Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez expressed concern about the Biden Administration’s waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, during a confirmation hearing for Dr. Karen Donfried nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, the Armenian National Committee of America reported in a social media post.
“The Azerbaijanis are now interfering on the physical territory of Armenia in a border issue and it just seems to me that they will continue to be aggressive unless they have a clear message that it’s not acceptable,” argued Menendez.
Dr. Donfried responded that, if confirmed, she would work closely with the senator and other Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the matter.
“It is critical to make sure that any support we are giving to Azerbaijan is not in any way affecting the balance of power between Azerbaijan and that we are committed to the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh”, stated Dr. Donfried.
In a separate meeting, Menendez pressed Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland on Turkey’s funding of Syrian mercenaries during the Azerbaijan-Turkey’s attacks against Artsakh and Armenia last fall.
When Nuland deferred a response to a closed session of the foreign relations committee, Menendez stressed: “As part of that I will be looking forward to hearing from the department whether you investigated any of the Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan in the war last summer that included US component parts which I find totally unacceptable.”
