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. LAW-
RENCE, 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. PAS-
CRELL, 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 sup-
porting 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 re-
gion 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 Re-
public 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 negotia-
tions under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organi-
zation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) 
Minsk Group negotiations toward a durable and demo-
cratic 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 be-
tween Artsakh and Azerbaijan, and remains committed to 
a negotiated, non-violent resolution; 
Whereas the Artsakh Republic took part in OSCE negotia-
tions until 1998, when Azerbaijan blocked its democrat-
ically elected representatives from full and direct partici-
pation in negotiations regarding its future status and se-
curity; 
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 spe-
cifically 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 in-
discriminate 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 Azer-
baijan represents its third large-scale attack on Artsakh 
since the signing of the 1994 cease-fire, and the bom-
bastic rhetoric from Turkish President Erdogan and Az-
erbaijani 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 in-
stitutions, fostered a pluralist political system, and, over 
the past quarter century, held parliamentary and Presi-
dential 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 self- 
determination 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 snip-
ers, heavy arms, or new weaponry along the line of con-
tact; 
(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 communica-
tions between the United States and Artsakh, limiting 
oversight of United States taxpayer-funded assistance 
programs and discouraging the open dialogue and dis-
course 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the September 27, 2020, military 
offensive launched by Azerbaijani and Turkish- 
backed forces on Artsakh; 
(2) calls upon all parties involved in the conflict 
to withdraw to the initial positions as of September 
27, 2020, to honor any negotiated cease-fire, to halt 
any attacks on civilian populations, and allow unfet-
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•HRES 1203 IH 
tered access for humanitarian and emergency aid to 
civilians in need of such assistance; 
(3) urges the President of the United States to 
follow the congressional intent of section 907 of the 
Freedom Support Act and withhold any further as-
sistance to Azerbaijan until they end military oper-
ations against Artsakh; 
(4) affirms that the only peaceful, long-lasting 
resolution to this conflict will come from inter-
national recognition of the Republic of Artsakh; 
(5) upholds its commitment to supporting ac-
tions that encourage visits and communication be-
tween officials from the United States and Artsakh 
at all levels, including cabinet-level national security 
officials, general officers, and other executive branch 
officials, to travel to Artsakh and openly and directly 
communicate with their Artsakh counterparts; 
(6) encourages open communication, meetings, 
and other direct contacts between officials of 
Artsakh and the executive and legislative branches 
of the United States Government, representatives of 
State and local governments, and representatives of 
American civil society; and 
(7) calls for the full and direct participation of 
the democratically elected Government of the Repub-
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lic of Artsakh in all OSCE and other negotiations 
regarding its future. 
Æ 
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