Pallone, 86 Armenian Caucus Members Urge Strong American Support for a Right to Return for Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), David Valadao (CA-22), and Brad Sherman (CA-32) and 83 additional bipartisan members sent a letter today to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to secure the collective, protected, and dignified return of forcibly displaced Armenians to their indigenous homeland of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of any negotiated peace deal in the South Caucasus. The members wrote in their letter:

“We welcomed your recent testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee confirming U.S. support for a peace process that averts the risk of escalation by Azerbaijan and ensures the release of all arbitrarily detained Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives. As part of this ongoing process, we encourage you to address the issue of a collective and protected return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“We make this request as a recognition that the right of populations displaced by war to return to their homes is a fundamental principle of international law. In December 2023, the International Court of Justice issued a provisional order compelling Azerbaijan to ensure the safe and secure return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the previous Administration, several senior State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O’Brien, confirmed that the U.S. had “urged Azerbaijan to ensure all ethnic Armenians who have departed Nagorno Karabakh are guaranteed a safe, dignified, and sustainable return, should they so choose, with their rights and security guaranteed.”

“Specifically, we encourage the Administration to actively engage with international partners and multilateral institutions to facilitate the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh. This includes through diplomatic support for a recent measure adopted by the Swiss Parliament known as the “Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh”, which would establish an international negotiation platform to mediate a safe, secure, and internationally guaranteed return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The full list of cosigners includes: Representatives Pallone (NJ-06), Valadao (CA-22), Sherman (CA-32), Bilirakis (FL-12), Amo (RI-01), Auchincloss (MA-04), Barragan (CA-44), Bell (MO-01), Bera (CA-06), Beyer (VA-08), Bilirakis (FL-12), Budzinski (IL-13), Carson (IN-07), Casar (TX-35), Casten (IL-06), Castro (TX-20), Chu (CA-28), Cisneros (CA-31), Costa (CA-21), Davis (IL-07), Dingell (MI-06), Doggett (TX-37), Evans (PA-03), Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Fleischmann (TN-03), Fletcher (TX-07), Fong (CA-20), Foushee (NC- 04), Frankel (FL-22), Friedman (CA-30), Goldman (NY-10), Gomez (CA-34), Gottheimer (NJ-05), Horsford (UT-04), Huffman (CA-02), Jackson (IL-01), Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Khanna (CA-17), Kim (CA-40), Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), LaLota (NY-01),  Larson (CT-01),  LaMalfa (CA-01), Latimer (NY-16), Lawler (NY-17), S. Lee (NV-03), Levin (CA-49), Lieu (CA-36), Lofgren (CA-19), Lynch (MA-08), Magaziner (RI-02), Malliotakis (NY-11), McBride (DE-00), McClintock (CA-05),  McCollum (MN-04), McGovern (MA-03), Menendez (NJ-08), Meng (NY-06), Min (CA-47), Moulton (MA-06), Mullin (CA-15), Norton (DC-AL), Panetta (CA-19), Pappas (NH-01), Pelosi (CA-11),  Peters (CA-50), Pingree (ME-01), Quigley (IL-05), Ramirez (IL-03), Raskin (MD-08), Rivas (CA-29), Sánchez (CA-38), Schakowsky (IL-09), Schneider (IL-10), Sherman (CA-32), Simon (CA-12), Stevens (MI-11), Suozzi (NY-03), Swalwell (CA-14), Taylor (OH-02), Thanedar (MI-13), Thompson (CA-04) , Titus (NV-01), Tlaib (MI-12), Tonko (NY-20), Trahan (MA-03), Valadao (CA-22), Velázquez (NY-07), Whitesides (CA-27), N. Williams (GA-05)

A copy of the members’ letter is available here.