagh will be decided by its own citizens,” said Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
In April, the Chairman led a bipartisan delegation to Armenia where it commemorated the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
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