WASHINGTON — The Armenian Assembly of America on July 14 praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the F-16 sale ban on Turkey and accountability for Aliyev and Erdogan in the 2020 Artsakh ethnic cleansing, among other amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23).
“The Assembly thanks the leadership of the Armenian and Hellenic Caucuses, and the sponsors and supporters of these key bipartisan amendments,” said Assembly Congressional Relations Mariam Khaloyan. “We also express our appreciation to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-AL), along with House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA),” she added.
Speaking in support of Rep. Jackie Speier’s (D-CA) amendment regarding Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) stated that many members have been “very concerned over the years about the constant waiver of requirements under Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act because the bottom line is that Azerbaijan has continued its aggression against Armenia and started a war against Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh a couple of years ago.”
“We don’t believe there’s any justification for waiving this because of the constant threat that Azerbaijan poses not only to Nagorno-Karabakh, but also to Armenia itself that continues ever since that war,” Pallone continued.
Offering the amendment on the House Floor sponsored by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) that prohibits the sale of F-16s to Turkey, Rep. Pallone emphasized the destabilizing behavior of Erdogan’s Turkey and its flagrant violations of international law.
“We can’t ignore the Erdogan regime’s human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions at home that he uses to maintain his grip on power,” Congressman Pallone stated.
