Armenian Americans Warn that White House-Backed Deal Normalizes Azerbaijan’s Genocide of Nagorno Karabakh Armenians

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is calling on all parties involved in this week’s anticipated White House summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan to pursue a principled and enduring peace, one rooted in justice, accountability, the return of ethnically cleansed Armenians to their homes, and the protection of the Armenia’s security and sovereignty.

“Armenians want real peace,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Erasing Nagorno Karabakh is not peace. Normalizing ethnic cleansing is not peace. Abandoning Christian holy sites is not peace. Forsaking hostages is not peace. Accepting Azerbaijani occupation of Armenia is not peace. Peace reached at gunpoint is not peace.”

According to credible reports, a statement or memorandum of understanding may be issued following White House-sponsored talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on August 7th and 8th. The ANCA remains concerned that statements or agreements resulting from the meetings fail to address core priorities, among them the right of Armenians to return to their homes in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), Azerbaijan’s release of Armenian prisoners and hostages, international protection of Armenian Christian holy sites, and the rollback of Azerbaijani military occupation of sovereign Armenian territory.

“Any accord that normalizes and then formalizes the forced displacement of 150,000 Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh is not a step forward – it is a step away from peace, a step toward renewed Azerbaijani aggression,” said Hamparian. “True peace demands the right of return, the release of hostages, the protection of Christian holy sites, the withdrawal of foreign forces from Armenia, and accountability for war crimes.”

The ANCA also reiterated its strong opposition to Azerbaijani demands for a so-called “Zangezur Corridor” – a dangerous proposal that seeks extraterritorial access through Armenia’s Syunik province. As detailed in an ANCA policy memo sent to Capitol Hill this week, such a corridor would compromise Armenia’s security and sovereignty.

Armenian American voters—across all political backgrounds—remain deeply skeptical of any U.S.-backed arrangement that rewards Azerbaijani aggression while forcing Armenia into unilateral concessions of territory, security, and sovereignty. These concerns resonate across key battleground states, where Armenian American civic participation has played a decisive role in recent elections.

“If Washington is looking to take credit for brokering peace in the South Caucasus, it must ensure that this peace deal is real – anchored in accountability – not imposed on Armenia through coercion,” remarked Hamparian. “Armenian Americans – the U.S. citizens with the greatest personal stake in this matter – stand firmly opposed to any agreement that trades justice for convenience or endangers Armenian lives.”

This week’s summit takes place in the shadow of Azerbaijan’s ongoing campaign of aggression against the Armenian people. In 2020, Azerbaijan – with military backing from Turkey and foreign mercenaries – launched a large-scale assault against the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), resulting in thousands of deaths. In 2023, Azerbaijan completed its genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, forcibly displacing over 150,000 Armenians in just days. Since then, Azerbaijan has refused to release Artsakh Armenian leaders, prisoners of war, and other civilian hostages illegally imprisoned and subjected to ongoing sham trials by the Aliyev regime.  The Azerbaijani government continues to desecrate Armenian religious and cultural heritage sites and occupies Armenia’s sovereign territory.

Last month, in a letter to Secretary of State Rubio, a bipartisan group of eighty-seven U.S. Representatives from twenty-four states – representing over sixty-six million Americans – called for the “collective, protected, and dignified return of forcibly displaced Armenians to their indigenous homeland of Nagorno Karabakh. Taking this action is in direct accordance with international law and in pursuit of a just and lasting peace in the region.”