U.S. Representative voted for amendments proposed by Armenian representative at OSCE PA meeting in Baku
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff voted in favor of the amendments proposed by the Armenian side on the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Baku, reads an article published on the site of "Asbarez."
At a parliamentary meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Baku, Armenia’s representative offered two amendments to the Resolution on Political Affairs and Security to protect religious communities in Syria.
The first point is calling for finding a solution to the crisis in Syria. The second amendment would amend the same section and “Calls upon OSCE participating States to prevent the use of their territories by terrorist and fundamentalist groups for cross-border attacks against civilian populations, including religious and ethnic minorities in Syria,” the article reads.
Rep. Schiff voted in favor of both amendments, which seek to protect historic Christian communities in Syria. The second amendment is a reaction to attacks and ethnic cleansing in towns like Kessab, reads the article.
“Historic Christian communities in Syria and now Iraq are under increasing threat of violence and displacement by radical Islamic terrorists. The international community must do all it can to bring an end to the violence and protect these vulnerable minority populations. I was proud to be present at the OSCE parliamentary assembly and support Armenia’s amendments,” Schiff said.
According to the article Armenia offered a third amendment pertaining to Nagorno Karabakh, affirming the right of peoples to self-determination and underlining the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes. Rep. Schiff voted in favor of the measure which passed with majority support.
Rep. Schiff also met the Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvilli in Tbilisi. In a meeting this weekend with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Rep. Adam Schiff raised the need to coordinate and focus USAID assistance to meet humanitarian needs in the predominately Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti and USAID Director Rajiv Shah and sought to continue the emphasis on assistance to this economically vulnerable area, the article reads.
President Margvelashvilli expressed his willingness to work in that direction, and emphasized that with Georgia’s signing of an association agreement with the European Union this week and Armenia’s participation in the Russia-based customs union, it will be more important than ever and ensured that trade between Armenia and Georgia can continue unabated and grow.