[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE NAGORNO KARABAKH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 2013

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, peace and stability in the Caucuses is in 
the national interest of the United States and our European allies. 
That means achieving a peaceful resolution to the rising tensions 
between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. A final status of the 
Nagorno Karabakh dispute must be achieved without resorting to war and 
must be in keeping with democratic principles, the rule of law and the 
protection of individual human rights.
  Decades of Soviet rule and the continuing dispute over Nagorno 
Karabakh have decimated the economy of Armenia. In stark contrast, 
Azerbaijan now enjoys a growing economy from the extraction of natural 
resources. This economic imbalance is further aggravated by the fact 
that both Turkey and Azerbaijan have sealed their borders with Armenia, 
with Azerbaijan pursuing an aggressive military build-up.
  The United States must continue to press for resolution of the 
Nagorno Karabakh dispute through the good offices and mechanisms of 
international actors such as the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe. We must be ever vigilant in decrying actions 
that undermine such efforts. I concur with the Obama administration's 
demand for an explanation of Azerbaijan's pardoning of Ramil Safarov. 
Azerbaijan's decision to pardon Ramil Safarov after he was convicted by 
a Hungarian court for the murder of an Armenian soldier while 
participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace program is not only 
unconscionable, it is a direct affront to NATO and its efforts to bring 
peace and stability to conflict regions through the Partnership for 
Peace program.

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