Armenian Christians Undergo Ethnic Cleansing. DC Politicians Pocket the Change. – The American Spectator

> For years, Azerbaijan has paid lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to inform congressmen about the issues in the South Caucus mountains. According to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Azerbaijan has spent over $7 million since 2015 on lobbying activities. Although that’s not a massive sum (especially when compared to the efforts of nations like the United Arab Emirates), but the Quincy Institute points out that the amount is large enough to provide “critical context for understanding Washington’s muted reaction to Azerbaijan’s recent aggression, seemingly at odds with the strong moral position U.S. officials have taken over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

>Memos sent to congressmen by D.C. lobby firm BGR Government Affairs have consistently painted Armenia — especially government officials in the Nagorno-Karabakh region — as Russian allies.

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>Armenia, on the other hand, only started lobbying in D.C. last year, spending about $5,000 monthly on its efforts. (Those efforts seem to have been somewhat successful; last November, a bill was introduced entitled “Preventing Ethnic Cleansing and Atrocities in Nagorno-Karabakh Act of 2023.”) Before that, the country had depended on the more than 1 million Armenian immigrants in the U.S. to shape public policy.

>But money isn’t the only reason why D.C. politicians are loath to touch the situation. There is a long-standing alliance between Azerbaijan and Israel. Currently, Azerbaijan supplies approximately 40 percent of Israel’s oil and recently was granted permission by Israel to “explore” an area in a giant oil field in the Mediterranean known as the Leviathan field. That deal will help protect Israel from the economic results of its war with Hamas.

>In return, Israel has historically supplied Azerbaijan with munitions — up to 70 percent of Azerbaijan’s arsenal between 2016 and 2020 was reportedly supplied by Israel. According to one March 2023 investigative report, in the days leading up to the conflict in 2020, Azerbaijani flights between Baku and Ovda Airbase — the only base out of which Israel can fly explosives — spiked. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) researcher Pieter Wezeman told CNN that while we have plenty of information on munitions supplied by Israel to Azerbaijan leading up to 2020, after that, reporting stops abruptly. “[T]hat doesn’t really make sense because in 2020 Azerbaijan used a significant amount of its equipment,” Wezeman explained. “Mostly likely they have continued their relationship with Israel, but that’s about as far as we know.”

>As the Quincy Institute observed, the bond between the two countries is one “built heavily on two pillars: weapons and oil” — but it certainly is not limited to them. Azerbaijan’s embassy signed an agreement in 2020 with Stellar Jay Communications, founded by Jacob Kamaras, promising a $3,300 fee per “project.” Kamaras later published an article entitled “Azerbaijan’s story mirrors that of Israel,” which the Quincy Institute observed could be just one of those projects.

>More recently, in February 2023, Azerbaijan signed another contract with the Friedlander Group, which typically does lobbying and PR for Jewish organizations. Its founder, Ezra Friedlander, has since met with politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

>Of course, these are just the publicly known examples of Azerbaijan’s lobbying. The country has a history of laundering interests in the U.S. and Europe.