As was the case last year, Armenian groups in the USA with the support of some pro-Armenian members of the Congress attempted to introduce amendments to the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021.

As part of this process, a number of members of Congress supporting Azerbaijan, in turn, put forward two amendments against Armenia.

On 17 July, a meeting of the Committee on Rules of the House of Representatives of the US Congress was held to discuss the above amendments.

Amendment 99 initiated by Congressman Steve Cohen and Amendment 296 initiated by Congressmen Steve Chabot and Steve Cohen to submit a report to Congress, coordinated by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, on citizens expelled from the occupied territories in several post-Soviet countries and citizens of these countries killed in these territories, were adopted by the House of Representatives of Congress.

In accordance with these amendments, there are plans to submit to Congress a joint report of the State Department and the US Department of Defense on information about people expelled from the occupied territories and those killed.

Despite the efforts of the Armenian lobby, Amendment 66 “On the prohibition of the transfer of military products or the provision of military services to Azerbaijan by the United States unless the President confirms to Congress that the transfer of such products or the provision of services does not threaten civil aviation”, put forward against Azerbaijan by the radical pro-Armenian member of Congress, Brad Sherman, as well as Amendment 330 initiated by ethnic Armenian Congressman Jackie Speier from California “On the application of parity in the provision of assistance between Azerbaijan and Armenia under the program to enhance the capabilities of external security forces under Section 333” (as is known, Azerbaijan received assistance in the amount of $110 million within the framework of this program over the past two years, and the fact that Armenia did not receive any assistance caused serious concern and, as a result, this amendment was put forward) were not adopted. This failure caused serious confusion and disappointment among the Armenian lobby, in particular, the Armenian National Committee representing the Dashnak Party (ANCA). The above-mentioned amendments the adoption of which was prevented can be found at the following links:

https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/ShermAzerAmend710201219401940.pdf and https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/Speier%20Azerbaijan%20final71320110611611.pdf

Despite the mobilization of all the forces of the Armenian lobby, as well as the “well-known persons” of Armenian origin with millions of subscribers on their social networks, to support the amendments put forward by pro-Armenian members of the Congress against Azerbaijan, their rejection caused a serious concern among the Armenians. The fact that the chairman of the Committee on Rules, distinguished for his pro-Armenian stance, did not support the Armenians in this matter also causes additional tension and discontent among the Armenians.

As seen from the information circulated by ANCA (https://anca.org/press-release/us-house-passes-pallone-amendment-demanding-greater-oversight-on-us-military-aid-to-azerbaijan/), the Armenian side does not conceal its disappointment on the rejection of the amendments against Azerbaijan and the adoption of amendments against Armenia.

ANCA, reluctant to put up with this tremendous success of the Azerbaijani side and trying to downplay its defeat in order to prevent the discontent of the large Armenian lobby and continue its fundraising activities, is now shamelessly trying to take credit for the adoption of another general amendment that has nothing to do with Azerbaijan. By doing so, it is trying to mislead public attention. However, Amendment 396 put forward by Frank Pallone and referred to by the Armenians, “On the submission of a report to Congress by the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State under the authority of Section 333 on the violation of internationally recognized human rights before or while providing assistance to the security forces of foreign countries, as well as conducting exercises in order to prevent such violations”, has nothing to do with Azerbaijan. As one can see from its text, (https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/PALLON_039_xml716201347484748.pdf), this amendment applies to all military allies and partners to whom the United States provides assistance.

Along with the extensive propaganda campaign carried out by the Armenian lobby in connection with the situation in the Congress, unfortunately, some circles spread rumors about the adoption of proposals, such as Section 907, attempted to introduce some confusion into this issue. In general, the main goal of the contrived Armenian propaganda against the Azerbaijani state is to create obstacles to US-Azerbaijani relations, including the unity of the Azerbaijani people, and to continue funding the Armenian lobby. In this context, it is highly important not to succumb to the provocations of the Armenian lobby and other circles, be extremely careful and check the reliability of information sources.