Armenian MP Arthur Khachatryan raises Artsakh`s return, Armenia`s  security, Azerbaijani accountability in Capitol Hill policy  discussions

ArmInfo.Armenian National Assembly Member Arthur Khachatryan advanced Artsakh's rights, Armenian security, and Azerbaijani accountability in a series of meetings with senior U.S. Senators and Representatives, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Khachatryan, who serves on the Armenia-USA Parliamentary Friendship  Group, was joined by the ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza  Yerimyan in his Congressional policy briefings.

In meetings with Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Markwayne Mullin  (R-OK), and Gary Peters (D-MI), Khachatryan noted that without clear  sanctions against Azerbaijan for the genocide committed against  Artsakh's 150,000 indigenous Armenians, the Aliyev regime will  continue escalating its aggression.  Azerbaijani troops currently  occupy sovereign Armenian territory in the provinces of Syunik,  Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik. Aliyev is challenging the  internationally recognized borders of Armenia, is threatening to  force a corridor through Syunik to secure a land connection with  Turkey, and is pressuring Armenia to make changes to its  constitution.

Khachatryan underscored to Congressional leaders the value of  expanding U.S. assistance for Artsakh Armenians who have sought  safe-haven in Armenia, and working with the Organization for Security  and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs and other  international partners to encourage ongoing talks with the Artsakh  Government regarding the security guarantees needed to support the  safe return of the Armenian population to their homes in Artsakh.   Khachatryan urged a strong U.S. response to Azerbaijan's ongoing  illegal imprisonment of Armenian POWs from the 2020 Azerbaijan and  Turkey-led attack against Artsakh and Armenia, and also the Artsakh  leaders arrested following the September 2023 Azerbaijani attack.

Khachatryan praised Senator Peters for his leadership in securing the  unanimous Senate passage of the "Armenian Protection Act of 2023"  (S.3000), which aims to block all U.S. military assistance to  Azerbaijan by removing President Biden's authority to waive Section  907 of the FREEDOM Support Act for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025.  The  ANCA is working to secure passage of a similar measure in the U.S.  House.

  "We value the vital work of patriots from our Armenian homeland like  Arthur Khachatryan who engage so constructively with U.S.  policymakers - representing the shared national and democratic  aspirations of Armenians across our homeland and throughout our  global diaspora," said ANCA National Board Member Dzovinar  Hamakordzian. "Dr. Khachatryan's visit was especially timely in light  of the urgency of advancing Artsakh's right to return, in security,  under an international mandate."

Prior to his Capitol Hill consultations, Khachatryan was in  California, where he joined with ANCA National Board Member Aida  Dimejian and ANCA California leaders in a program at the State  Capitol saluting the California legislature's passage of ACR 105,  spearheaded by California State Assemblymember Chris Holden, which  established a sister-state relationship between the Golden State and  Armenia's Syunik region.  The program also placed special focus on  the passage AJR 1, which condemned Azerbaijan's blockade and  aggression against Artsakh, and expressed its support for Artsakh  independence.

Khachatryan shared an overview of his California and U.S. Capitol  meetings in an interview with Voice of America Armenian division,  available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1f96KU6LI

Khachatryan was elected to the Armenian National Assembly in 2021 as  part of the "Armenia" faction and serves on the Standing Committee on  Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs.  He has MBA's from Imperial  College London and the American University of Armenia, as well as a  Ph.D. in Physics.  He has previously served as the Governor of  Armenia's Shirak Province and Minister of Agriculture of the Republic  of Armenia. He has been a member of the Armenian Revolutionary  Federation since 1991.