ANCA calls for strong bans upon weapons supply to Azerbaijan

Baku's growing belligerence calls for strengthening Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, particularly in terms of preventing any and all military or dual-use sales or transfers to the Azerbaijani military, says Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

He made the remark in an interview with Tert.am when asked to comment upon National Security Advisor John Bolton’s recent visit to Yerevan and his statements made at meetings with Armenian government officials.

Hamparian particularly hinted possible changes in Section 907, which bans any kind of direct US assistance to the Azerbaijani government.

“The ANCA presses for strict enforcement of the Section 907 restrictions on US aid - including military assistance - to the Aliyev regime, and - in light of Baku's escalating aggression - calls upon the White House to discontinue its practice of waiving this law. Failing this, the Congress should revisit the ill-advised waiver authority granted to the White House. Parallel to Section 907 enforcement issues, we are carefully tracking arms export control issues related to recent Azerbaijani military purchases via third parties,” he said.

Section 907 was adopted in 1992.  On October 24, 2001, however, the Senate passed another amendment to the Act vesting the President with the authority to waiver its implementation.

Hamparian also offered Bolton’s “welcome praise for Armenia's peaceful, democratic, constitutional transition.”

“In a seeming shift away from the higher priority that the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations typically placed upon resolving Artsakh as a means of reducing Russian influence in the region, Bolton, at least publicly, highlighted the benefits of an Artsakh settlement to U.S. efforts to isolate Iran. We can expect a diplomatic US push on the Artsakh issue, foreshadowed, perhaps, by outgoing Ambassador Richard Mills' reckless call for the up-front surrender of Artsakh's territory. Keep your powder dry.”

Hamparian noted that Bolton also expressed openness to U.S. arms sales to Armenia, agreeing that it is more likely to happen “in the context of such sales to Azerbaijan.”

“The danger here is that Azerbaijan, given the size of its military budget, can afford significantly more advanced US arms than Armenia - leading to imbalances both on the battlefield and in terms of relationships with U.S. arms manufacturers (and their political allies). Wisdom must prevail on this matter,” the ANC executive director said.

He also highlighted the implications behind the weapons sale to Azerbaijan.

“Bolton signaled strict enforcement of Iran sanctions, tempering this hard line with talk about not wanting these sanctions to unduly hurt regional friends. The devil, of course, will be in the details. The ANCA will continue to track these developments and ensure that the views and values of Americans of Armenian heritage are part of the discussions in Washington in the wake of this visit,” Hamparian said.