News - US senators urge Biden administration to secure release of Karabakh ex-leaders in Azerbaijan custody

In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Gary Peters (D-MI) called on the Biden Administration to prioritize the release of all Armenian prisoners of war and Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) political leadership illegally detained by Azerbaijan as a precondition for negotiations, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The senators noted that Azerbaijan has “incurred few costs from the international community for their continued detention” of the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and other officials. The letter, which calls for the State Department to label what took place in Nagorno-Karabakh as an act of ethnic cleansing, highlighted the need to ensure the Biden Administration forcefully advocates for the right of Armenians to return to their homes under international guarantees. While the Biden Administration has formally affirmed the right of return in several public statements, it has undertaken no tangible action to guarantee the safe and secure conditions required to ensure Armenians would be free from persecution and subjugation should they be allowed to return to their homes. Commenting on the status of peace talks, the Senators noted that Azerbaijan’s efforts to decapitate the political leadership of Artsakh was a “well-known tactic of those committing ethnic cleansing.” Specifically, the letter highlights the ongoing illegal detention of the current and former leaders of Artsakh, including former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan; former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan; former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and former Speaker of the Parliament Davit Ishkhanyan, among others.