Asbarez writes that Republican Adam Schiff, on December 6 in his Washington office met with Karen Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
As reported, during the meeting the sides discussed recent developments in the South Caucasus, and the importance of continued U.S. involvement in the development of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As a Member of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Schiff has pushed for increased humanitarian and development assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh, and Mirzoyan thanked the Congressman for his work on this vital issue.
“It was wonderful to meet Foreign Minister Mirzoyan, and hear his perspective on the economic and security issues in Artsakh,” said Schiff, adding “I updated the minister on the status of my efforts to get economic assistance boosted from $2 million to $5 million in the 2013 budget that will be finalized in the coming weeks. And we also discussed the appalling extradition and release of Ramil Safarov, and its effect on a peaceful resolution of conflict in the region.”
We should recall that on Monday, Schiff sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittees in the House and Senate – calling on them to cut all security assistance to Azerbaijan, including Azerbaijan’s International Military Education and Training Account (IMET) funding.
Azerbaijan must pay a high price for its actions. Baku treasures the security assistance that it receives from Washington, not because it needs the money (it does not), but because it signifies a certain closeness in the bilateral relationship. By cutting off military aid to Azerbaijan, the United States would signal its disgust with the Safarov affair, while also reminding Aliyev that the United States will not tolerate any acts of aggression against Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh.”
