The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders

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Title: The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders
Location: The House Foreign Affairs, Washington DC
Description: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the Caucasus on June 18, 2008
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2008-06-19

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the Caucasus on June 18, 2008.  Please contact your Member of Congress and ask them to point out Turkey and Azerbaijan’s positive role in the region.   The Armenian American community will ask members to emphasize “blockade” of Armenia. Please emphasize Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijan and blockade of Nakhichevan.  Below are additional points for your consideration and a list of Members on their committee and their staff.  It is most effective if you are a constituent or know the office. If you would like to know who your Member of Congress is, go to www.house.gov and put in your zip code.  

Thank you

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the Caucasus on June 18, 2008.  As your constituents, we would like you to keep the following in mind and if possible, raise the following issues:

 

TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA AND THE U.S. HAVE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER TO DIVERSIFY ENERGY RESOURCES AND ACHIEVE ENERGY SECURITY IN THE CASPIAN REGION FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES

 

  • At the epicenter of Eurasian energy and transport routes, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are bolstering global energy security by providing for the safe and secure flow of goods, services, and energy resources to world markets.

 

  • Since the “Contract of the Century” was signed in 1994, Azerbaijan has extensively developed its energy resources to diversify western energy supplies.  The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline became fully operational in July 2006, and will provide one third of new oil to international markets.  

 

  • Turkey and Israel are jointly working for the realization of the Turkey-Israel Multi-Pipeline System which will support global energy security as the North-South energy corridor becomes as important as the East-West energy corridor.

 

  • New opportunities have emerged in Turkmenistan for the realization of the Turkmenistan-Trans Caspian-Turkey-Europe Gas Pipeline Project (TCP).

 

 

THE ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT

 

  • Armenia occupies 20 percent of neighboring Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno Karabakh region and seven additional regions. 
  • The State Department’s 2008 fact sheet on the region states: “The United States does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not recognized internationally or by the United States.  The United States supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between the parties with the aim of achieving a lasting and comprehensive political resolution of the conflict. The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group process.”  The United States mediates the peace process as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group which was established in 1992.

 

  • From a total population of eight million, there are nearly one million refugees and internally displaced Azerbaijanis.

 

  • According to the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave is “blockaded by neighboring Armenia.”

 

  • Four U.N. Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884) adopted in 1992 and 1993 call for the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories.

 

  • Armenia has not recognized the Armenian-Turkish border.

 

 

ARMENIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH IRAN

 

  • Iran is one of Armenia’s largest trading partners.  The two countries are working on a trade agreement.

 

  • An Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was opened by President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Armenian President Robert Kocharian on March 19, 2007.

 

  • Russia and Iran are planning to construct a refinery in Armenia with an annual capacity to refine 53 million barrels of oil and produce gasoline and diesel fuel.  Armenia will only use 1 million tons of refined oil; the vast majority will be exported.

 

  • The State Department expressed concern about relations between Armenia and Iran in its 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism:

 

“Armenia’s warming relations with neighboring Iran continued, with Armenia hosting official visits by Iranian President Ahmadinejad (October) and Iranian Defense Minister Najjar (November).  In addition to fostering closer diplomatic ties, these visits served to solidify previous bilateral commitments to develop joint energy and transportation projects.  This closer cooperation has made Armenia more reluctant to criticize publicly objectionable Iranian conduct or join other UN member states in advocating for sanctions on the Iranian regime.”

 June 2008

 

Foreign Affairs Staffers for House Foreign Affairs Committee Members

 

Congressperson

Staffer

Contact Information (office)

DEMOCRATS

Berman

Doug Campbell

225-4695

[email protected]

Ackerman

David Adams

225-2601

[email protected]

Faleomavaega

Lisa Williams

225-8577

[email protected]

Payne

Stephanie Gidigbi

225-3436

[email protected]

Sherman

Don MacDonald

225-5911

[email protected]

Wexler

Jesper Pedersen

225-3001

[email protected]

Engel

Jason Steinbaum

225-2464

[email protected]

Delahunt

Brain Forni

225-3111

[email protected]

Meeks

Sophia King

225-3461

[email protected]

Crowley

Shawn Hodjati

225-3965

[email protected]

Watson

Bert Hammond

225-7084

[email protected]

Carnahan

Jeremy Haldeman

[email protected]

225-2671

Tanner

Carling Dinkler

[email protected]

225-4714

Woolsey

Jennifer Goedke

[email protected]

225-5161

Jackson Lee

Yohannes Tsehai

[email protected]

225-3816

Nina Besser

[email protected]

Hinojosa

Andrew Jones

[email protected]

225-2531

Wu

Scott Olson (Latin America and Europe)

[email protected]

225-0855

Elsa Tung (Asia and Middle East)

[email protected]

225-0855

Brad Miller

Ashley Orr

[email protected]

225-3032

Linda Sanchez

Jose Delgado

[email protected]

225-6676

David Scott

Gary Woodward

[email protected]

225-2939

Costa

Bob Farmer

[email protected]

225-3341

Sires

Jessica Lawrence (Asia, Pacific)

[email protected]

225-7919

Hannah Brown (Western Hemisphere)

[email protected]

225-7919

Giffords

Liz Berry

[email protected]

225-2542

Ron Klein

Mira Kogen

[email protected]

225-3026

Adam Smith

Katy Quinn

225-8901

[email protected]

REPUBLICANS

Chris Smith

Sheri Rickert, subcommittee staff member, counsel

226-7812

[email protected]

 

Peter Martin

Subcommittee staff

226-7812

[email protected]

 

Mark Milosch,

Subcommittee staff

226-7812

[email protected]

Burton

Brian Fauls

225-2276

[email protected]

Mark Walker

[email protected]

225-2276

Gallegly

Richard Mereu

225-5811

[email protected]

Ros-Lehtinen

Yleem Poblete

225-3931

[email protected]

 

Sarah Kiko

225-3931

[email protected]

Rohrabacher

Paul Berkowitz

225-2415

[email protected]

Royce

Thomas Sheehy

226-1500

[email protected]

Chabot

Keri Sikich

225-2216

[email protected]

Manzullo

Nien Su

225-5676

[email protected]

Tancredo

Mac Zimmerman

225-7882

[email protected]

Paul

Daniel McAdams

225-2831

[email protected]

Flake

Chandler Morse

225-2635

[email protected]

Wittman

Jamie Jones Miller

225-4261

[email protected]

Pence

LeAnne Gibbs

225-3021

[email protected]

McCotter

Paul Blocher

225-8171

[email protected]

Joe Wilson

Paul Callahan

225-2452

[email protected]

Boozman

Margaret Lemmerman

225-4301

[email protected]

Barrett

Carla Campbell

225-5301

[email protected]

Mack

Francis Gibbs

225-2536

[email protected]

Fortenberry

Diana Tasnadi

225-4806

[email protected]

McCaul

Ari Stein

225-2401

[email protected]

Poe

Nicole Hunt

225-6565

[email protected]

Inglis

David Weil

225-6030

[email protected]

Fortuño

John Laufer

225-2615

[email protected]


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