IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1203 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting the Republic 

of Artsakh at all levels of civil society and government and recognizing 

the people of Artsakh’s inalienable right to self-determination. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2020 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. COSTA, 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 

SIRES, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MENG, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. BASS, and Mr. 

LANGEVIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting the Republic of Artsakh at all levels of civil 

society and government and recognizing the people of 

Artsakh’s inalienable right to self-determination. 

Whereas peace, stability, and democracy in the Caucasus region are in the political, security, and economic interests 

of the United States and are matters of international 

concern; 


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•HRES 1203 IH 

Whereas the United States considers any effort to determine 

the future of the Republic of Artsakh, formerly the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, by other than peaceful 

means, including acts of aggression, blockades, or threats 

against civil aviation, a threat to peace; 

Whereas the United States remains committed to the negotiations under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) 

Minsk Group negotiations toward a durable and democratic resolution of outstanding status and security issues 

related to the Artsakh Republic; 

Whereas the Artsakh Republic was one of three parties to the 

1994 cease-fire that ended major military hostilities between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, and remains committed to 

a negotiated, non-violent resolution; 

Whereas the Artsakh Republic took part in OSCE negotiations until 1998, when Azerbaijan blocked its democratically elected representatives from full and direct participation in negotiations regarding its future status and security; 

Whereas, in response to Azerbaijan aggression against the 

Armenian people during the 1990s, the United States 

Congress adopted section 907 of the Freedom Support 

Act, which states: ‘‘United States assistance under this 

or any other Act (other than assistance under title V of 

this Act) may not be provided to the Government of 

Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports 

to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is 

taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and 

other offensive uses of force against Armenia and 

Nagorno-Karabakh’’; 


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•HRES 1203 IH 

Whereas Azerbaijan, aided by Turkish forces and military 

supplies, launched a large-scale military offensive against 

the Line-of-Contact separating Artsakh and Azerbaijan 

on September 27, 2020, that was in clear violation of the 

1994 cease-fire; 

Whereas Turkish-supported mercenaries were recruited specifically for the purposes of fighting on behalf Azerbaijan 

in the September 27, 2020, outbreak of violence, and 

Turkish F–16 fighter jets are suspected of aiding the indiscriminate bombing of large civilian population centers 

like Stepanakert and Shoushi that have endangered the 

lives of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced 

thousands more; 

Whereas the September 27, 2020, military offensive by Azerbaijan represents its third large-scale attack on Artsakh 

since the signing of the 1994 cease-fire, and the bombastic rhetoric from Turkish President Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Aliyev has clearly shown they do not 

desire a peaceful outcome of the conflict that results in 

ethnic Armenians remaining in the Karabakh region; 

Whereas the Artsakh Republic has developed democratic institutions, fostered a pluralist political system, and, over 

the past quarter century, held parliamentary and Presidential elections that have been rated as free and fair by 

international observers, despite the constant threat of 

military incursion by Azerbaijani forces; 

Whereas international recognition of a country’s right to selfdetermination is the only way to ensure its people will be 

able to voice their legitimate concerns and lobby for the 

peaceful settlement of conflicts on the world stage; 


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•HRES 1203 IH 

Whereas the Artsakh Republic, along with the United States, 

Armenia, and the OSCE, support cease-fire monitoring 

proposals to strengthen the 1994 cease-fire, including— 

(1) an agreement from all sides to not deploy snipers, heavy arms, or new weaponry along the line of contact; 

(2) the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced 

gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to 

determine the source of attacks along the line of contact; 

and 

(3) the deployment of additional OSCE observers 

along the line of contact to better monitor the cease-fire; 

Whereas current Department of State policies and practices 

place self-imposed restrictions on travel and communications between the United States and Artsakh, limiting 

oversight of United States taxpayer-funded assistance 

programs and discouraging the open dialogue and discourse that can contribute to a peaceful resolution of 

Artsakh-related status and security issues; and 

Whereas open dialogue and communications contribute to 

greater international understanding and facilitate more 

effective conflict resolution: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the September 27, 2020, military 

3 offensive launched by Azerbaijani and Turkish4 backed forces on Artsakh; 

5 (2) calls upon all parties involved in the conflict 

6 to withdraw to the initial positions as of September 

7 27, 2020, to honor any negotiated cease-fire, to halt 

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•HRES 1203 IH 

1 tered access for humanitarian and emergency aid to 

2 civilians in need of such assistance; 

3 (3) urges the President of the United States to 

4 follow the congressional intent of section 907 of the 

5 Freedom Support Act and withhold any further as6 sistance to Azerbaijan until they end military oper7 ations against Artsakh; 

8 (4) affirms that the only peaceful, long-lasting 

9 resolution to this conflict will come from inter10 national recognition of the Republic of Artsakh; 

11 (5) upholds its commitment to supporting ac12 tions that encourage visits and communication be13 tween officials from the United States and Artsakh 

14 at all levels, including cabinet-level national security 

15 officials, general officers, and other executive branch 

16 officials, to travel to Artsakh and openly and directly 

17 communicate with their Artsakh counterparts; 

18 (6) encourages open communication, meetings, 

19 and other direct contacts between officials of 

20 Artsakh and the executive and legislative branches 

21 of the United States Government, representatives of 

22 State and local governments, and representatives of 

23 American civil society; and 

24 (7) calls for the full and direct participation of 

25 the democratically elected Government of the RepubVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203

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•HRES 1203 IH 

1 lic of Artsakh in all OSCE and other negotiations 

2 regarding its future. 

Æ 


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