Today. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, announced that language was included in the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) requiring the Director of National Intelligence to submit an assessment regarding tensions between the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including recent Azeri aggression over Artsakh. The IAA legislation was included in final FY2021 omnibus funding package.
“Since the beginning of the Azeri offensive, the people of Armenia and Artsakh bravely defended their homeland against Azerbaijan and Turkish-backed foreign mercenaries, faced devastating drone attacks, and endured atrocities committed by Azeri forces,” said Rep. Schiff. “This catastrophe could have been averted had the United States exercised leadership and ended a policy that for years looked the other way as Azerbaijan launched deadly attacks on its neighbors, leading Azerbaijan and Turkey to believe they could act with impunity. The language secured in the IAA will help hold Azerbaijan accountable for its attacks on Artsakh and Armenia, and I hope it will lead to a reevaluation of our policies, including enforcing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and ending military aid to Azerbaijan.”
Last month, Schiff and the other co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues wrote a letter to President-elect Joe Biden regarding the crisis in Nagorno Karabakh, or Artsakh, where a war launched by Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey and foreign mercenaries, caused a mass humanitarian disaster. The letter asked that the President-elect prepare to act after his inauguration to reorient our policy in the region in response to the devastating events of the past month, and to support democracy, human rights, and the right of self-determination.
