The ANCA called on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice-presidential candidate JD Vance to take concrete action to hold Azerbaijan accountable, responding to Trump’s October 23 statement on Artsakh.
WASHINGTON—Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump condemned the Biden-Harris administration’s inaction in the face of the persecution and forced displacement of Artsakh’s Armenian Christians and pledged to “stop the violence and ethnic cleansing and […] restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh. Christians around the World will not be safe if Kamala Harris is President of the United States. When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians, I will work to stop the violence and ethnic cleansing, and we will restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” stated Trump on his Truth Social account on October 23.
“President Trump, who dramatically ramped up U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan — arming and emboldening the Aliyev regime’s 2020 attack on Artsakh — needs to do more than issue a campaign statement, needs to deliver actual results before Election Day. He can start by publicly affirming Artsakh’s right to return and personally calling on Speaker of the House Johnson to schedule a floor vote on H.R.7288, enforcing Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “For his part, vice presidential candidate JD Vance — a sitting member of the U.S. Senate — should cosponsor and work for the passage of S.Res.540, scrutinizing Azerbaijan’s use of U.S. military aid to commit anti-Armenian war crimes.”
“While we are gratified to see that our community’s sustained engagement has forced Artsakh and Armenia into our national electoral discourse, we expect and deserve more than words. To earn our votes, we need to see deliverables, now — actions that materially hold Aliyev accountable and deter renewed Azerbaijani aggression,” added Hamparian.
With less than two weeks to go to the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have issued statements regarding Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) — vying for the support of Armenian Americans voters across the U.S. – and especially in key swing states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
On September 23, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris expressed support for the “right for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to return safely to their homes.” Vice-President Harris also noted that “we must never forget the Armenian Genocide,” and stressed her commitment to “lasting peace between Armenia and its neighbors that respects sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”
Armenian Americans are set to play a decisive role in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, particularly in the seven swing states projected to decide the outcome of the election.
“It’s clear — Armenian votes matter. We saw it today with former President Trump calling out the Biden-Harris administration’s inaction in the face of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. We saw it a couple of weeks ago with Vice President Harris calling for the safe and sustainable return of Armenians to Artsakh,” stated Hamparian in a video message to Armenian American voters and coalition partners. “This is an important milestone for our community, an important milestone in our emergence as an electoral force on the American national stage. So please remain engaged and keep up the pressure. Our investments in the American political system are paying off.”
Earlier this year, the ANCA gave an “F” rating to both the Trump and Biden administrations for aiding and abetting Azerbaijan and Turkey’s aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, leading to the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s 120,000 Armenian population and the ongoing Azerbaijani occupation of sovereign Armenia territory. The ANCA offered recommendations to the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees to take concrete action to address Armenian American concerns.
In an August 13 statement, the ANCA shared with the Republican presidential ticket, “Armenian American voters expect the Trump-Vance campaign to condemn Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and endorse Congressional efforts to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes against humanity. This must begin with the Trump-Vance campaign endorsing H.R.7288 to enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, supporting the imposition of targeted Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against Azerbaijani war criminals, and advocating for the right of return of indigenous Armenians of Artsakh to their homes under international protections. Additionally, as a sitting U.S. Senator, the ANCA urges JD Vance to demonstrate his commitment to holding Azerbaijan accountable for human rights abuses by co-sponsoring S.Res.540 – which would require the Department of State to conduct a formal investigation into Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses pursuant to Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act.”
In a July 30 statement, the ANCA told the Democratic presidential nominee that “Armenian American voters expect decisive action to rectify the Biden-Harris Administration’s shameful abandonment of Artsakh’s Armenians — starting with the immediate prohibition of U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, the imposition of targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani war criminals, actions to guarantee the right of return for the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh, and a substantial increase in humanitarian assistance to Artsakh refugees.”
The full record of both President Trump and Vice President Harris on Armenian American concerns is available in the ANCA’s 2024 Election Center.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.