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In a joint statement on Monday, acting Speaker of the Artsakh National Assembly Gagik Baghunts, Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan and Karen Bekaryan, a member of the Committee for the Protection of the Artsakh People’s Rights, welcomed the U.S. House resolution condemning Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and calling on the Biden administration to hold the Aliyev regime accountable. The full statement is provided below.

"We welcome the resolution introduced by Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) which calls for official recognition of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, accountability for Azerbaijan’s war crimes and protection of the Artsakh people’s right to safely return to their homes.

We underscore the importance of the resolution submitted by the U.S. Congress members condemning the illegal blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and the military aggression unleashed by the country in September 2023, calling on the U.S. president and the relevant federal agencies to take immediate action to:

1. ensure the realization of the fundamental right of the forcibly displaced Artsakh people to safely return to their homes under international protection;

2. impose sanctions on Azerbaijani government officials complicit in war crimes;

3. provide humanitarian assistance to Armenia to address the needs of the forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians;

4. end the U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan,

5. secure the immediate release of all illegally detained Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives, including Artsakh’s political leaders, as well as to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh.

We hope that the resolution will be adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives and the provisions set forth therein will be reflected in the U.S. administration’s policy, contributing to the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the South Caucasus.”