[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7031-S7033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Armenia and Azerbaijan

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I come to the floor today in 
solidarity with ethnic Armenians all over the world who have 
experienced terrible losses in recent weeks. This is a tragic moment 
for Armenians everywhere.
  Words cannot describe the devastation inflicted on the region by 
Azerbaijani President Aliyev with the full support of President Erdogan 
of Turkey. Thousands of ethnic Armenian civilians and soldiers have 
lost their lives due to Azerbaijan's aggression, with an unknown number 
more injured. More than half of the population has been driven from 
their longtime homes. Every day, more are forced to leave.
  Every day, more are forced to leave. Azerbaijan's aggression has 
created a massive humanitarian crisis that will require a significant 
response, especially in light of the worsening pandemic. The 
historically and religiously significant city of Shushi now sits in 
Azerbaijani hands, and the security of many sacred Christian sites 
falls to President Aliyev and his backer Erdogan. The world will be 
watching if these holy sites are desecrated.
  These are dark days, indeed, and it did not have to be this way. 
American leadership could have averted much of this tragedy. 
Unfortunately, after the conflict began in late September, the highest 
ranking Trump administration officials decided to remain largely absent 
and silent.
  Certainly, other world leaders engaged. President Macron made calls 
and actively tried to reduce tensions, as one would expect from one of 
the leaders of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
Minsk Group cochair country.
  Unfortunately, others with less noble goals were also at the table. 
President Erdogan fueled Azerbaijan's aggression, fanning the flames by 
providing devastating drone technology and Syrian mercenaries.
  President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov worked the phones from 
the early days of the conflict. The result? Russia has a new foothold 
in the southern Caucasus. Evidently, Russia was never fully committed 
to the Minsk goals and now has what they wanted since the 1990s.
  All of this happened while Donald Trump slept--yet another example of 
diplomatic malpractice at the highest levels of an administration which 
will, thankfully, conclude in January. President Trump's departure is 
little solace for the ethnic Armenians who have been driven from their 
homes and seen their livelihoods go up in flames.
  So what is the region left with at the end of the day? The security 
of the Armenian people, who have already suffered brutal violence at 
the hands of

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Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan, now rests with peacekeepers sent by 
Vladimir Putin--a flawed agreement that does nothing about the jihadis 
sent there by Turkey, who, if allowed to remain, could commit further 
atrocities against Christian Armenians.
  Without any commitments to the status of Artsakh, there is no 
incentive for Azerbaijan to make peace with Armenia. Will we see 
another case of ethnic cleansing in the future? Do we sit silent?
  We now have a trio of authoritarians running the show in the southern 
Caucasus. It should alarm anyone dedicated to a peaceful solution for 
this long-outstanding conflict. It should alarm anyone dedicated to 
democratic reform in the region. It should alarm anyone concerned about 
basic human rights and respect for international law.
  We in the United States should be concerned about national security 
issues that would affect us in the Caucasus. So, my colleagues, we are 
witnessing the return of great power politics in this critical region. 
Yet the world's sole superpower is conspicuously absent. This needs to 
change.
  First and most urgently, the United States must lead a response to 
the humanitarian needs created by this violence, particularly for the 
tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians forcibly displaced from their 
homes by the 6-week war.

  Winter is fast approaching. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging. There is 
no time to waste. Congress and the Trump administration must act 
quickly to save these families. The United States must make a 
substantial investment in humanitarian and development assistance, 
along the lines of $100 million, to make a difference for those on the 
ground. This includes funding for efforts to demine the affected area.
  In April, I sent a letter cosigned by 30 other Senators calling for 
the Senate to appropriate $1.5 million in fiscal year 2021 funds for 
demining, robust funding for rehabilitation services in Nagorno-
Karabakh, and money for an independent assessment of remaining mine 
contamination to help inform future efforts.
  Given the widespread use by Azerbaijan of cluster munitions, rockets, 
and other such weapons in this conflict, I again urge this body to 
include those provisions in the final appropriations bill.
  Second, the United States must immediately--immediately--suspend the 
provision of defense articles to Turkey and Azerbaijan. We cannot and 
must not enable any future atrocities by either of those authoritarian 
countries.
  Either we had a tremendous intelligence failure or the State 
Department lied when it issued the waiver to section 907 of the FREEDOM 
Support Act. Either way, we should be gravely concerned about reports 
that Azerbaijan has utilized U.S.-origin defense equipment in this 
conflict.
  The administration must fully investigate these reports and respond 
appropriately to any violations of U.S. law. Indeed, Canada suspended 
arms sales to Turkey in response to the conflict for this very reason, 
and I applaud Prime Minister Trudeau for doing so.
  The United States must do the same and work diplomatically to 
encourage others to join us in common cause.
  To that end, I have introduced two resolutions that will require the 
State Department to report on human rights abuses by Azerbaijan and 
Turkey and on the role that U.S. security assistance and arms transfers 
may be playing in those abuses. I urge my colleagues to support those 
resolutions.
  Third, the administration must follow the law. It should not waive 
section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which states that Azerbaijan 
should ``cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force'' 
against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition to receive U.S. 
assistance.
  The facts tell us that the Government of Azerbaijan has done the 
exact opposite. America has no business rewarding this kind of 
aggressive behavior.
  I call on the administration to terminate the waiver of section 907. 
Congress can also address this injustice in the fiscal year 2021 
appropriations bill by stripping the existing waiver authority so that 
this security relationship stops. It needs to stop, once and for all.
  In addition, at my request, the Government Accountability Office is 
currently reviewing the impact of U.S. security assistance to 
Azerbaijan, which has skyrocketed under the Trump administration. The 
Pentagon alone has provided more than $120 million in equipment to the 
Aliyev regime in recent years. This is simply unacceptable and must 
change. The GAO review will shed light on the impact of the repeated 
waivers of section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.
  Fourth and finally, Turkey's aggression in this conflict must be 
addressed. President Erdogan clearly aspires to be a modern-day Ottoman 
Sultan, putting down stakes in Libya, in Syria, across the Eastern 
Mediterranean, and now in the southern Caucasus.
  Under Erdogan, Turkey has engaged in unbridled aggression outside of 
its borders, in violation of NATO's founding principles and 
international norms.
  Here is what we know: This Turkey is proving to be an unreliable ally 
in NATO. It is not a democracy, and it is not a responsible actor on 
the world stage.
  The aggression unfolding in Azerbaijan should make crystal clear what 
we have long known: Erdogan is, without a doubt, trying to claim the 
title of most destructive actor in the region today. Without a strong 
response, he will continue these advances and aggression.
  I urge the incoming Biden administration to stop him, and Congress 
has a role to play as well. We must finally sanction Turkey for its 
purchase of the S-400 from Russia, which is a clear violation of the 
CAATSA law.
  I expect that the fiscal year 2021 NDAA will take this long overdue 
step and result in S-400 sanctions on Turkey.
  I would also urge the incoming Biden administration to reassert 
American leadership in the region. The United States must join with 
Europe in solidarity against Turkey's violations of the sovereignty of 
Greece and Cyprus, which destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean region.
  Sanctions against those conducting illegal exploration activities on 
behalf of Turkey would be a strong show of support for our European 
allies, not to mention for the rule of law. Indeed, I have every 
confidence that President-Elect Biden and his team will live up to 
America's responsibilities on the world stage by actually engaging on 
all of these issues.
  And though the OSCE Minsk Group process appears to be on life 
support, we can and must reinvigorate it with senior-level engagement. 
We must send a clear message to Ankara, Baku, and Moscow that violence 
as a means to solve the conflict will not succeed and pressure on 
Armenia from its eastern and western borders will not be tolerated.
  I would like to close with this. Above the road between Yerevan and 
Stepanakert lies the ancient monastery of Dadivank. Father Hovhannes, a 
priest at the monastery, has vowed to stay even though the area has 
fallen under Azerbaijani control. His neighbors have mostly fled, on 
their way to Yerevan, displaced by weeks of horrific fighting.
  The courage of Father Hovhannes is hard for most of us to understand, 
to even comprehend. It comes from a place of deep connection to the 
land, deep connection to one's culture, and deep connection to one's 
faith. The world will be watching as to what happens to Father 
Hovhannes and the ancient monastery of Dadivank.
  A neighbor of Father Hovhannes who also committed to stay in the area 
said:

       We are here to stay until the end. This is our God. It's 
     our church. Our cross bears a heavy weight. We are here to 
     carry that weight.

  Throughout this war, Armenians across the region have carried that 
weight under relentless assault from Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Trump 
administration let them down.
  The horror of recent weeks will be very difficult to undo, but we 
must start the work. Yes, we must start the work. By taking the steps I 
have described here tonight, we can begin a new chapter of U.S. policy 
in the region and right past wrongs. And I am committed, as I have 
always been, alongside the Armenian-American community in New Jersey 
and across our country, to see this just work through to the end.

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  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.