U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) recently offered a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the United States from providing security assistance to Azerbaijan, which is committing ethnic cleansing against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian Protection Act, S. 3000, would repeal Freedom Support Act Section 907 waiver authority regarding federal assistance to Azerbaijan. Although the Freedom Support Act generally prohibits most bilateral assistance to Azerbaijan following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, waiver authority was added to Section 907 granting additional discretion to the president to provide aid to Azerbaijan, according to information provided by Sen. Cassidy’s staff.
The waiver authority has been invoked annually by U.S. presidents of both parties since 2002 and the Biden administration is still reviewing its waiver authority for 2023, the information says.
“Through the 907 waiver authority, Americans saw their tax money used to provide weapons to Azerbaijan to attack lands where Armenians have lived for centuries,” Sen. Cassidy said on Oct. 6. “That is not only wrong, it’s perverse. This bill withdraws that authority.”
Sen. Cassidy on Sept. 29 signed on as one of six original cosponsors of S. 3000, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). The senators introduced the legislation in response to the unilateral seizure, by force of arms, of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan.
“The Azerbaijani government has made it clear it will use its military resources to eliminate the presence of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Sen. Peters. “The United States cannot be complicit in Azerbaijani violence against the Armenian people. We must pass this legislation to block additional American aid to Azerbaijan until it puts an end to its aggression in the region.”
S. 3000 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee for consideration.