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 Doug.campbell@mail.house.gov |
|
Ackerman |
David Adams |
225-2601 David.adams@mail.house.gov |
|
Faleomavaega |
Lisa Williams |
225-8577 Lisa.williams@mail.house.gov |
|
Payne |
Stephanie Gidigbi |
225-3436 Stephanie.Gidigbi@mail.house.gov |
|
Sherman |
Don MacDonald |
225-5911 Don.macdonald@mail.house.gov |
|
Wexler |
Jesper Pedersen |
225-3001 Jesper.Pedersen@mail.house.gov |
|
Engel |
Jason Steinbaum |
225-2464 Jason.steinbaum@mail.house.gov |
|
Delahunt |
Brain Forni |
225-3111 Brian.Forni@mail.house.gov |
|
Meeks |
Sophia King |
225-3461 Sophia.king@mail.house.gov |
|
Crowley |
Shawn Hodjati |
225-3965 Shawn.Hodjati@mail.house.gov |
|
Watson |
Bert Hammond |
225-7084 Bert.Hammond@mail.house.gov |
|
Carnahan |
Jeremy Haldeman |
Jeremy.haldeman@mail.house.gov 225-2671 |
|
Tanner |
Carling Dinkler |
Carling.dinkler@mail.house.gov 225-4714 |
|
Woolsey |
Jennifer Goedke |
Jennifer.goedke@mail.house.gov 225-5161 |
|
Jackson Lee |
Yohannes Tsehai |
Yohannes.tsehai@mail.house.gov 225-3816 |
|
Nina Besser |
Nina.Besser@mail.house.gov |
|
|
Hinojosa |
Andrew Jones |
Andrew.jones@mail.house.gov 225-2531 |
|
Wu |
Scott Olson (Latin America and Europe) |
Scott.olson@mail.house.gov 225-0855 |
|
Elsa Tung (Asia and Middle East) |
Elsa.Tung@mail.house.gov 225-0855 |
|
|
Brad Miller |
Ashley Orr |
Ashley.orr@mail.house.gov 225-3032 |
|
Linda Sanchez |
Jose Delgado |
Jose.delgado@mail.house.gov 225-6676 |
|
David Scott |
Gary Woodward |
Gary.woodward@mail.house.gov 225-2939 |
|
Costa |
Bob Farmer |
Bob.Farmer@mail.house.gov 225-3341 |
|
Sires |
Jessica Lawrence (Asia, Pacific) |
Jessica.lawrence@mail.house.gov 225-7919 |
|
Hannah Brown (Western Hemisphere) |
Hannah.Brown@mail.house.gov 225-7919 |
|
|
Giffords |
Liz Berry |
Liz.Berry@mail.house.gov 225-2542 |
|
Ron Klein |
Mira Kogen |
Mira.kogen@mail.house.gov 225-3026 |
|
Adam Smith |
Katy Quinn |
225-8901 Katy.Quinn@mail.house.gov |
|
REPUBLICANS |
||
|
Chris Smith |
Sheri Rickert, subcommittee staff member, counsel |
226-7812 Sheri.rickert@mail.house.gov |
|
|
Peter Martin Subcommittee staff |
226-7812 Peter.martin@mail.house.gov |
|
|
Mark Milosch, Subcommittee staff |
226-7812 Mark.milosch@mail.house.gov |
|
Burton |
Brian Fauls |
225-2276 Brian.fauls@mail.house.gov |
|
Mark Walker |
Mark.Waler@mail.house.gov 225-2276 |
|
|
Gallegly |
Richard Mereu |
225-5811 Richard.mereu@mail.house.gov |
|
Ros-Lehtinen |
Yleem Poblete |
225-3931 Yleem.pobleteIR@mail.house.gov |
|
|
Sarah Kiko |
225-3931 Sarah.kiko@mail.house.gov |
|
Rohrabacher |
Paul Berkowitz |
225-2415 Paul.berkowitz@mail.house.gov |
|
Royce |
Thomas Sheehy |
226-1500 Tom.sheehy@mail.house.gov |
|
Chabot |
Keri Sikich |
225-2216 Keri.sikich@mail.house.gov |
|
Manzullo |
Nien Su |
225-5676 Nien.su@mail.house.gov |
|
Tancredo |
Mac Zimmerman |
225-7882 Mac.zimmerman@mail.house.gov |
|
Paul |
Daniel McAdams |
225-2831 Daniel.mcadams@mail.house.gov |
|
Flake |
Chandler Morse |
225-2635 Chandler.morse@mail.house.gov |
|
Wittman |
Jamie Jones Miller |
225-4261 Jamie.miller@mail.house.gov |
|
Pence |
LeAnne Gibbs |
225-3021 lgibbs@mail.house.gov |
|
McCotter |
Paul Blocher |
225-8171 Paul.blocher@mail.house.gov |
|
Joe Wilson |
Paul Callahan |
225-2452 Paul.Callahan@mail.house.gov |
|
Boozman |
Margaret Lemmerman |
225-4301 Margaret.lemmerman@mail.house.gov |
|
Barrett |
Carla Campbell |
225-5301 Carla.campbell@mail.house.gov |
|
Mack |
Francis Gibbs |
225-2536 Francis.gibbs@mail.house.gov |
|
Fortenberry |
Diana Tasnadi |
225-4806 Diana.tasnadi@mail.house.gov |
|
McCaul |
Ari Stein |
225-2401 Ari.stein@mail.house.gov |
|
Poe |
Nicole Hunt |
225-6565 Nicole.schouten@mail.house.gov |
|
Inglis |
David Weil |
225-6030 David.Weil@mail.house.gov |
|
Fortuño |
John Laufer |
225-2615 John.Laufer@mail.house.gov |